Blessing of Banned Books
The United Church of Christ’s “Love is Louder” campaign and “Join the Movement toward Racial Justice” invited local congregations to celebrate a “Blessing of Banned Books” on February 11th, 2024.
We included this blessing as part of our Sunday 10 AM Worship. If you have banned books at home, you may bring them for the blessing. Be sure to write your name inside the cover.
You might also consider purchasing new copies of banned books to donate to our Justice Bookshelf on the rolling cart in Beecher Hall. While we have a good start with Climate Justice and Racial Justice resources, we have few books around LGBTQI+ Justice. Below you will find links to some “Banned Book” lists.
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10/archive
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2023/09/25/banned-books-week-reading-list
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/a45012950/banned-book-list/
https://www.aclu.org/issues/free-speech/artistic-expression/banned-books-0
https://sojo.net/articles/8-banned-books-add-your-faith-and-justice-reading-list
Refer also to the UCC Blessing of Banned Books resource (PDF)
“We want this to be an affirmation of belonging, caring, opening space for the questions, and also there should be no restriction on who should read what,” Love said. “We’re hoping people pay attention to the bills coming forth in their communities or state about banning books and that they will stand in solidarity to block those bills.”
Author Airlie Anderson, whose own books have been targeted by bans, joined the UCC’s “OWL Taking Flight” webinar on Jan. 3.