Six New Things – Week of May 3, 2021
In these are rapidly changing times, challenges can seem overwhelming. Anxiety, depression, fear, and trauma are mounting. Here are resources to help you take care of the young, the vulnerable, the church, and your self.
One
Help your Littles develop:
- courage – What Do You Say to a Dragon? (Tyndale) – helps kids face fear, express emotions, and change the power dynamic of anxiety
- gratitude – 1-Minute Gratitude Journal: A Kid’s Guide to Finding the Good in Every Day (Thomas Nelson) – an interactive guide to help children reflect on what is good in their world and develop gratitude
- personal awareness – Jacob’s School Play: Starring He, She, and They (Magination) – Jacob’s school play unexpectedly has the class struggling with identity and what it means to be “he”, “she”, or “they”
- creative resilience and confidence – Try It Again Time (Free Spirit) – reassures toddlers that making mistakes is okay and helps them build resilience
Find similar resources in our Hope & Resilience and Contemplative & Mental Health Practices for Children & Youth lib guides
Two
Ground personal growth with Bible-based stories for children from Flyaway:
- Hiding Baby Moses follows the familiar story through the eyes of Moses’ courageous sister;
- Amy-Jill Levine’s retelling of The Marvelous Mustard Seed is now available in Spanish: El Maravilloso Grano de Mostaza shows how one small seed – just like one small child – carries a world of potential.
Find comparable resources in our Bible & Prayer with Young People lib guide.
Three
Be sure adults are healthy and grounded by providing excellent pastoral care – without over-taxing yourself!
- The Caring Congregation Ministry Implementation Guide (Abingdon) offers a full range of resources to develop congregational care ministry teams in any size congregation.
- Develop awareness, resilience, and skill for walking beside those struggling with depression and anxiety with Hope Always: How to Be a Force for Life in a Culture of Suicide (Tyndale).
- Increase awareness of the individual and communal ramifications and manifestations of Trauma with the latest edition of Oneing (The Center for Action and Contemplation); available in paperback or download.
- Gain insight and compassion for the most elderly through the unique perspective of nonagenarian Richard L. Morgan‘s, Light of Setting Suns: Reflecting on Realities and Mysteries at Ninety Years of Life (Upper Room).
Further develop your In-Reach & Congregational Care Teams with resources from our lib guide.
Four
Be sure to take care of yourself, too!!
- Isolation is a leading cause of depression, anxiety, and burn-out. So, this one might be just for you (though sharing it might not be a bad idea!): The Friendship Initiative: 31 Days of Loving and Connecting Like Jesus is a Gospel-based journey toward developing stronger and more loving relationships.
- Improv Therapy Group has developed a curriculum just for clergy, using improv to explore emotional intelligence, resilience, and increased creativity – good for working with members and co-workers.
- Jump into The Ministry Lab’s new Round Table discussion, each 1st Tuesday of the month at noon. We’ll tackle hot-button issues, starting June 3rd, with REOPENING. Everyone is an expert; anyone can bring questions! Read more about it and get the registration link here.
Five
Reopening is the time to Reimagine Church (find lots of resources in our aptly named lib guide!). What can we become? What can we leave behind? Where is God calling us???
Some of the latest inspirations include:
- Faith-Based Organizing: A Congregational Planning Resource for Addressing Poverty (Fortress): includes information on racism and the culture of poverty, as well as activities and specific forms to help planning teams;
- And He Saw That It Was Good: How Your Creative Life Can Change a Broken World (Waterbrook): pairs analysis of Black artistic expression with a particular view of Christian faith revealing how recognizing one’s (individual or collective) place in God’s creative story empowers taking a stand for a more just and beautiful world;
- No Longer Strangers: Transforming Evangelism with Immigrant Communities (Eerdmans): shares perspectives from immigrants, refugees, pastors and theologians to assist in navigating the power dynamics embedded in differences of culture, race and language;
- The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis and The Center for Action and Contemplation are launching a new podcast: Love. Period.: explore new visions of Christianity with love and justice at their core through conversations with artists, activists, and faith leaders “revealing the transformative potential – and urgent need – for radical love in our times”.
Six
Reimagine what summer might contain with new takes on some old favorites:
- Illustrated Ministry’s Compassion Camp: Changing the World with Lovingkindness is perfect for in-person, virtual or hybrid experiences. Order yours now and download it as soon as it’s available. Find an info flier and a free sample here.
- A Sanctified Art’s Summer Worship Series: I’ve Been Meaning to Ask… is now available!! It looks powerful. Check out these free samples:
- Friends of the Boundary Waters have launched a new website with helpful tools for planning your camping trip, including:
- an easy-t0-use route-finding tool
- an extensive library of resources to help with everything from:
- meal planning to navigation skills
- traveling with kids in the BWCA
- BWCA trip-planning
- and more
Reimagine, enrich, take time for yourself, and be well, dear colleagues!
