Six New Things – Week of September 28, 2026
Listening across generations, experiences, and cultures grounds us in honest history, broadens possibilities, engenders faithful courage, and restores souls with hope and joy – powerful gifts amidst endless disruption.
ONE
Today (September 30) is National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools.
NABS’ curricula and recommended reading and the ELCA’s Indian Boarding School Truth Seeking and Truth Telling Initiative’s (TSTTI) Resources for Worship and Education ground learning in real history and real peoples’ lived experience and support honest lament and repentance.
Honor and learn from Indigenous wisdom, traditions, and resilience with:
A Family Tree (Clarion) – which ‘traces the journey of one family, and a little tree, as they adapt to change by drawing on the strength of their roots’.- Pedagogy of the Ancestors: Practices for Mentoring and Teaching Future Generations (Westminster), which draws
on ‘Indigenous wisdom, spiritual tradition, and [personal] experience’… to ‘reframe education and mentorship as relational, future-oriented work,’ that, ’emphasizes forming character, cultivating joy, and creating spaces where young people can flourish’.
TWO
Black history and culture speaks deep wisdom across generations.
- ‘Trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.’ When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America’s Black Botanical Legacy (Henry Holt & Co.), invites us to listen to the trees.
- Black Hands: Builders of Our Nation (Crown Books for Young Readers), ‘celebrates the countless contributions’ African Americans have made ‘to the nation’s culture, politics, economy, and landscape’.
Contemporary culture-shaper, Black Forager, ‘invites you on an adventure to discover the abundance around you’ with ‘joyful enthusiasm and deep knowledge’, in Happy Snacking, Don’t Die!: Foraging and Vegan Recipes with Black Forager (S&S/Simon Element).
THREE
Peoples who have lived under oppressive systems throughout US history lead us to deeper wonder, greater courage, and joyful resilience.
Where Do Possibilities Live? (Compendium) is ‘an awe-inspiring picture book that invites readers to follow their imaginations into mesmerizing worlds’.- Mexikid Dreams: A Graphic Memoir (Dial) relates ‘hilarious hijinks, immigration patrols, and musical daydreams’ that shape one boy’s understanding that freedom is ‘about knowing where you came from and having the courage to draw your own life’.
- Starfire Academy: Firebird Waltz (Aladdin), the first in a new series from Misty Copeland, explores how commitment to fulfilling dreams can lead to even greater possibilities.
Beneath the Same Round Moon: A Mooncake Festival Story (Beaming) reminds us that adapting amidst disappointment enables us to honor traditions and celebrate with family in new ways. Includes an Educator Guide.- ‘Before she became a feminist leader, Gloria Steinem was a curious child…’ An Unexpected Life: A Memoir (Random House), ‘offers inspiration as we continue the work of building a better future for all’.
FOUR
The road to healing and restoration requires pothole-proof courage even while offering peaceful rest stops.
- Rev. Cameron Trimble explores the spiritual underpinnings of ‘small courage’, in ‘Have We Forgotten How to Name Cowardice?‘ (Piloting Faith/Substack) – her accompanying reflection questions and practices will buoy individuals and communities.
- Church communities especially might be encouraged by, Can We Stop Asking, ‘What Is Our Church Doing Wrong?’ (Convergence), which wonders, ‘Is there another way to talk about church in 2026?’
FIVE
Some of our healing will prescribed:
- Peace Messengers Devotional and Liturgy Manual (Lutheran World Federation) stems from the LWF’s young adult Peace Messengers program, and offers liturgies, prayers, and reflections.
Some healing could be intuitive…
- InnSæi: Heal, Revive and Reset with the Icelandic Art of Intuition (HarperOne), imparts ‘wisdom from different cultures, science and the arts’ in a, ‘potent toolkit for personal transformation which includes breathing and meditation exercises to re-engage our consciousness, grounding, mindfulness, and gratitude’.
Either way, music can bolster us for the bumpy ride:
- ‘The Psalms are dangerous… ancient songs [that] inspire us and bring us a sense of joy, but they also scare us. They might even transform our faith…’ Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life (Broadleaf) invites us to allow these ancient text to ‘wreck our perfectly okay faith – and transform it into something deeper’.
SIX
Prepare your congregation for an unprescribed Advent with Prophets, Priests, Pastors, and Poets: Being and Becoming the Resurrected Christ (Chalice): ‘if you believe that true faith must move beyond intellectual assent and into the tumultuous reality of our time, then this book’ is ‘an invitation to courageous action’.
Companion volume, Possibility: Our Advent Journey with the Prophet, Priest, Pastor, & Poet (Chalice) is ‘a daily Advent devotional that invites you to meet Jesus in full – Prophet, Priest, Pastor, and Poet – and discover the disruptive, grounding possibility he offers a weary world.’
