Today is Brian’s and my 24th wedding anniversary. In the spirit of celebration, I thought I would mix it up a bit this week and share a few good things I have bookmarked. This year continues to be noteworthy on multiple levels. May God bless your week.
May God grant us strength, courage, and wisdom to serve well in our contexts. May the Spirit inspire us to participate in the coming of Gods inbreaking kingdom. May we faithfully follow Christ in search of peace and justice. Amen
Fruitful Collaboration: Forma Faith @ Home Daily Devotionals:
It was my privilege to lead the curation team for the week of June 29- July 3. Accessible to a wide variety of ages, each day has something to watch, listen, read, do, and a prayer. A big shout out to my colleagues in ministry from around the country: Debby, Kathy, Tanya, Emma, Kim, Elizabeth, and Melinda.
Back to Church:
- I will be leading several conversations on the topic of planning in unpredictable times in July. Registration is open for the Virginia Theological Seminary Faithful Planning event on July 16. Stay tuned for more!
- This article from NPR was a wealth of information on what we can learn from childcare centers that stayed open for essential workers.
- If you are looking for fun, physically distant ways to worship with children, the super creative DeDe Reilly has a description of Drive in Church that is not to be missed!
- Looking for safe, outdoor games? Asphalt Green has a huuuuge list for K-8th here.
- If your state is heading toward shelter in place, my booklet, Sheltered at Home: Family Prayers for Living and Loving is available as a printable download from Etsy or an ebook on Amazon.
Anti-Racist Children and Family Ministry:
Black Mary + Brown Jesus is a thoughtful critique of the lack of “historically Brown Jesus” in our church buildings and curricula.
CommUNITY Allies Family VBS: is open to churches and families. I am embarrassed I didn’t link to my friend Jennifer McLaughlin’s VBS in my earlier post. This podcast explains how it came to be.
Diving Deeper into Transformative Religious Education:
My work is rooted in my call to lead ministries of faith formation that engenders justice seeking. The past few months I have been revisiting some of the learning theories I studied in graduate school and thinking about how they inform my teaching today. I have also been exploring the links between religious education, critical pedagogy, and education for liberation. I highly recommend these academic works:
From Lament to Advocacy: Black Religious Education and Public Ministry edited by Anne E. Streaty Wimberly, Nathaniel D. West, and Annie Lockhart-Gilroy. I’m finding it extremely helpful in reframing teaching and learning that leads to action.
Teach Freedom: Education for Liberation in the African-American Tradition edited by Charles M. Payne and Carol Sills Strickland. “This dynamic anthology is about those forms of education intended to help people think more critically about the social forces shaping their lives and think more confidently about their ability to react against those forces.”
Teaching and Learning on the Verge: Democratic Education in Action by Shanti Elliott. What strikes me about the book (and I am still near the beginning) is the potential connection with religious teaching and learning as it relates to inequality, power dynamics, justice, and play. The author argues that three dispositions are needed for “fostering the equality and reciprocity needed for democracy:” self-reflection, questioning power, and dialogic hunger. How might our Christian education foster these dispositions?
Christine V Hides 
Thanks, Christine for sharing the Drive-in service information today. We are indeed, better together!
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