Six New Things – Week of March 10, 2025
In the midst of daily chaos and endless worry, take a breath. Let nature renew your soul. Let your imagination take flight. Find vision and fuel for prophetic witness in this shattered world.
ONE
‘An exciting journey into nature… blossoms into a meditation on how our unique personalities and ways of being help create a more vibrant and beautiful world’ as ‘the forest reveals that everyone – including those of us with disabilities and neurodivergence – belong to nature.’ Together a Forest: Drawing Connections between Nature’s Diversity (Henry Holt) helps us see that, ‘there is no one right way for a mind, body, or person to be.’
A whole Sunday school or middle-grades gathering in one book!
Find more in our Identity & Diversity lib guide.
TWO
The stunning illustrations and playful invitation of Let’s Be Bees (Neal Porter) – brilliant follow-up to Have You Ever Seen a Flower? (Chronicle) – from Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Shawn Harris, invites Littles into imagination and revelry – and connection with fun-loving adults (or youth!) and all sorts of other-than-human relatives.
Find more in our Spiritual Practices: Celtic & Creation-Oriented
THREE
Some of Building Faith’s VBS & Summer Camp Curriculum Top Picks for 2025 – like Waves of Wonder (Shine) include outdoor themes and activities. Others focus on imagining Another Way (Chalice). Some focus on specific Bible stories, like Egypt: Joseph’s Journey from Prison to Palace (Group), while others build up community, by Learning Together: Celebrations (Spirit & Truth).
There are a few others gems in the list. Find other great options in our VBS/VBC lib guide.
FOUR
It’s still Women’s History Month. While significant figures attempt to erase women’s history – along with all other history that includes or uplifts anyone other than cis, hetero, white, rich males – Social Justice Books has a fantastic line-up of suggestions to read a A-Book-Every-Day.
Find more great reads in our Confronting Misogyny lib guide.
FIVE
As we lift up Women’s History, Global History unravels – here at home and around the world. For those traveling Lent with a focus on the Holy Land, Understanding Palestine & Israel (Olive Branch) may be a good read for adults while teachers of younger ones gain insight from Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices (Rethinking Schools).
Find additional support for these challenging and so-critical discussions in our Israel & Palestine lib guide.
SIX
When all of it is too much – and it is too much, already – Richard Rohr offers the wisdom of the prophets in The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage (Penguin), and ‘a path of enlightenment for anyone seeking a compassionate way of living in a hurting world’.
Find more for Care for Caregivers and to support your own Prophetic Witness in our lib guides.
