Six New Things – Week of November 11, 2024

Some of us are wondering how to minister and show compassion and hold diverse perspectives together. And some of us are heading right back to business-as-usual. I’ve avoided posting because I can’t get a grip on where we are as a church or as a nation; resourcing suggestions feel either apocalyptic or trite. But here we go:

ONE

Diana Butler Bass has been a prophetic voice in the lead-up to this election. She hasn’t changed her tune in the aftermath. In, I’m Not Disappointed: On ‘Both Sides’ and President Lincoln and Dr. King, she considers, ‘the dangers of misdiagnosed disappointment, both sides, and the dream of justice’. If you are beyond ‘disappointed’ in this election, her wisdom may support you.

Dr. Walter Brueggeman echoes Bass’ sentiments with biblical context in, Beyond the Fetal Position, in which he encourages us to move from self-pity to ‘back at it’ as he assures us, ‘You are not the only one. You are not alone. You have allies and comrades and colleagues in the hard combat you face.’; and reminds us that, ‘Elijah is sent back into the risky fray where he must oppose the royal house and its lethal posturing.’

TWO

The planet has been my primary concern: it has reached the limits of its resilience; regressing is not an option.

I found hope in Katherine Hayhoe’s Talking Climate post this week, where Christiana Figueres, the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and author of the Paris Agreement, shared clean energy Good News that was actually good, Not-So-Good News that was balanced by her Good News, and an extremely helpful What You Can Do, which introduces us to Plum Village’s course, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, based on their book of the same name, and their podcast, The Way Out Is In, which is, ‘filled with invaluable teachings and guidance for being present in our world today‘.

The post also led me to Plum Village’s Brother Phapp Huu and Jo Confino’s new book, Being with Busyness: Zen Ways to Transform Overwhelm and Burnout (Penguin), which offers, ‘ways to practice… authentic, loving, and courageous communication’.

Find more resources like this in our Mindfulness lib guide.

THREE

I found encouragement and resolve amongst my EcoFaith Summit 2025 Planning Team colleagues. Our discussion was grounding and nourishing for my weary soul. I hope you can find companions with whom you can share your pain, grief, and anxiety.

Our keynote presenter for Summit 2025 is Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda. In preparation for the Summit, we’ll read her Building a Moral Economy: Pathways for People of Courage (Fortress), which, ‘explicitly faces the paradox of enormous moral challenges such as climate change held together with infinite hope’, while ‘welcoming readers into the vibrant global movement to build life-giving forms of economic life’ and developing a ‘sense of empowered agency’.

Learn about the Summit here and watch for news of a reading group – likely starting in January.

FOUR

For many years activist and theologian Valarie Kaur has been leading a Revolutionary Love movement. She’s condensed her first book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love (Penguin) and more recent Sage Warrior: Wake to Oneness, Practice Pleasure, Choose Courage, Become Victory (Penguin), into a lovely rhyming-meter children’s book. World of Wonder (Kokila) includes a Learning Hub for Parents and a Learning Hub for Educators, which include experiences, rituals, practices and discussion prompts for home and class.

Find more on Faith, Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness in our lib guide.

FIVE

Take your pick: our work on all fronts of justice has gotten exponentially greater with this election. One primary anxiety is on behalf of our children.

Loneliness and mental health concerns were already on the rise; bullying and bodily violence may become more common; all children, especially already marginalized and vulnerable children, have been and will be searching for safe spaces. Love, Auntie: Parables and Prayers for Sacred Belonging (Herald), invites us to ‘sit alongside the wisdom-bearing of Black women, lovingly known as Aunties, as they carve out space for doubts, questions, and spiritual expressions that honors intersecting identities of race, gender, and class’.

Courageous Companions: Reimagining Discernment about Mentors for Youth (BuildingFaith) invites us to break through our assumptions of the ‘perfect’ youth minister or mentor and ‘see who’s really here’ in this ‘rag-tag family of faithful adults, young and old’.

Find more support for Mentors & Volunteers in our lib guide.

SIX

Preaching and Prayer will be the backbone of our lives together in the months and years to come.

I cannot commend to you strongly enough the brilliant, beautiful, and accessible Preaching, Praying the 2024 Election with Equity in Mind resource compiled by Rev. Anna Kendig-Flores, Antiracism Coordinator for the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area. Rev. Anna shares deep wisdom on how to talk about Hope, Love, Peace or Unity, Anger, Despair, Grief, Courage, and Justice. Poems, letters, and short essays support her insights. She also encourages education around spiritual bypassing and trauma responses. She includes Scripture, liturgy resources, and prayers.

Dr. Walter Brueggeman was commissioned by Global Health Ministries, to create, Preaching Reflections for Advent, which weave together the story of Elisha, the witness of Jesus, and our call as the church. Use them as a preaching or bible study resource; share the images in worship and social media. The reflections address the timeless question: ‘Who is our neighbor?’ and assert that, ‘Jesus’ birth in a barn reveals God’s answer to that question.’

Find more in our Justice & Lament, Prophetic Witness, and Advent & Christmas – Sermon Prep lib guides.

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The Ministry Lab is in a time of transition. You can learn about some of our exciting plans here. We would greatly appreciate your input as we discern our future. You can share that here. Watch for upcoming opportunities:

  • Resource give-away in mid-January
  • New email & mailing address (coming soon!)
  • Refined and more accessible lib guides and website

Thank you for your patience in this transformational time. A sleeker Six New Things will post twice a month (rather than weekly) from November through January. I may not be as available for consults, questions, or emails as I block-off dates to allow for the physical labor of moving and the emotional space to complete necessary administrative tasks.