Six New Things – Week of March 8, 2021
One
Holy Week is nearly here!
Glennys Nellist builds on her ‘Twas the Evening of Christmas work with ‘Twas the Morning of Easter (Zonderkidz), celebrating Christ’s resurrection through the eyes of Mary Magdalene using the familiar language and rhythm of the Clement C. Moore classic and illustrated by Elena Selivanova; comes with a free activity packet.
Two excellent blogs help us engage all ages in worship and observances of Holy Week: See Sparkhouse’s Including Children in Holy Week and Rev. Elsa Cook’s plethora of engaging Holy Week resources, Holy Week in Coronatide, especially, This Year: An Easter Pageant for a Pandemic Year.
And for one excellent piece of music in your Easter morning celebrations, don’t miss the American Lutheran Church Musicians’ Virtual Easter hymn, Jesus Christ Is Risen Today; all copyrights will be waived!
Two
Which means it’s been about a year:
Mark our one-year anniversary of Covid restrictions and limitations with Pandemic Prayers: Devotions and Prayers for a Crisis (Cascade) for personal devotions and corporate worship.
Illustrated Ministry shares intergenerational tools for processing this landmark with free coloring pages to share widely.
Three
So looking back, we look ahead:
Mary Lou Redding encourages us to see that God Was with Me All Along: A Guide for Capturing Your Memories and Telling Your Story (Upper Room) while Jess Zimmerman encourages us to take a new look at Women and Other Monsters: Building a New Mythology (Beacon).
Four
To hear new stories:
Listening to the Movement: Essays on New Growth and New Challenges in Restorative Justice (Cascade) joins Rabbi Leila Gal Berner‘s Listening to the Heart of Genesis: A Contemplative Path. (Cascade) in encouraging communal renewal through careful attention to stories told and retold through lenses of justice and equity.
Five
See with new eyes:
Justice and equity become more sincere, compelling, and gracious when we practice what it means to “live in Christ” and see the world through Love’s eyes with the 40 hope-filled and challenging practices found in Every Thing Is Sacred: 40 Practices and Reflections on the Universal Christ, based on Richard Rohr’s The Universal Christ (now available in paperback; both Convergent).
Six
And journey into the future.
That’s right: summer is just around the corner and Augsburg Fortress’ VBS, River of Life, guides children through learning about the work to which God calls us in the world, highlighting how ELCA World Hunger partners with neighbors around the world in clean water projects. A guide to adapting the program for home use will be available later in March.
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Check out our new Co-Lab Feedback Loops: our Spring Cohort is a general-interest support and inspiration group for all congregational leaders (who are members of The Ministry Lab) and our Anti-Racism Co-Lab Feedback Loop exists to support leaders actively working on personal awareness, their own white fragility, and/or dismantling racism within themselves or their communities. Sign up to join the General Group here and the Anti-Racism Group here.
