Please share what your congregation is doing for Lent! This rich season of the church year is prime time for deepening our worship life and living the remarkable drama of new life in Christ.

Send a note to juliea@eandsynod.org

Lenten Journey: Water Marks is the newest in the Book of Faith Lenten Reflections. These water stories from both Old and New Testaments would be really helpful for a focus on baptism. Other Lenten Journeys include 40 Days with the Lord’s Prayer, Marks of the Christian, and Seven Wonders of the Word. Weekly themes and ideas for worship are included. For individual, group, or congregational use. Preview copies available.

Baptismal themes can also be found in the Washed and Welcome Sourcebook. Articles for reprinting in worship folders or newsletters are available. In Living the Promises of Baptism, key bible verses are highlighted.

ELCA World Hunger offers a Lenten series—12 meals, 12 related stories which are also scripted as dramas for those interested, facts, placemats, fundraising and ideas.

For worship, be sure to consider the DVD series, The Greatest Story: Jesus. The focus on gospel stories includes compelling sand art images that will engage all ages. Preview copy available.

For C.S. Lewis aficionados, themes from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe provide a creative way to focus on Lenten themes using the video, the book, and the LLW Discovery Guide. Copies available.

Check out Pastor Tom Weitzel’s Handbook for the Discipline of Lent, A Lenten Retreat, and Stations of the Cross as well as other Lenten resources at liturgybytlw.com

For worship planning: Worship Guidebook for Lent and the Three Days together with the Music Sourcebook for Lent and the Three Days from Augsburg Fortress. Preview copies available.

Ideas to consider:

Stories Around the Fire: three or four people tell two-minute stories of a favorite Bible verse—how they came across it, what it meant to them then and what it means to them today. Each week people who tell their stories write their names in a congregational family Bible next to their texts in the margins. “We had people as young as nine and people in their 80′s share their stories.”

Sermon series are memorable. There are so many cleverly named series all over the internet. Pick a catchy title and develop your own pieces to it.

Spirituality for Busy People: everybody is busy. Then pick practices such as Sabbath keeping, service, prayer, blessing, eating together, vocation, testimony to unpack during Lent.

Consider Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World: look for God outside of church walls. Take a chapter a week to find God in the everyday events of our lives. Have people tells stories of God at work, at school, at leisure—in unexpected places.

The timelessness of Holden Evening Prayer: “We are still in love with Holden Evening Prayer—it sustains us year after year!”

For a rich Lenten worship experience, consider the new Holden Prayer Around the Cross, a set of resources adapted from Holden Evening Prayer and Prayer Around the Cross by Susan Briehl, Tom Witt, and Marty Haugen. To accompany HPAC, a set of musical resources is available in Singing Our Prayer: Companion to Holden Prayer Around the Cross.

TheThoughtfulChristian.com has several downloadable resources available for Lent. Take a look at Walking the Way of the Cross with Paul.

You’re invited to take a look at a stewardship resource ideal for Lent: Mark Allan Powell’s Biblical Stewardship: Our Duty and Delight features seven 20-minute video sessions on DVD, a comprehensive study guide and participant handouts. Session titles include Belonging to God, What is a Steward?, Treasures and Hearts, Motives for Giving, Duty and Delight, and Cheerful Sacrifices.

The 40 Day Journey books for small groups or individual use are designed for Lent. Titles include Journeys with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joan Chittister, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther, Madeleine L’Engle, and others.

If you’ve found the Nooma films interesting, consider matching themes from the texts for Lent with the short and engaging DVDs. It’s an excellent way to repeat the themes and invite conversation about the weekly texts. Call the Resource Center for a list!

Bread themes for Lent? Try a Lenten study called Bread in the Wilderness: Spiritual Famine or Gospel Feast, six sessions about hunger and food. A new six-part bible study called Bread and Broth also invites participants to share soup and bread while learning about Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Elisha, John the Baptist and Jesus.

