Six New Things – Week of September 13, 2021

This week it’s all about community: dreaming what it might be; finding joy in its thriving; acknowledging its current realities; reshaping it to benefit all; strengthening it through healthier families; and preparing for God’s presence within it.

ONE

Send your Littles to sleep soothed by a bedtime lullaby, and As Babies Dream (Magination) about beloved diversity, inspire adults to work toward A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community (Broadleaf).

TWO

For more specificity, help folx discover the joy in Turning Ourselves Inside Out: Thriving Christian Communities (Fortress).

For further ideas on helping your community thrive in these transformative times, see this week’s Great Idea, Faith in a Diaspora and/or find resources for Reimagining Church here.

THREE

To open eyes about current realities in our communities, see White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the Unites States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall (Beacon) – the first book to show that immigration laws in the US have always been motivated by racial exclusion and the desire to save the idea of a white America; and If God Still Breathes, Why Can’t I? Black Lives Matter and Biblical Authority (Eerdmans), Dr. Angela Parker’s expose of the white supremacist authoritarianism behind white male biblical scholarship.

FOUR

If putting social progress and inclusion at the center of the national conversation is what you’re after, you may need to put Faith on Trial (Skinner House) on your reading list.

FIVE

Healthier families build healthier communities:

Give your Littles support in navigating sibling rivalries with How to Return a Monster (Beaming) and help them work through real trauma – and become better equipped to help others – with Big Bear Was Not the Same (Beaming), which includes tips from a family therapist on how to talk about trauma with children.

See our lib guide, Talking with Children and Families about Grief & Trauma, for additional support. We have one for Tweens & Teens, Differently Abled Persons, and Young Adults & Adults, as well.

SIX

As we move toward God taking on human flesh to walk in community with us: Advent resources are already appearing. Promising options, in no particular order, include: