Back in January we wrote a post about the launch of Clayfire Curator, a worship design blog meant to supply ideas and provoke discussion around creativity, spiritual formation, and innovative leadership. Over the last several months contributors Jodi-Renee Adams, Eric Herron, and Mark Pierson have paved the way for fresh, creative approaches to worship curation. They have helped make Clayfire Curator a hub for the budding (and expert) worship curator. If you haven’t already, but sure to check out their daily posts!
Just two weeks ago we launched a Clayfire Curator YouTube channel, complete with insightful tips, helpful feedback, and visual guides from Mark Pierson, who developed the model of worship curator over the last 15 years. Take a moment to watch this clip, and head to YouTube for more great videos!
With Earth Day right around the corner, now’s a great time to encourage kids and adults of all ages in your congregation to grow in faith, have fun, and change the world. Consider using this tree planting activity from ReNew to organize an intergenerational event. It’s a fun way to create awareness for your summer VBS program AND celebrate environmental stewardship.
In fact, we’ve heard from several Christian Educators who plan to use ReNew for a family-focused VBS, including one congregation that will be offering adult classes on organic food and gardening as a way to be good stewards! Summer programming comes in so many shapes and sizes – we love hearing the many ways congregations plan to use ReNew.
Be sure to share your stories with us and we wish you a happy Earth Day and Holy Week!
On Tuesday, Children and Youth Ministry specialist Andy Root began a series of weekly re:form podcasts on his LiveBlog site. His first guest was youth pastor Dan Haugh, from Bedford Community Church in Katonah, NY. Their conversation on re:form session video “Does God still create stuff today?” explored ways to discuss creation with youth and, as Dan mentioned in his blog overview of the podcast, the “theological intention behind affirming that God still creates and recreates today.” Read more about he has to say on his Emerging Youth blog. And Andy wrote up a piece about the podcast for Youth Specialties, which you can read on their site!
Each week Andy plans to discuss a different re:form video with a leading youth ministry expert. April 12 features youth ministry guru Mike King and a discussion about the re:form session video “Who wrote the Bible, God or humans?”. If you’d like to watch the video, you can find it here. And be sure to listen in for the next several weeks as Danica Montplasir, Lars Rood, and Kenda Dean call in for more youth ministry, theology, and re:form discussions!
Update: Now all five videos are on the Youth Specialties site! To listen to the podcasts, head to: http://www.youthspecialties.com/blog/discussing-reform/
Recently, we had the pleasure of chatting with members of the re:form Traditions Lutheran, Methodist, and Reformed Dream Teams. Hear what Rev. Mike Baughman of Custer Road Methodist Church in Plano, TX has to say about working on this innovative, exciting new curriculum!
Last month at Children’s Ministry Forum in San Antonio, TX, we met a congregation who is thinking about creation care in new and exciting ways. Five years ago, First Church in Redding, CA began to, as they told us, “focus on how our congregation could respond to our responsibility as stewards of the earth”. Reading books and watching environmental films just wasn’t enough. They also wanted to get the members of their church more active in the community.
After realizing their town wasn’t celebrating Earth Day, they decided to hold an event: the Whole Earth and Watershed Festival.Β The day-long outdoor event featured a group of 20 exhibitors and brought in approximately 400 attendees. As they told us, their “‘big tent’ philosophy included local and regional businesses, non-profits, government agencies, edcational organizations, and community groups”. The event was a success, and continues to grow in momentum. Last year over 4,000 people from around California showed up!
Besides being a great opportunity for community outreach, the Whole Earth and Watershed Festival offers a wide variety of educational and fun children, youth, and family activities. First Church’s focus on stewardship embodies ReNew, and we were thrilled to find out about their interest in the curriculum. We can’t wait to hear how the festival goes this year!
How is your congregation growing in faith, having fun, and changing the world? We’d love to learn more about your plans for local outreach and how you’re using ReNew this summer!
On March 2 and 3, sparkhouse hosted a group of youth ministers, pastors, and theologians from all over the country for a Creative Jam. The focus of the Jam? Kicking off work on the next round of re:form resources! It was truly collaboration at its finest. Thanks to everyone who participated and stay tuned for what’s coming next!
Last Tuesday marked the release of a brand new sparkhouse Press title, Year of Plenty, an insightful, refreshing narrative about one family’s journey through the world of environmentally-conscious living. It is a timely tale of faith, family, and community. Here’s more, from the book’s product page:
“In 2008, Pastor Craig Goodwin and his young family embarked on a yearβlong experiment to consume only what was local, used, homegrown, or homemade . . . This humorous yet profound book comes at just the right time for North American Christians, who are eager to engage the growing interest in the environmental movement and the quandaries of modern consumer culture. It speaks also to the growing legions of the ’spiritual but not religious’ who long for ways to connect heaven and earth in their daily lives.”
Already hooked? Be sure subscribe to Craig Goodin’s blog feed for more great information about the book and his family’s green living experience!
Congratulations to Toolbox Studios, who won twelve ADDY awards on Saturday, including 3 Gold awards AND the Special Judges Award for the re:form curriculum!
Paul Soupiset, their Creative Director who’s been tirelessly working on re:form and re:form Traditions (see some of his incredible work here), was quoted on Toolbox’s blog as saying, “This year, the awards we won really showcase the type of work Toolbox Studios is best known for delivering. It reinforces that we are providing valuable solutions to our clients.”
We couldn’t agree more. Thanks to Toolbox for their creative thinking, incredible designs, and endless enthusiasm!
Is re:form a huge hit with your youth? Have you found yourself wishing for more? Well, the wait is over! Coming this April: re:form Traditions, created by the same team that brought you all 40 sessions of the original re:form curriculum.
You may be asking, “What is re:form Traditions?” This resource gives your youth the tools they need to deeply explore their particular faith tradition with witty videos, engaging individual and group activities, and an online forum (re:form gallery) for sharing what they’ve learned. Traditions is designed to be used alongside the core re:form curriculum in settings like confirmation classes where additional denominational-specific material is preferred or required.
To create re:form Traditions, we assembled the dream team of Methodist, Reformed, and Lutheran theologians, pastors, and practitioners from across the country. Together, they provided historical accuracy, a theological framework, and translated it all into fun activities and language that speaks to today’s youth.
Lutheran, Reformed, and Methodist traditions are already available for pre-order! Each tradition will be sold separately and include 4 sessions (Backstory, Beliefs, Practices, and Tradition Today).Β Be sure to check out samples from all three tradition!
Become a fan of re:form on Facebook to receive updates on re:form Traditions. Let us know how you’ll be using this resource with your youth!
Here’s a fun idea that will help your kids start thinking about ReNew even in the winter months!
Invite someone from your congregation or a local farmer or gardener who practices sustainable agriculture to share his or her story. Encourage your guest to bring tools of the trade or pictures of their produce. The key theme of this discussion, which will come up again during ReNew, is “What challenges do you face, and what do you do about them?” This is a great question to ask your guest!
Once summer rolls around and VBS begins, you can use some of the farmer’s produce for snacks or the gardener’s flowers for decoration! Remind kids of the guest’s story, and ask it to keep them in mind as they learn more about The Parable of the Sower.