Northwestern Minnesota Synod has shared “Lent 2012: A Season for Prayer and Renewal.” For congregational renewal and reflection, it includes prayer petitions, a plan for midweek worship, Bible readings, mission resources and more. Call the Resource Center for a copy or download.

Teach us to Pray introduces participants to the full spectrum of Christian prayer methods and encourages them to incorporate these practices into their daily lives. Twenty-two lesson plans can be used as a year-long course, as four separate courses or individually. Adaptable for Lent, adult education, prayer and spirituality groups or retreats.

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Open for Exploration: Lent 2012

The book of faith faith as a window, a lens for looking at the world

German theologian Paul Tillich liked to speak of faith as a window, a lens for looking at the world. He challenged students to consider the Bible, prayer—even Jesus—as windows or ways of looking beyond the thing itself to what lies beyond it. Tillich warned against making the window itself—whether Scripture, prayer, or our own tradition—the objects of our devotion.

The biblical stories are remarkable wellsprings. Burbling up century after century, the insights and wisdom they offer continue to challenge, assault, comfort, and even frustrate listeners who find them both compelling and disturbing. These stories are windows for looking at the world and at our own lives. They help us see!

An ongoing ELCA initiative called the Book of Faith invites us to “open scripture and join the conversation.” It’s a way of helping Lutherans engage with the biblical stories. While we don’t make the Bible into an object of worship, the living Word is the lens through which we make sense of life and faith.

You will find here the Book of Faith collection of resources. They provide one way to engage in opening Scripture and whetting our appetites for the riches of the biblical stories. Open scripture! Join the conversations!

Introduction to the book of faith…

…is best described on their website or social network sites: ning | facebook | twitter .

Augsburg Fortress has published the wide array of resources described here (Visit their store). You will also find preview copies of all the Book of Faith offerings in the EaND Synod Resource Center listed here.

How did the Bible come to be our Book of Faith?

Try Rediscovering the Book of Faith, a DVD, leader guide, and participant book. (K164)

How can the Book of Faith renew our lives?

Try Opening the Book of Faith, a DVD, leader guide, and participant book that introduces four approaches: devotional, historical, literary, and theological. (K163)

What Bible might I use?

The Lutheran Study Bible (NRSV) provides hands-on tools for using the Bible—basic introductions to each book, background information, maps, charts, illustrations & more. It’s a great place to begin!

Where might we begin?

Try Making Sense of Scripture: Big Questions about the Book of Faith or Making Sense of the Christian Faith both by David Lose.

Bibles…

….include the following:

• The Lutheran Study Bible (NRSV)
• Spark Story Bible for children ages 2-2nd grade
• Spark Bible—NRSV for children 3rd-6th grade
• Bibles on CD-Rom
• Other Bibles

Additional Resources…

…can be found at the Book of Faith’s Bible resources page where there are links for the following:

• A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
• A Beginner’s Guide to Reading the Bible
• A Beginner’s Guide to Studying the Bible
• A Beginner’s Guide to the Books of the Bible
• About the Bible: Short Answers to Big Questions
• The Old Testament Story
• Fortress Introduction to the New Testament

Together in Faith…

…includes studies that connect with worship themes and follow the Revised Common Lectionary (available at Augsburg Fortress).

• God’s Will for Life (Studies in Mark)
• God’s Extraordinary Church (Studies in Ephesians)
• God’s Standard or Gold Standard? (Studies in Proverbs)
• Songs of the Faithful (Studies in the Psalms)
• Great Expectations (Studies in Isaiah)
• Heaven on Earth (Studies in Matthew)
• Questions for Jesus: Studies in Mark
• Being the Body of Christ: Studies in 1 Corinthians
• From Beginning to End: Studies in Revelation
• Close Encounters of the Jesus Kind: Studies in Luke
• God’s Own People: Studies in 1 Peter
• Signs of the Kingdom: Studies in Matthew
• Church in Waiting: Studies for Advent

Additional Bible Studies…

…appropriate for meeting openers, small groups, and for other short activities are available for free on the following topics:

