. When considering how to engage families in the story of the resurrection this year, our team wanted to focus on a family activity that respected our current congregational safety guidelines. I happened to be on the launch team for ‘Twas the Morning of...
This week marks the half-way point through Lent. But is it really the half-way point? This week also marks the one-year anniversary of when many of our church buildings were closed and in-person gatherings stopped because of COVID-19. Early on, there were memes and...
As we head toward month ten of pandemic adaptations, we’re all probably finding ourselves on at least the third or fourth iteration of adaptive changes in our faith communities and our own leadership. I expect many of you are like me. You’ve delved deep into your own...
This article is reprinted with the author’s permission. By John-Peter Smit If you have ever travelled on an airplane you know the root of this phrase. On an airplane it means that in an emergency you can’t physically care for others if you don’t care for...
by Brittany Porch Upon canceling our summer mission trips due to Covid-19, the church Session committed to an alternative mission experience for our youth that was safe and offered a meaningful service experience. To pull this off, I had quite the task set before me....
by Lakesha Bradshaw Easter Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our congregation, like many others, listed the names of our elder members and friends of the community who are home-bound due to physical and/or mobility challenges. These beloved friends frequently received...
by Tori Smit What will we teach this fall? For many of our churches, thinking creatively about how and what our Sunday schools will be teaching this fall as we go online, over Zoom, or become parent-led is a huge and overwhelming concern. As each of us begins to look...
by Sharon Warkentin Short The need to make sense of our lives seems to be a fundamental human drive. We all do it by interpreting our individual experiences in light of some larger controlling story. The “small stories” of our everyday lives take on whatever meaning...
by Christy Williams A youth worker’s spring and summer are traditionally filled with planning meetings, permission form retrieval, special gatherings, conferences, camps, and mission trips. During this spring and summer, in the midst of a global pandemic when churches...
THEY’RE HOOOOME! And so are you. And while you love spending time with your kids, you’ve got work to do—whether it’s paid or unpaid. And if that wasn’t challenging enough, you’ve had little time to do advance prep and stock up on things for them to do; and you...
