Active clergy– register for “Delivered to You,” which will take place November 8 and 9, 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Central time. This dynamic virtual event will focus on the five dimensions of wellness (spiritual, physical, emotional, financial and social) with informative units on clergy taxes, navigating the world of healthcare, Wespath retirement plans, the results of the Clergy Well-Being Survey, and much, much more! Click here to learn more. CEUs are available!
Resources
Gratitude Studies and Thanksgiving Programs
With so much loss throughout the pandemic, it could be helpful to prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday by focusing on gratitude. The Media Center recommends these studies for small groups.
We also have several resources to help your church plan a program or activities around the Thanksgiving holiday for adults, youth, and children.
Does your church talk about gratitude as part of your stewardship program? We recommend a few resources to add this theme as a focus.
Small Group Studies
Simple and Free: Staging Your Own Experiment Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. Explore patterns and solutions around sustainability and gratitude in this study that fights back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. Discover a greatly increased connection with God–a call toward simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better life. This is a book study that uses a study guide and a guided journal.
Hebrews: Grace and Gratitude by David A. DeSilva. See the connection between God’s grace in our lives and the gratitude we can express for our salvation when we answer the call to invest ourselves in God’s mission in the world. Discover a bold perspective on the meaning and significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection in light of the Old Testament, allowing us to hear afresh God’s call to a life of faithfulness. This DVD study uses a leader guide and book.
Happy? What It Is and How to Find It by Matt Miofsky. Discover that contentment isn’t dependent on the “things” of life. Instead, you’ll see that happiness can be found in the value of our relationships, a forgiving lifestyle, living in the present, feeling gratitude, and learning to release control. This DVD study uses a leader guide and book.
One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. Embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God’s gifts. It’s only in this expressing of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we’ve always wanted … a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. This DVD study uses a study guide and a book.
Spirituality of Gratitude: The Unexpected Blessings of Thankfulness by Joshua Choonmin Kang. God invites us to enter into a world of thankfulness at every moment in our lives, even in the hard times—perhaps especially then. Pastor Kang writes, “Gratitude heals us and holds us, tethering us to one another, offering us joy and strength.” This book has fifty-two short chapters that can be read in weekly sabbath reflection or daily devotional use.
The First Thanksgiving: How the Pilgrims Became Missionaries, In Their Own Words by Stephen Skelton. It is often said that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom, but that is not what the Pilgrims said. According to their governor, William Bradford: “They cherished a great hope…of laying good foundations…for the propagation and advance of the Gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world….” This is the story of how the Pilgrims became missionaries. This booklet can be reproduced for everyone in your group.
Church Programs for All Ages
Growing Together: Six Intergenerational Celebrations, Fall and Winter. In this volume of Growing Together, you’ll find leaders’ resources, planning pages, and a wealth of experiential learning activities. It includes several intergenerational activities to use during Thanksgiving.
Ready to Go: School’s Out: Youth Ministry Ideas for School Breaks and Summer Vacations. Find support and practical ideas that can help you minister to teens during the “down times.” It includes learning activities, outings, games, worship services, and suggestions for the busy youth worker. You will find four activities to use with youth over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Veggie Tales: Thankfulness: Sunday School Lessons. Your kids will enjoy four Sunday school lessons with Madame Blueberry, the very blue berry who wants more stuff! They’ll learn alongside Madame Blueberry that “being greedy makes you grumpy…but a thankful heart is a happy heart!” Includes a teacher guide to lead you through each lesson, a DVD with the video clips, and a CD-ROM with the coloring pages you’ll need. For ages 3-8. Also, the Veggie Connections DVD includes Veggie Tales clips related to Thanksgiving.
Big Book of Holiday and Bible Celebrations: 30 Ready-to-Use Bible Lessons for Ages 6 to 12. This book provides children’s ministry leaders and teachers with 30 ready-to-use lessons that can be used throughout the year. Each lesson provides holiday information for the teacher, a Bible story, object talk, art activity, game, and coloring page. The book includes five biblical activities to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Celebrate Christmas: Easy Dramas, Speeches and Recitations. Celebrate Christmas begins with three poems for Thanksgiving that can be said by one or more young children followed by six poems for Christmas.
Come Follow Me! A Worship Program for Teaching the Gospel to Children. This book includes a Thanksgiving celebration with children ages 4-12. The lesson includes scripture, a meditation, and workstations where the children will read the instructions and help with the recipes and crafts.
Stewardship Resources
The Generosity Challenge: 28 Days of Gratitude, Prayer, and Faith by Scott McKenzie and Kristine Miller. This four-week group study will appeal to those who are in the pews every Sunday, but who have not yet committed to monetary giving. The study offers a weekly reading accompanied by seven days of challenges in the forms of self-assessment, journaling, and prayer. After 28 days, members of the group study are encouraged to embrace a life-giving journey toward generosity and provided a road map on how to get there. This DVD study uses a book.
The Gratitude Path: Leading Your Church to Generosity by Kent Millard. This book offers the Gratitude Campaign—a Christ-centered approach that promotes spiritual health for both donors and the church. This biblically-based, no-nonsense resource will enable you to help people count their blessings and give to God out of gratitude. The five-session study includes discussion questions, samples, and a step-by-step outline for conducting a Gratitude Campaign in a church of any size or denomination.
