ADVOCATE
I’ve Always Wondered…
I’ve Always Wondered… About how we are really formed in the life of the Christian faith About how faith is nurtured and supported About who among us has gifts for spiritually being with children and youth I’ve been thinking and writing about this for a long time...
Stop Confirming Teenagers to Membership
Stop Confirming Teenagers to Membership. Start Confirming them to Mission! Mark D. Hinds Remember when Jesus called his disciples and how he baptized them and appointed them as junior community members? Then when the disciples turned thirteen, he convened a crash...
Simple Things: A Story Journey
"We're doing a Story Journey tomorrow to go along with our church's yard, garden and bake sale. We're featuring Laura Alary's book, What Grew in Larry's Garden. We're so excited." My good friend, Laura Duggin, minister at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Newmarket,...
Simple Things: Young People Being Kind
In the summer of 2019, two young sisters set out to spread kindness around their small county in Kentucky. They created “Be Kind” yard signs and sold them to local neighbors and merchants who proudly display them in their front yards and businesses. Money raised by...
Simple Things: A New Arena for Simpler Sundays
It’s Sunday morning and the youth Sunday school teachers are MIA. It’s Sunday morning and the children’s Sunday school teachers are accounted for, but no young people are to be found. It’s Sunday morning and traditional Sunday school has become a thing of the past. If...
Simple Things: A Pre-School Tweak
If there is one thing we’ve learned as Christian educators during this pandemic, it’s that many of our parents were ill-prepared to take on the role of being faith-formers at home when our church buildings closed and our church programmes were shuttered. And, it...
Simple Things
In this Eastertide, and in the waning days of the school year (for many), we invite our readers to step back and allow yourselves to embrace simple things. Like you, many of us have pushed HARD over these past few years, trying to support and nurture faith, pivoting...
An Easter Prayer
Happy Easter! The Lenten season and the celebration of Easter happens to coincide very nicely with spring when everything that has either died or is dormant comes to life again. It is as if nature itself is embracing the power of the "resurrection" by displaying the...
A Prayer Practice for the Stuff of Holy Week
Meet us this week, Lord, in the stuff of Holy Week. Help us notice the symbols that tell of your love. They are all around us—gift after gift from you. Meet us in green leaves waving and in stones by the road. Remind us to lift our voices in hosannas as...
An Advocate Anthology: It’s A Beautiful Day in Our Neighborhood
How did you celebrate Mr. Rogers' Day? I hope you had a chance to spend time with a neighbor. Inspired by the marking of Mr. Rogers Day on March 20, the Advocate has spent the last few weeks exploring what it means to be a neighbor; what it means to choose kindness,...
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