Six New Things – Week of August 22, 2022
Hope springs eternal! Six amazing resources to re-member hope, inspire perseverance, develop faith, playfully anticipate justice, buoy awareness, and look to the future with joyful expectation.
ONE
How can saving one tree inspire an entire people? The Tree of Hope: The Miraculous Rescue of Puerto Rico’s Beloved Banyan (Beaming) spreads that inspiration to young readers everywhere who are concerned with the planet, nature, their community, and/or tradition. Use the free Educator’s Guide to facilitate conversations about hurricanes and the Banyan Tree.
Help families develop emotional awareness and intergenerational story-sharing with our Belonging of Family (Oct. 04) and Belonging among Elders (Oct. 11) webinars. Learn more here.
TWO
Inspire leaders of different generations with the “Jesus who flipped tables in the temple and led an empire-destabilizing movement for liberation” in Damon Garcia’s The God Who Riots: Taking Back the Radical Jesus (Broadleaf).
Upend white supremacy culture by taking charge of your own schedule and expectations in our Belonging to Self (Sept. 13) webinar. Learn more here.
THREE
If you struggle to find the Holy in the midst of disparity, frustration, and struggle, Rev. Cameron Trimble has literally written the book on Searching for the Sacred: Sixty Meditations on Faith, Hope, and Love (Chalice).
Discover where the Divine meets us in our Belonging with God webinar (Oct. 25). Learn more here.
FOUR
Have some fun gearing up for justice work with The Disparity Trap Board Game. The trailer alone is worth a watch; the game promises to be ‘an easy way to have the hard conversations around race’, and will surely lead to acts of parity!! Pre-order to help fund it ($35).
Develop music skills to overcome disparity and develop Belonging amid Diversity (Nov. 08) in our webinar. Learn more here.
FIVE
For deeper insights to the disparities of supremacy culture, see Patriarchy Blues: Reflections on Manhood (Harper Perennial), which ‘examines the culture of masculinity through the lens of a Black man’.
If you are feeling the brunt of isolation, develop a stronger sense of Belonging in Call with our webinar. Learn more here.
SIX
Between the pandemic, racial reckoning, and a near-history of decline, some communities are critiquing their own cultures – and some now wonder how to move forward. Hybrid Hope: Church of the Future for Churches with a Future (self-published) offers ‘practical advice’ to ‘inspire in [congregations] their own wisdom’.
Move into this hybrid future with joy with our Belonging for Relationship webinar (Nov. 01). Learn more here.
And join a Theater of Public Policy-type debrief of the past 2+ years with ecumenical colleagues wondering how to move forward In the Ways of Jesus at ConNext Summit 2022. Enjoy Gracious Idleness while exploring Scrappy Transformation that is inspiring Radical Belonging in congregations around the state. Register by August 31 for the early bird rate!!