Additional Resources
Find more DVDs, studies, and books in the Thanksgiving and Gratitude Resources pathfinder.
Featured image by hudsoncrafted from Pixabay
An Encouragement for October
The Center for Leadership Excellence, in partnership with COSROW, is pleased to lift up the voices of women in ministry encouraging fellow women in ministry. Please enjoy this month’s Encouragement from Shannon Marie Berry, Pastor of Fremont UMC, and feel free to forward it to a friend. Anyone can sign up to receive these monthly emails here.
On her final day as our Resident Bishop, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward shared with Bishop LaTrelle Easterling in a conversation about their work together regarding race reconciliation and the Cabinet of Bishop’s Anti-Racism Task Force. Two groups of clergywomen hosted this conversation, Clergywomen of Color and White Women Doing the Work (WWDTW) of Antiracism. The invitation for this conversation was open to all clergy women, and a few men joined us as well.
Bishops Ward and Easterling talked about the relationship they had developed with each other, and the trust they shared. They focused most of their conversation around the “Four Pillars to Change the World” of Bryan Stevenson’s work:
- Stay proximate to pain.
- Tell stories that are true.
- Expect resistance.
- Protect our hopefulness.
While we had almost 100 people at one point join us for this conversation, only four of those people were clergywomen of color. Walking away from the conversation, I found myself asking the question, “So when are we (white clergywomen) supposed to engage with the clergywomen of color?” I found that the answer was sooner than I imagined. Within a few weeks, the design team of WWDTW had a conversation with two brilliant and vulnerable clergywomen of color.
Read: Ruth 1:16-17, NRSV
But Ruth said, “Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die – there I will be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!”
Reflect: These words were not written as a wedding vow, though they make good ones… However, they were said by a woman who desired to stay with and support another woman. They were said in a moment when all the world seemed to be crumbling down. And they were not said in front of a crowd, but in an intimate setting, in the midst of grief, and because of a relationship the two had developed with one another.
My Sisters, in an intimate conversation between four clergywomen, stories were shared, hurt was expressed, lamentation was made. From that conversation, the name of WWDTW was changed to “Women Taking a Stand Against Racism.” We were reminded that change comes from personal relationships, not because the world says we should exist in a particular box, but because we have a true desire to go where you go, stay where you stay.
Take Action: I encourage each of you to begin a relationship with someone different than you. I encourage you, white clergywomen, to use your voice to amplify the voice of our BIPOC sisters. Do not speak for them, but help them be heard. Peace be with you.
In partnership,
Center for Leadership Excellence and the Commission on the Status and Role of Women
Episode 1: Invitation to Communion
Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another. Those are the words of the invitation to communion in the United Methodist Church, an invitation to be as one with one another and with Christ.
In the inaugural episode of the Grace for the Future podcast, Bishop Leonard Fairley and his guests, Rev. Dr. John Hatton, a District Superintendent in the Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church, and Rev. Lisa Yebuah, the North Carolina Conference Spiritual Director and Advisor for Inclusion and Equity for the Cabinet and Leadership Team and Lead pastor at Southeast Raleigh Table, explore how this invitation into Christian Discipleship informs our decisions, conversations, and discernment about the future.
Bishop Fairley and his guests will also look at where and how they have seen this means of grace lived out in this season of transition, uncertainty, and anxiety.
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Celebrate Halloween with All Ages
The world has been a scary place. Embrace the times with attention to Halloween this year especially since it falls on a Sunday! We have small-group studies, youth curriculum, and children’s books to guide your church through the end of October with Halloween, Reformation Day, and All Saints’ Day. You can also use these online resources from the general United Methodist Church.
Online Resources
Start with why. Ask the UMC explains our traditions and beliefs around Halloween and All Saints’ Day. You can also view and share a short video about these holidays from The Great Plains Conference or Liturgy Man.
Sing about it. Discipleship Ministries of the UMC describes the who, where, and what of saints using the United Methodist Hymnal. Could you even use these hymns in some non-Christmas caroling?
Plan your worship service. Discipleship Ministries also offers detailed worship planning for Sunday, October 31, 2021. It includes notes on planning worship, preaching, liturgy, hymns, prayers, small groups, a children’s message, youth lesson, and more. Resource UMC offers resources for planning services for the next day, All Saints’ Day.
Remember Reformation Day. Read this informative article by United Methodist Pastor Dan Bell about the history of the Wesleys and the Reformation and how we should celebrate Reformation Day today.
Media Center Resources You Can Borrow
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Special Church Edition, the Abridged Classic by Washington Irving with Christian Insights & Discussion Sections by Stephen Skelton. Ride with Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman and find out just how fully their midnight race through Sleepy Hollow was guided by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Plus, four discussion sections cover the questions Christians usually ask about Halloween. Did Halloween start as a pagan celebration? Is Halloween celebrated as a Satanic holiday today? Why is the focus of Halloween so dark? And, What should a Christian do on Halloween?