• Deuteronomy 11:18-19 with Norma Cooke Everist
• Mark 4:2-3 with F. Javier Goita Padilla
• Psalm 111:2,10 with Thulie N. Beresford
• 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 with Mark Powell
• Jeremiah 17:7-8 with Marty Stortz 
• Romans 8:37-39 with Roy Harrisville
• John 15:5 with Craig Satterlee 
• Revelation 22:1-2 with Susan McArver 
• Amos 5:24 with Peter Nash 
• Matthew 25:35-36 with Kristin Swanson 
• Mark 8:34-35 with Mary Streufert 
• John 1:14,16 with Erik Heen 
• Isaiah 55:1-11 with Stan Olson 
• Augsburg Adult Bible Studies
• No Experience Necessary Bible Studies

Find more Book of Faith resources at Augsburg Fortress 

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Lutherans and the Bible

The Great “O” Antiphons of Advent are favorites of mine because they give shape and words to our deepest longings. To the voices of so many generations before us, we add our own:

O Lord of Light, come, light the hearts of all in dark and shadow;
Spring of Joy, rain down upon our spirits, come, make us whole;
Root of Life, draw us to you, our hope reborn in dying and in rising;
Key of Knowledge, open to us the pathway of peace;
Wisdom, come and teach us the way of prudence.
(Paraphrases of the “O” Antiphons are listed in ELW #257)

In this season of waiting, may the yearnings expressed in the “O” Antiphons echo our own longing for the Christ we celebrate this season: the Promised One who is Lord of Light, Spring of Joy, Root of Life, Key of Knowledge, Wisdom.

As you wait and prepare during Advent, you may enjoy reading Come, Lord Jesus: Devotions for the Home by Susan Briehl (AFP). Briehl’s blessings, prayers, poetry, and songs are combined with scripture and meditations. You also might like Advent Reflections: While We Wait; I wonder as I wander; and Making All Things New (AFP).

These resources are gifts to the church. Several years ago, Briehl wrote a beautiful Advent reflection on the first of the “O” Antiphons about our desire for wisdom. I’ve saved it to reread each Advent season. She closes with this prayer:

“O Wisdom, come and teach us for we are a people highly skilled, but unable to connect with one another. Come and teach us, Sweet Wisdom, for we are a people burdened to breaking with information, but void of compassion, empty of justice, aching for a vision of hope. Come and teach us that we might be wisely rooted, not merely entrenched. O Wisdom, O God’s Wise Heart, O Christ Jesus, come. Amen.”

This is my prayer for each of us this Advent, 2011. Warmest wishes to you all!

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: The “O” Antiphons

SPARK

SPARK Family from Augsburg Fortress is a quarterly magazine for families and children. It provides a way to talk with children about God centered in well-known Bible stories. Family Sample copies available.

Spark Bibles from Augsburg Fortress are designed to help introduce children to age-appropriate Bibles. The Spark Story Bible and Spark Bible NRSVare for ages 2- 6th grade. Preview copies are available from the Resource Center or Augsburg Fortress.

Vibrant Faith Ministries

New from Vibrant Faith Ministries: Teaching the Bible with Children, Youth, Families: Unit 1- Equipping Households of Faith, a resource based on an understanding of baptism that informs the belief that home is the primary place for nurturing and passing on the faith. This will help congregations build a strong and vital partnership with households for a common mission – to experience God’s story and practice the Christian faith in daily life. DVD416

Among many resources produced by Vibrant Faith Ministries is their Faith Formation Learning Exchange. Check it out!

