Six New Things – Week of August 12, 2024
This is so late – but that’s because it’s chock full of wonderfulness, including some resources and opportunities directly from The Ministry Lab – which played a part in the lateness – and which I am super excited to share! I hope you’ll find inspiration and tools for deepening your internal sense of belonging and creating safe spaces of belonging for all God’s children in our congregations and in our nation.
ONE
Spaces of belonging are essential for our flourishing. We supported The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids (Penguin) in its 2021 crowd-sourcing origins and are excited to have this ‘beautifully illustrated Bible storybook’ that will help kids ‘understand the rich diversity of God’s people, emphasizing identity, contemplation, and wonder’, in our library shortly after September 24, 2024!
[Find more ideas for sharing the Bible with Children and Cultivating Gratitude & Joy in our lib guides.]
We’re also excited to share Minneapolis’, Rev. Kelly Chatman’s, To Be Seen and Heard: The Power of Welcome, Safety, and Belonging in the Church (independently published), which ‘challenges the church to transcend harmful traditions, forge new relationships, and celebrate diversity within communities’.
Find more on developing Belonging in our Outreach & Hospitality and Boundaries & Safety lib guides.
TWO
AND – be sure to join us for ConNext Summit 2024 – Beloved Community: Sharing the Stories of All God’s People – October 13-15, 2024 – at Dunrovin Retreat Center.
Local theologians, Rev. Dr. Jia Starr Brown (antiracism systems & curricula), Dr. Kelly Sherman-Conroy (storytelling), and Joe Davis (incorporating the arts; one of Pr. Kelly’s parishioners/mentees!) will lead us in three stellar plenary workshops (so everyone can have small group time with each leader!!) Together we’ll consider how story-sharing can create a space where diversity is embraced, where individuals thrive, and where communities are transformed into resilient, vibrant places of New Life, creativity, and hope.
Learn more and register here.
THREE
We’re also excited to co-present Leah Rampy in conversation about her book, Earth & Soul: Reconnecting Amid Climate Chaos. She’ll be on United’s campus Saturday, September 28, 2024, 4:00-5:00 PM CT. It’s a hybrid event and it’s free, so join in the discussion! Learn more and RSVP here.
Akin to her book is John Phillip Newell’s latest, The Great Search: Turning to Earth and Soul in the Quest for Healing and Home (Wild Goose), which, ‘explores the wisdom of nine prophetic teachers from the past who presciently addressed the search for deeper meaning and a truer relationship with Earth and one another by increasing numbers today living in religious exile from their inherited traditions of faith’.
Find additional Celtic & Creation-Oriented Spiritual Practices in our lib guide.
FOUR
Connect with the soil of your soul as you, ‘dare to cultivate a life overflowing with love, joy, peace, and so much more’ with, Tending the Wild Garden: Growing in the Fruit of the Spirit (WJK), which guides readers to ‘discover anew what it means to be a deeply loved child of God indwelt by God’s Spirit’. Accompanying digital resources include sermon inspirations, a book club guide, and worship, study, and social media images.
We’ve got more Spiritual Practice resources for Family, Small Group, & Congregation in our lib guide.
FIVE
Foster a place of belonging for all God’s children through gracious pastoral care. Feeling Your Way Through Grief: A Companion for Life After Loss (Upper Room) is ‘an invitation to embrace the complexities of loss, find solace in genuine emotions, and embark on a faithful journey toward healing’. Reflection questions invite emotional exploration as a gentle guide along the journey of grief.
Pastors are rarely the go-to for sex therapy, but a little awareness might not hurt. Authored by two certified sex therapists who are ‘passionate about good sex’, Desire: An Inclusive Guide to Navigating Libido Differences in Relationships (Beacon), can offer some insights via a ‘radically inclusive, sex-positive guide’.
Find more Pastoral Care support in our Grief, Death, & Dying and Marriage & Partnerships lib guides.
SIX
Speaking of ‘radical inclusion’, A Journey Called Hope: Today’s Immigrant Stories and the American Dream (Chalice), ‘shares the stories of immigrants from around the world’ as it ‘explores how we can share our planet with the understanding that it is a matter of human dignity for all people to have a safe place to call home.’ Author Rick Rouse, is able to join book study groups via Zoom; learn more here.
In order for America to live into this historical aspiration of welcome and inclusion, democracy needs to thrive. The Court v. The Voters: The Troubling Story of How the Supreme Court Has Undermined Voting Rights (Beacon), provides ‘an urgent and gripping look at the erosion of voting rights and its implications for democracy, told through the stories of 9 Supreme Court decisions—and the next looming case’.
Find resources, tools, and practices to navigate the coming election season in The 2024 Election Season Toolkit (Faith+Lead), our own Census, Elections, & Voting lib guide, and get inspired by our Get Out the Vote!! Great Idea.
