Banned Books Week highlights the value of free and open access to information and brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas.  

On Sunday, October 1, we will join with Books and Books, our local, independent bookstore to kick-off Banned Book Week. We will gather with community members and leaders at 11:00 a.m. for worship; and then those who wish are invited to walk from the church to Books and Books bookstore in support of open access to knowledge, information, and all perspectives – in essence, FREADOM.

At the bookstore that afternoon, there will be presentations by authors reading from their banned books, as well as information about how to resist the unprecedented number of recent book banning’s in the State of Florida, and throughout the nation. 

We know that knowledge is power; ignorance is dangerous, breeding hate and division. As a denomination built around religious freedom, we also know the importance of people having the right to read or not read what they want—but entitled to make those choices. To protect those freedoms, books and information must remain available.