Thursday, March 21, 2019

The Power of Reading Aloud


 

There was a lovely piece on CBC Radio's The Current on Monday about the benefits of finding an hour a day to read aloud to your children. "This tradition of reading aloud, it connects parents to children, and children to their children that they have, in this wonderful way with language and warmth," said Meghan Cox Gurdon, the children's book critic for the Wall Street Journal. "It's just such a lovely kind of braid of time, and books, and people, and generations," she told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti. Cox Gurdon has written a book on the subject called The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction.

Reading aloud is something we did with our children and and now with our grandchildren. 


The interview went beyond reading to kids with the reminder that there are benefits to reading to our elders, something I also did with my mother as her dementia deepened. 

It also brought to mind a bible study at the beginning of my ministry. In 1980 we moved from downtown Toronto to outport Newfoundland, a culture shock in many ways. In one of the five communities I served we began a study with eight to ten women and it turned out that several of the middle-aged and older members were virtually illiterate. When I first suggested we go around the circle to read scripture passages I was met with embarrassed silence from those who could barely read. It hadn't occurred to me that this might be the case, although I discovered through the years that semi-literacy is more prevalent than we might imagine. 

We persevered mainly because of the encouragement of the other members. Getting through the passages could be laborious, yet we managed, and our studies became a remedial reading course as well. The sense of accomplishment for the women and the affirmation of other participants was quite moving. 

God was powerfully present in those moments. 

Thoughts?  

Forests and faith in today's Groundling blog
  https://groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.com/2019/03/forests-and-faith.html

5 comments:

Frank said...

David,
As a bible study participant at Bridge Street for over twenty years, where both of us were involved, the rewards of reading aloud together can be amply demonstrated. Fellowship and mutual support, as well a growth in faith, have expanded to the point where we now number 12-13 regulars at 8am on Wednesday mornings.
Of course I can also recall the wonderful experiences of having dad/daughter time every evening reading aloud, sometimes together, with our daughter before sleep time.
Thanks for the memories.
Frank

David Mundy said...

Thanks for your thoughts Frank. That morning group has involved such thoughtful, dedicated folk. I'm glad it's growing!

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