The following will orient you to this virtual book group and what you will find in this online course space:

Group Summary

This is a book group following my book, Walking Otherward: Forty Meditations on Following Jesus' Path of Other-Centered, Co-Suffering Love over the course of Lent in 2026. The group process includes the following:

• Reading Walking Otherward, starting Ash Wednesday (2/18). 41 entries, to be read daily (6 days a week), with the final reading on Easter Sunday (4/5).

• 3 Group gatherings via Zoom to discuss the readings to that point. These are on 3/5, 3/19, and 4/2. All gatherings are on Thursday nights, at 6:30 PM Pacific time for 90 minutes.

• Participating, as desired, in the online community space where I will be posting daily reflections, prayers, and will be available to answer questions, and join with others who want to dig more into the material in community.

Expectations of Good Faith Participation - a Safe and Brave space.

The times we find ourselves in are overwhelming for most of us. Because polarization and disagreements about how to live as followers of Jesus in this complicated and alienating time are high, those feelings can accompany us into this kind of space. For this group to be of benefit, it needs to be a place where we all come with a good-faith desire to learn and grow. I describe this as a SAFE and BRAVE space. A SAFE space is one where we listen to one another respectfully and relate to each other with dignity, even when we disagree. A BRAVE space is one where we are willing to sit with discomfort because that is the environment in which we can grow. This is not a space designed for debate. There are plenty of places on the internet where you can do that. We may not all agree with book or with me. I will do my best to moderate our discussion in a way that is respectful to all. I expect participants to conduct themselves similarly. If we can approach hard conversations from that place, all of us have the best possibility of hearing the Spirit and growing.

Homework (The Reading)

Walking Otherward: Forty Meditations on Following Jesus' Path of Other-Centered, Co-Suffering Love is a devotional book, written with 41 meditations. Each one is a little more than 1000 words. The average reader can read an entry in under ten minutes. There are two questions in each entry that invite you to engage the material more deeply. You can spend as long with these as you like. I recommend journaling your responses. If you start reading on Ash Wednesday (2/18) and read 6 entries a week, your final entry will land on Easter Sunday (4/5)

The Archive Videos.

The three zoom gatherings will be recorded so that group members who miss one and want to catch up will be able to.