The Media Center holds copyright permission for this booklet so that you can make copies for everyone in your group. We also have a PDF version you can receive through email.
Christian Reflection 48: Death from The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University. Attending to the process of dying and death from a Christian perspective, the contributors explore how to provide better care for the dying, remember the dead rightly, and prepare for our own deaths-for these, they explain, respond to dimensions of the same problem: our cultural avoidance of death. Halloween and All Saints’ Day call our attention to this necessary part of life.
This series offers study guides and lesson plans for each article in the journal. This one also includes liturgy and a hymn for All Saints’ Day. The contents of this journal can be viewed online, or you can borrow the printed magazine from the Media Center.
A New Reformation: From Luther’s World to Ours by Rob Fuquay. Justified by faith. We are accustomed to this theology today, but when Martin Luther shared his belief in this concept during the sixteenth century, it was anything but typical—it sparked the Reformation. United Methodist Pastor Rob Fuquay says that although “justified by faith” is not a new idea, the message is as revolutionary today as ever. He helps you take a close look into the life of Martin Luther and teaches you how to embrace reformation in your church and in your life today.
This small-group study uses a DVD, leader guide, and a book. View a promo video and the video for session one.
The Reformation for Armchair Theologians by Glenn S. Sunshine with illustrations by Ron Hill. This readable, accessible narrative story of the Protestant Reformation is written for lay audiences. Written by experts but designed for the nonexpert, the Armchair series provides accurate, concise, and witty overviews of some of the most profound moments and theologians in Christian history. We also have the Wesley for Armchair Theologians book from this series.
Questions for discussion and suggestions for further reading provided for each chapter make this book great for group study.
Youth Curriculum
Scary, Gross & Weird Stories from the Bible: Bloody Tent Pegs, Disembodied Fingers, and Suicidal Pigs by Kate Holburn. These Bible lessons truly are sick…and totally interesting. Surprise your teenagers with the “disgusting” truth. Each of the 13 easy-to-use lessons focuses on a relevant topic related to a scary, gross or weird Bible story and includes a challenging “Fear Factor”-like activity (like eating daring treats), a fun game, and thought-provoking discussion questions that help teens uncover life application.
Dark and Disturbing Stories from the Bible: Challenging Students to See Life from God’s POV by Mary Grace Becker & Susan Martins Miller. This curriculum draws middle schoolers into Bible events that will have them asking, “Is that really in the Bible?” The 13 sessions will arrest their attention and get them to dig into issues that have been around since Bible times–the same kinds of issues your students are facing: the lure of popularity, arrogance, murder and violence, suicide, pain and suffering, and more. Empower students to make God-honoring choices when they face PG-13 challenges. The lessons include a DVD, group activities, Bible study, handouts, and more.
The Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide for Teenagers by Jonathan McKee. This is the story of three teenagers enduring and surviving against the odds, adapting where many adults failed. Not many teenagers survived “The Havoc,” probably because most didn’t acclimate and learn like these three. So what’s the secret to their survival? The answer lies in these pages, a journal written by a teenager named Chris. Each section includes some discussion questions to help you digest what you just read. These questions will point to the Bible here and there for some wisdom that has stood the test of time: wisdom for surviving your real world.
Children’s Resources
The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs and Illustrated by Nancy Munger. This charming story for children illustrates how a loving farmer can turn a simple pumpkin into a simply glorious sight. In the same way, God’s transforming love can fill each of our hearts with joy and light. Liz Curtis Higgs created this parable as a way to share the Good News with her own precious children each harvest season . . . and now with children everywhere.
Eek! Said Amy by L. J. Zimmerman and Illustrated by Charles Long. Eerie shadows, a bump in the night, a dark place… life can be just plain scary. Meet Devon. Devon is a little boy that introduces readers to his friend Amy the AMYgdala! Amy helps Devon feel emotions, including fear. Through his friendship with Amy, Devon learns that fear helps him stay safe, but sometimes he needs to face his fears. The book shows children how fear is not always a bad thing; fear can keep us safe and when we face our fears, it can make us stronger. Bright, colorful, and amusing illustrations will engage children ages 3–7 and make this scary topic more approachable.
Wacky Bible Gross Outs from Zonderkidz. Imagine trying to sleep with gnats crawling in your nose, being covered with bull’s blood, or eating nothing but locusts and honey—every single day! This book will open your eyes to all the disgusting stuff in the Bible that you never knew was in there. Completely, 100% historically accurate.
Hermie & Friends: Webster the Scaredy Spider by Max Lucado. God is with you, even when you are afraid. Tim Conway and Don Knotts team up to share their voices to this tale from the garden where the scary spider turns out to be afraid of everyone else. This DVD includes the cartoon plus extra materials.
Pray with the NC Conference in October
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.” – 1 Timothy 2:1
You are invited to join your hearts together across our North Carolina Conference connection as we share in daily prayer during October. You will see on the calendar below a prompt for each day – persons and situations here and worldwide. Consider setting aside a specific time each day to pray using these prompts, and we encourage you to invite others to join with you.
Download a printable PDF version (5.1 MB) or use the instructions below to save the image to your device.
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