HILLSPEAKING
from The Anglican Digest 

EASTER A.D. 2005

WHEN the Rev. Howard  Lane Foland, rector of All Saints’, Nevada, and vicar of St. Peter’s, Harrisonville, both in the Diocese of West Missouri, started the Episcopal Book Club in 1953, he did so because he believed his parishioners and Episcopalians in general did not know enough about the Episcopal Church and the larger Church.

    He reasoned that if church members had the opportunity to read carefully selected books, books that were “doctrinally sound, well written, and interesting to read,” over a period of time he would have better informed parishioners and that the larger church would have been served as well.

    That reasoning continues today in what is now known as the Anglican Book Club. The change was made so that the primary ministries of the Society for Promoting and Encouraging Arts and Know-ledge [of the Church], better known as SPEAK, would have the same identification—The Anglican Digest, the Anglican Bookstore, and the Anglican Book Club.

    The format that Father Foland devised continues to-day: a year’s membership in the book club comprises four carefully selected books that are mailed to members across the four seasons. With each book is enclosed a ‘Tidings that includes notes on the book selected as well as a report about the book club’s home, Hillspeak. Each ‘Tidings also tells members what the next book will be.

    Aside from its primary purpose of providing knowledge about the Church, book club membership also offers a considerable savings. In many cases, the year’s membership fee is little more than the cost of a single book.

    Authorship has not been confined to Anglicans. Authors have ranged from the Church Fathers (St. Augustine) through the early church in England (John Donne) to the present Archbishop of Canterbury (Rowan Williams). The locale of books has ranged widely also, including Africa (Ah, but Your Land is Beautiful) and Australia (Bush Brother). In terms of time they have covered the very beginnings of the Church (The Davidson Affair) and a look at the future (Toward 2015: A Church Odyssey). From the first selection, Massey Shepherd’s The Worship of the Church, to next summer’s book, John Claypool’s The Ingenious Alchemist, each has been selected to forward Father Foland’s ideal of a knowledgeable church body.

    On page 18 of this issue of TAD you will find an enrollment form for membership in the Anglican Book Club. It is our invitation to you to come to know more about what Father Foland often called “the Church of our mutual obedience.”