To share ideas with others who desire to live in a more just and equitable world and explore how the principles of community organizing–listening and building relationships–can give us tools for speaking and acting and risk, in the words of John Lewis “getting into good trouble.”
I didn’t grow up going to church. My mom is Jewish. And to my dad, Christmas and Easter were enough. So, it took a while longer than the kids I would eventually join in youth group for me to understand what faith was, exactly. When I started going to church with a friend in middle […]
The Advocate reached out to leaders across the church inviting them to share with us, and with our readers, important lessons about faith formation. This week, we present the second blog in this series. “There’s no way I could pay you back, but my plan is to show you that I understand.” * I understand […]
By Nancy Diaz As I sat and listened to APCE’s 2022 Annual Event speaker talk about our personal cloud of witnesses, I remembered those who took part in my own faith formation, los ancianos de la iglesia, the elders of the church. These were hard working, blue-collared, many newly immigrated or second generation Mexican-Americans who […]
The Advocate continues our three-part series with words of wisdom from APCE’s 2023 award recipients. This week, we hear from Jenna Campbell, 2023 Educator of the Year.
I started praying and praying intentionally. I said to God, “I’ll do whatever you want me to do with whatever time I have left on earth. The answer I got was simple and clear… “Go do what you love and do it to help people who are going in a different direction in life and who need a second chance.” I’ve been a tattoo artist for 29 years and I truly love creating art to illustrate people’s stories in tattoos.
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 and reworking program plans, mastering (or not) […]
This summer, The Advocate has been highlighting resources – our Top Five Favorites to support and sustain faith formation and ministry. We close this series thinking about self-care. How do we nurture our own faith? What activities have nurtured our soul in this past year? The four of us at the Advocate share our self-care and faith nurturing, and we invite you to fill in Number 5. What has been the thing that has nurtured your soul?
Whenever we meet someone new, invariably we find ourselves asking the question, “So, what kind of work do you do?” It’s a natural inquiry that expresses a curiosity about the other person, helps us establish rapport and usually gives us a place to start building a relationship. Yet, in a subtle but very real way, that question of what someone does reveals who we tend to be as a people and how we view ourselves and others.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion?” (Matthew 11:28, The Message) I don’t know about you, but I can answer yes to all three of these questions! We are in need of a real rest! This is what we were thinking back in 2020 when we began planning for the Annual Event […]