Ground Rules

Meetings and Hosting

• We meet every two months, and we rotate locations.
• The host for that meeting:
  • Picks the date, checking with members on what works
  • Provides food and drinks
  • Sets a loose agenda for the discussion. Nothing too rigid, just enough structure to keep us on track.
• If you can’t host when it’s your turn, just swap with someone. No stress, just communicate early.
• Hosts should send details and reminders ahead of time so it’s easy for people to commit and attend.
  • Details should include
    • confirmed book,
    • location,
    • date and time
    • agenda

Book Selection

• We’ll try to choose most or all of the books for the year in advance so everyone can plan.
• Everyone should suggest books. We’ll vote and go with the majority.
• We’re aiming for books that support personal or spiritual growth, spark reflection, or lead to good conversation.

Meeting Roles

• The host is the facilitator for the conversation.
• A timekeeper role rotates each meeting to help us stay roughly on schedule.
• We’ll also assign a note taker, or use AI to record and summarize key takeaways and favorite insights. These notes will be posted on our website.

Participation and Discussion

• Please try to read or listen to the book or assigned sections before we meet.
• If you didn’t finish, you are still welcome to come, but keep in mind that we want to keep our conversations centered around the assigned reading.
• Give everyone space to share. Respect different perspectives and experiences. No one is wrong for what they think or feel. If the conversation gets too heated or opinionated, anyone can chime in to refocus the conversation.
• While we want to honor the healing through the conversations, we also want to keep the book club meetings on topic. If we get too far off topic, anyone can chime in and refocus us, and we can revisit those juicy topics after the meeting, during our social meetings, or through our online discussions.

Attendance and Communication

• Our goal is participation and connection, so attendance matters.
• We all know the work that goes into hosting an event, so check your schedules carefully before agreeing to a date, and make every effort to attend the meeting.
• In the event that you are not able to make a meeting, please communicate this as early as possible.
• If you are not able to make a meeting, you can either:
  • Not attend and not read the book
  • Not attend, but still read the book and discuss it on the website
  • Request to reschedule to a new date

Purpose and Vibe

• This book club is about growing together, learning from each other, and actually enjoying the process.
• Curiosity, honesty, encouragement, and open minds are the baseline.
• We can agree or disagree with a book and still pull value from it.
• Food, laughter, and real conversation are always part of the plan.