Building Faith
Eleven years ago, I left the parish where I had been a staff member for children’s ministries for 26 years, and joined a small, diverse, welcoming congregation in a nearby town, …
Continue Reading about Pandemic Times in a Small Church: Using Our Gifts to Celebrate Our Gifts
To download this beautiful resource for households that supports the celebration of the Feast of All Saints & Souls at home as a PDF, click here. Introduction In the New …
Continue Reading about What Does This Day Mean? Handout for The Feast of All Saints & Souls at Home
My small parish in central North Carolina started gathering for Sunday morning in-person worship again a month ago. Literally, we have physically received Communion together during …
Continue Reading about A Second Pandemic Program Year: Finding Handholds
“I saw you were accepting of people like me and I wanted to find out how I could join.” A simple email from a local transgender high school student was enough to quiet the few …
To download this beautiful resource for use at church or at home as a PDF, click here. Introduction Blessings and prayers are practices that help ground and guide us. Prayer …
Continue Reading about Back to School Blessings & Prayers: A Handout
On Thursday, March 5th, 2020, I eagerly packed the trunk of my tan 1998 Toyota Corolla to travel from my hometown to Western Massachusetts. There have been many times that I have …
Juneteenth (“June” plus “nineteenth”) is a day that marked the beginning of the journey towards justice, accountability, and reconciliation in the United States. On June 19, 1865, …
Continue Reading about Plan a Virtual Juneteenth Celebration
Planning for the next program year after 12+ months of pandemic ministry pivots and continued uncertainty about what will be possible in the fall feels daunting. Even so, I …
Continue Reading about Planning for the 2021-2022 Program Year
When the Building Faith team heard about how one parish was reimagining Confirmation during this time of being church in physically distanced ways, we could not wait to share their …
Continue Reading about Gifts of a Digital Confirmation Class: Embracing a Family-Based Model
During Cokesbury's Discovery at Adventure Island, the children are called “Explorers” and the group guides are called “Island Guides”. The children are looking all week for …
Continue Reading about Cokesbury: Discovery at Adventure Island
