Six New Things – Week of January 18, 2021
One
Who can lead us toward healing and reconciliation? A little child! Let Taylor Rouanzion‘s Rainbow Boy (Beaming) light the way, reminding us of simple delight and the joy of diversity.
Two
Struggling with where or how to lead in these divisive times? Finding Steady Ground can strengthen spirits to resist and thrive while Frank Schaeffer speaking on American Evangelicalism and Its Roman Catholic Allies and Dr. Aana Marie Vigen’s question, “Jan. 6 Was the Whitest Epiphany: White Christians, Where Do We Go from Here?“, might inspire discussions and preaching.
Three
Once you find steady ground, Rev. Jia Starr Brown‘s 2020 Journey to Freedom: Embracing God’s Cultural Mosaic of People: Intersectionality, is replete with resources for worship, study and engagement. Get inspired for February (Black History Month) or Lent as you read all about it here; or go directly to the videos here. Use 2020 videos as inspiration for participating in the whole of 2021 – the dates and themes are to be announced soon!
Keep your teens and tweens in the anti-racism conversation with Patrisse Khan-Cullors’ and asha bandele’s When They Call You a Terrorist Young Adults Edition: A Story of Black Lives Matter and the Power to Change the World (Wednesday Books).
Four
Speaking of Lent: everyone’s unveiling this year’s resources:
The Thoughtful Christian’s Growing in God’s Love Story Bibles are on sale to support sharing their Last Things Holy Week Curricula (also available as a download) and Easter Surprises curriculum.
Sparkhouse’s Holy Moly Sunday school 4-lesson unit for Holy Week and Easter encourages creativity and imagination while exploring those important Bible stories.
The ELCA World Hunger’s 40 Days of Giving supports disciplines of study, prayer, reflection, and giving.
Rev. Dr. Rick Rouse is offering a complimentary on-line session for groups of 12 or more who are reading his book, The World Is about to Turn: Mending a Nation’s Broken Faith (Chalice).
Cheri L. Mills offers Lent of Liberation: Confronting the Legacy of American Slavery (WJK), which reflects on themes of exodus, redemption, discipline, and repentance in a Lenten devotional format that functions as a group study and sermon series inspiration. Access a free excerpt and free digital resources, which include a group guide, sermon series guide, and images for use during worship, study and promotion.
Augsburg Fortress shares their Worship and Music guidebooks for Lent and Easter preparations as well as Making Sense of the Cross, which includes a Participant Book, Leader Guide, and DVD.
Five
If you’re still getting ready for Epiphany 3, look no further than the tried and true Rev. Elsa Cook, who habitually provides thoughtfully creative liturgical and musical elements (and sometimes whole liturgies) in her Cooking with Elsa Blog. See this week’s Pandemic Prayers for Epiphany 3.
Six
As congregations prepare for annual meetings and budget creation, David Heetland is two-thirds of a stewardship triple whammy: for easiest and quickest access, check out his article, 6 Reasons Your Church Needs a Planned Giving Program; for greater depth, see his recent release, Creating Generous Congregations (Wipf & Stock). Pair these with the MN Conference UCC’s Cultivating Generous Congregations webinar, and your fiscal year will be off to a bang-up start!
