Route of St. James focus of reading group

“Camino de Santiago: Following the Route of St. James” is the title of the November program for the Classics in Religion Reading Group, which meets in the Community Room of Kingston Library, 55 Franklin St.

The group meets Wednesdays on Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

For two months in the summer and fall of 2016, Dorcinda Knauth and her brother followed the “Way of St. James” across the Pyrenees into the Basque region of France and Spain to Galicia in Spain. While their goal was the famous cathedral Santiago de Compostela, their pilgrimage was part of a trek taken by thousands of peoples of all ages, faiths and intentions, reported in many books of both religious and secular character.

Santiago (“Saint James”) is the legendary burial place of one of Jesus’ apostles, whose body was taken to the northwestern corner of Spain in the seventh century. During the five sessions in November, the reading group will hear Dorcina Knauth’s report, complete with illustrations and stories of her fellow pilgrims. She will welcome reports by followers of other pilgrim ways.

Knauth will lead the reading group in November. A Kingston High School graduate, she holds a doctorate in ethnomusicology, especially Islamic music, from the University of Pittsburgh. She is music director at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Kingston, and also directs the German singing societies, Mennerchor and Damenchor, and the Catskill Mountain Gamelan.

For one hour each week, a local religious leader will make selections for reading aloud and discussion. The public is invited to any of these sessions, and the library is totally accessible

Diverse sources are used for the reading group. Previous readings have included Buddhist, Jewish, Sufi, Native American, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Confucian, Taoist and Christian works, as well as texts in Existentialism, Jungianism, American Transcendentalism, Schools of Meditation, Process Theology, Gnosticism and Pragmatism. Library resources, inexpensive editions or copies are distributed for participants. No advanced reading is required.

Send an email to Albert R. Ahlstrom at aahlstrom@ hvc.rr.com or call (845) 3348404 for more information.