Six New Things – Week of April 12, 2021
One
Words completely fail to express our grief, terror, frustration, and anger over the senseless killing of Daunte Wright. In the gap between feeling utterly useless and desperately needing to make some contribution toward justice, we offer the following resources: This article lists opportunities to support Wright’s loved ones and community; Michelle S. Phelps‘ extensive research on Minneapolis policing is informative and potentially transformative; find additional study resources in our Policing & Prisons and Current Contexts & Conversations lib guides; the Healing Our City Virtual Prayer Tent, revived for community support during the Derek Chauvin trial, offers online prayer every morning.
We’ll continue to update responsive resources in our Community Opportunities and Congregational Life pages.
Two
Support young ones navigating grief, trauma or loss – and encourage empathy, kindness, and compassion with A Flood of Kindness (Worthy Kids); bring adults into the same conversations with How Not to Be Afraid (Broadleaf).
Three
Dig into the ongoing work of racial equity and justice with the book, video, and study guide, How to Fight Racism (Zondervan); get to the heart of inequity with Redistributing the Poor: Jails, Hospitals, and the Crisis of Law and Fiscal Austerity (Oxford); and move toward healing some of the divides -within individuals, faith communities, and the world, with Krista Tippet’s OnBeing interview with Serene Jones, Grace in a Fractured World.
Four
Nip inequity in the bud early with children’s books that encourage positive self-image and belonging, like Blossom and Bud (Magination), which helps kids love themselves and You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves (Workman).
Five
Let yourself remember that you don’t have to be – or do – everything with some contemplative practices geared to renew and refresh, like The Wild Land within: Cultivating Wholeness through Spiritual Practice (Broadleaf); Opening to God: Lectio Divina and Life as Prayer (Intervarsity); and for your Littles: Breathe: A Child’s Guide to Ascension, Pentecost, and the Growing Time (Paraclete).
Six
Which might also fit under the category of “Renewing Worship”: an essential place to develop belonging, inclusion, equity, and hope. To that end: look into Creative Ideas for Worship with All Abilities (Morehouse) and Behold What You Are: Becoming the Body of Christ (Church) to foster helpful conversations and potential, innovations.
Find links to hybrid worship webinars in our Blue Whirl Webinar page and other innovative approaches to worship in our Post-Covid Church lib guide.
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I pray God fills you with grace that overflows to your people and your communities in these on-going days of painful disparity, challenging division, and breaking open. Christ is with you – and in the midst of it all – dear colleagues.
