By: Carol Wehrheim
Looking for ideas to help celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation this year? Check out some of these:
From PC(USA)
Adult Resources
- Donald McKim: Reformation Questions, Reformation Answers
- Donald McKim: Moments with Luther, Meditations
- Steven Paulson: Luther for Armchair Theologians
- Martin Luther: A Simple Way to Pray (introduction by Marjorie Thompson)
- Glenn S. Sunshine: The Reformation for Armchair Theologians
- Being Reformed study: The Protestant Reformation
Youth and Young Adults
- Five-session survey of church history that includes a look at Martin Luther’s life and his impact on the Reformation, a session on the life of John Calvin and his work. $8.95 from pcusastore.com
Children
- One session in the format of Growing in Grace and Gratitude available on Facebook pages for POINT and Church Educators and at growinggracegratitude.org
From CRC
Website ReformationDay500.org for resources for worship, education, and events
From RCA
Newest issue of Reformed Worship is on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, available here.
Films
Several films had been made about Luther over the years. The
most recent one, “Luther” was in 2003 and partially funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. It begins when Luther becomes a monk in 1505 and continues to the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. Joseph Fiennes plays Luther with other well-known actors in lesser roles. This film and earlier ones are described on Wikipedia, along with the inaccuracies in each one.
Read a little about the newest film due out on PBS later this year, and see other Reformation resources from the Presbyterian Church of Canada here.
Websites
Reformation 500 is a website of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO. They produced a documentary, “500: The Impact of the Reformation Today.” Go to communications@csl.edu or call 800-822-5287 for more information about these resources. An interesting product, and easily attained, is short film clips that can be found on Youtube describing various aspects resulting from the Reformation. They are from five to eight minutes long and include an introduction, Art in the Reformation, Changing Role of Marriage, Pluralism: Then and Now, Changing Role of Vocation, Changing Role of Money, Usury and Commerce, Bible Translation, Spirituality in the Middle Ages, and Impact of the Reformation Today: An Introduction. Most of the speakers are Concordia faculty, but Martin Marty appears in some. Art from the Middle Ages has a nice visual touch.
With a Little Fun
A fun way to get a quick understanding of the Reformation and what led up to it can be found on Youtube. Take a look below at “Luther and the Protestant Reformation: A Crash Course World History.” Middle school and above would have fun with this.