Six New Things – Week of February 8, 2021

One

Yolanda Pierce weaves together an “everyday womanist theology rooted in… scriptures, experiences…, and … Black women’s lives” by “teasing out the tensions of race, spirituality, trauma, freedom, resistance, and memory” in her narrative, In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit (Broadleaf).

Find more stories to help families share the History of Race in America in our Children & Families Anti-Racism lib guide.

Two

Help your families pass down faith with Simple Prayers for Children (Beaming); share in meaningful story-telling with 5 Ways to Retell a Bible Story; and embody God’s story with Michel Gribble-Dates’ The Lord’s Prayer yoga download.

Find other story-shaping resources in our Sharing Stories Time Great Idea; and find Perspectives & Stories from Black history to share with your Tweens & Teens.

Three

Continue your Black History Month observance with The Work of the People’s curated film lists, including a selection from Barbara Holmes, in their Listen/Reconcile/C0-Create series.

Find all sorts of great things to watch, study, discuss, and enjoy in Fast Company’s 91 Movies and TV Shows to Stream in Black History Month.

Learn about Black history-makers in Beacon’s two recent publications, With Her Fist Raised: Dorothy Pitman Hughes and the Transformative Power of Black Community Activism and Julian Bond’s Time to Teach: A History of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, written by the activist.

Find other resources for learning Black history in our always-updating History of Race in America and MLK and the Civil Rights Era lib guides for adults.

Four

In case you still have gaps in your Lenten study plans – resources abound:

Make life simple by contacting Sandy Kellen to get your Lent and Easter Family Faith Formation Toolkits link from The Ministry Lab, The MN Conference UCC, Danger Boat Productions, Doing Good Together, and artists!! The toolkits are fantastic, creative, and free to all (you don’t have to be UCC to share them with your folks!!).

OR:

Hook your youth up with a Lenten Devotional App or find intergenerational options connected to Courage: Jesus and the Call to Brave Faith (Abingdon), which includes a DVD and leader’s guide.

Five

For Lenten worship:

A Sanctified Art offers bundles or individual parts that span devotionals, sermon planning, and worship; and music ideas consistent with their Again & Again theme.

Rev. Elsa has cooked up a lovely at-home Lenten Tennebrae, with simple liturgical elements and kid-friendly activities.

Find more possibilities in Churches Uniting in Christ’s Lenten and Easter Resource List.

Six

And, since all of this is exhausting, please, dear colleagues, take care of yourself:

Krista Tippet’s conversation with Andrew Solomon, Parker Palmer and Anita Barrows digs into The Soul in Depression; Padraig O’Tuama’s introduction to it is worth a read, all by itself.

Krista introduced us to Katherine May just a week or two ago. May’s book, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times (Penguin) inspired our Rest Fest Sabbath Great Idea.

And soothe your soul with some creative conversations about love. What Does Love Look Like? invites your young ones to imagine the giant concept of love – and put it into words: another story definitely worth sharing.

Seven

Help us help you! Please complete our five question survey. We’re pulling together leaders from our four judicatories to create a network of innovators who share accountability and affirmations as they cross-pollinate great ideas and best resources. Tell us how to make these Co-Lab Feedback cohort groups as accessible and worthwhile as possible!