Six New Things – Week of March 23, 2026

Ancient and contemporary prophets urge us into the public square full of moral clarity and calls for God’s justice: elders, youth, and children – together, we repent, repair, and shift the moral compass towards justice.

ONE

Begin with repentance: repudiating ancestral legacies of harm:

• Adults: Dismantling White Christian Supremacy: Faith Beyond the Status Quo* (Pilgrim) critiques, ‘the legacy of European Christians who aspired to create a ‘city on a hill”, and ‘white American congregations [who] view their call to be saviors of their neighbors and communities’.
• Children: Attack Bunnies (Beaming) – two public-spirited bunnies know exactly what to do to save their friends – until they learn their first impression was wrong. ‘How will they make things right?’

*This week’s Public Theology Great Idea shares quick reads, reflection questions, and invitations to public actions aimed at shifting communities toward compassion as a cultural norm.

TWO

Move toward repair, embracing ancestral practices that lead to New Life:

• Adults: Challenge ‘the dominant, white-led theology that cloaks its own ancestor veneration, while seeking to keep others from the liberation that could come from their own’, with Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us, and Hold Us (Broadleaf).
• Adults & Youth: ‘For all that bewilders and bedevils us, the desert mothers and fathers can help us face our circumstances and ourselves.’ Be uplifted by, The Way of the Desert Elders: How the Wisdom of Ancient Christians Sustains Us Today (Broadleaf).
• Youth: Dig more deeply into transformational conversations and practices with Reach (MennoMedia), which ‘invites youth to grow in faith that is active, rooted, and responsive’:
  • Sacred Rhythms: Living Faith in Daily Practice
  • Whole People Holy People: Faith and Mental Health

Sara Thomsen’s beautiful song, Gone and Here, is a perfect accompaniment to these discussions.

THREE

Rest in the wonder of interconnection:

• Adults & Youth: Watch and Wonder: Birding as a Spiritual Practice (Broadleaf), which introduces birdwatching as ‘a delight, a deepening… [that] puts us in touch with the ineffable, and …draws us toward self-denial for the sake of love.’
• Children: Draw Littles into this ‘joyful observance of the power of the natural world’ through Melissa Sweet’s beautiful illustration of Mary Oliver’s poem, Goldfinches (Viking Books for Young Readers).

FOUR

Develop emotional awareness and resilience:

• Children: ‘When all seems lost, hope finds a way’ in Sparrow’s Easter Garden (Beaming): Sparrow is discouraged, hopeless, and ready to give up on her overgrown garden – until her friends step in and help. Will the garden be ready by Easter?
• Youth: Phoenix (Dial) following a divorce, a teen discovers new hope in a ‘nearly dead’ horse; ‘for anyone navigating major life changes and grappling with learning to forgive’.
• Parents & Children: Because of a Shoe (Knopf Books for Young Readers) confirms, ‘nothing can come between the loving bond of a mother and their child. Not even a shoe.’
• All Ages: Put Your Records On (Rocky Pond) – inspired by Corinne Bailey Rae’s hit song – this picture book ‘celebrates music’s unique power to soothe or energize us when we need it most’.

FIVE

Lead into New Life:

• Freedom and responsibility:
  • Adults: Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire (Crown) – follows author Simukai Chigudu from the ‘shadows of Africa’s struggles for liberation…[through] the tangled threads of personal and political history’ questioning, ‘What does it mean to be truly free?’
  • Youth: When Tomorrow Burns (Random House for Young Readers), a novel ‘about fate and friendship’ amidst a Seattle on fire and middle school turmoil.
  • Children: Peg’s Egg (Beaming) – a ‘hilarious story about making a mistake and learning to laugh at yourself’ that affirms our responsibility for caring for others.
• Female leadership and power:
  • Adults: We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America (Ballantine) – ‘a fresh look at American history through the eyes of women… who demanded that the country live up to the promises made 250 years ago in the Declaration of Independence’.
  • Youth: Girls Like Me: Celebrate Real-Life Rebel Girls All Around the World (DK Children) – ‘hear from 70+ girls from 46 different countries’ who ‘remind readers that being authentically you is what makes you special’.
• Queer Inclusion
  • Adults & Youth: A Black Queer History of the United States (Beacon) – ‘The first-ever Black history to center queer voices… [tracing] the lives of LGBTQ+ Black Americans from slavery to present day.’
  • Adults working with Youth: A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth, Updated Edition (WJK) – ‘helps pastors and church leaders… understand how an affirming stance toward LGBTQIA people can positively affect the day-to-day experience of teenagers in a church setting’.

SIX

Wrap ’em up and send ’em back out with inspired worship for all:

• Adults Who Work with Children: Wiggles, Giggles, and Pokes: Children in Worship (Parson’s Porch & Company) – from Minneapolis-based pastor Rev. Heather Roth Johnson, this book is ‘for churches of all sizes and traditions’ and ‘offers a pastoral, practical roadmap for creating worship experiences where God’s people – all ages, all abilities – are welcomed, loved, discipled, and sent.’
• Adults (Preachers): Good Writing: 36 Ways to Improve Your Sentences (Avery) – ‘These essential rules for persuasive language work on any type of writing, and anyone can learn them quickly.’ Apply liberally if you struggle with sermons!!