Parish Summer Read
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August 11, 2026This summer, the ARC at St. Ignatius Parish (Anti-Racism Committee) joyously invites the entire parish community to join us in reading Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass (2020), a New York Times and a Washington Post bestseller:
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise.
We feel that recognizing that “everything is connected”—that our relationships with God, one another, and the earth are woven together, and that environmental degradation and social injustice often share the same roots—is an important part of the parish’s anti-racist work. So, we hope and pray that you not only delight in reading BG together, but are able to use this guide to think about how justice includes honoring diverse cultures, histories, and perspectives, and to help prepare and inspire you to join in our book discussion later this summer (September 20, 11am -12 pm, during Hospitality). Until then, happy reading and reflecting!
Sign up today!The book is widely available online (including a free pdf), through bookstores and through the library. If purchasing the book, we urge you to please support your local independent bookstore. Also, there is a young person’s edition appropriate for middle grade and high school readers.
About the guide: The reading guide is rooted in the Ignatian tradition of prayer and discernment. In Ignatian contemplation of Scripture, we are invited to enter a scene with our imagination—to see what the people in the story see, hear what they hear, notice our own emotional responses, and listen for God’s invitation. The Reading Guide written and prepared by parishioner and USF professor Evelyn Rodriguez.