DVDs

The Way of the Child: Helping Children Experience God focuses on the spiritual formation of children. This new resource in the growing Companions in Christ family helps children learn and experience spiritual practices that will lead them into a deeper awareness of God’s presence in their lives. DVD360

For effective worship-centered ministry centered on faith nurture for young children, Helping Children Experience God is based on the book Young Children and Worship by Jerome Berryman and Sonja Stewart. It’s an effective worship-centered ministry of faith nurture for young children. The dvd provides an introductory overview of the program for pastors, Christian educators, worship teams, parents, and lay leaders. DVD126

From Paraclete Press, Tell Me About God can help parents and others talk with children about God’s presence and a God who loves them unconditionally. DVD14

More Resources

Washed and Welcome: A Baptism Sourcebook and Living the Promises of Baptism: 101 Ideas for Parents are part of new baptismal formation resources from Augsburg Fortress. These resources will help pastors and parents with ideas for celebrating the gifts of baptism in daily living including meals, bedtime, play, seasons, milestones, transitions. Ideas are appropriate for children from infant to upper elementary. K172

With humor and honesty, Denise Roy tells stories that can help readers see God’s presence in the ordinary events of family life and children in My Monastery is a Minivan: Where the Daily is Divine and Routine Becomes Prayer. B3776

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Open for Exploration: Faith Formation in Children

Among the newest resources from Spark is Clayfire Curator , a creative worship design blog. Check out The Stories the Stars Tell, a collection for Christmas and Epiphany.

Sundays and Seasons—Year B: As we begin a new church year, the very best resources for worship are found here. It includes preparation for each season, weekly texts, seasonal rites, music and so much more. Take a look at our preview copy or subscribe online.  You also might like to consider Clayfire (AFP)

For daily prayer, The Meaning is in the Waiting: the Spirit of Advent from Paraclete Press focuses on people of the Bible who waited on God—Sarah and Abraham, John the Baptist .

Advent Book of Faith Reflections offer daily readings, bible study, journaling, activities and prayer. This year’s title is Advent Reflections: Making All Things New from Augsburg Fortress. For small group or individual use.

DVDs for group use include:

• Legend of the Three Trees
• Advent Calendar on DVD
• Songs of Christmas
• The Christmas Story
• Advent Conspiracy: Can Christmas Still Change the World?
• Advent, five compelling 2-3 minute video illustrations about Jesus’ birth

For adult study, Kerygma’s Hallelujah: the Bible and Handel’s Messiah explores the scriptural texts of Handel’s Messiah in four sessions: Comfort, Comfort My People; Who Shall Abide the Day of His Coming?; For Unto Us a Child Is Born; and Glory to God in the Highest. A recording of Messiah is recommended for class use.

For midweek worship in Advent, the Resource Center has a variety of services available for loan: The Long Road to Christmas, Flames for the Faithful, A Child is Born in Bethlehem, and A Place Prepare. (Creative Communications)

Advent and Christmas programs are available for many kinds of settings. In addition to programs, music, liturgies, preaching resources, books, and more are available at Augsburg Fortress.

An old favorite and an especially beautiful book for celebrating Advent and Christmas, Winter: Celebrating the Season in a Christian Home by Peter Mazar combines readings, images, and reflections. (Liturgy Training Publications)

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Open For Exploration: Advent and the Coming of Christ

“Just to be is a blessing; just to live is holy.”
Abraham Joshua Heschel

The following recommendations are singled out for the ways they provide care to pastors and leaders across the church. Resources both for self-care and care of parishioners are included. Some reflect self awareness; others speak to care of others; some address the disillusionment of daily life and ministry. Many draw us back from the edge of self-preoccupation and the running of institutions into the presence of a God who, in the midst of disappointments, illusions and disillusions, will not let us go. It’s a work in progress!

Pastoral Care – Consider the following…

• Search the resource center for resources re: practical aspects of pastoral care.
• Check out the following new titles:
• Nan Guilmartin, Healing Conversations (revised)
• Margaret Benefiel, Soul of Supervision
• Denise Hopkins, Grounded in the Living Word
• Rolf Nolasco, Contemplative Counselor
• Neil Pembroke, Pastoral Care in Worship, Liturgy, and Psychology
• Joe Pennel, Gift of Presence
• John Sippola, Welcome Them Home, Help Them Heal
• Larry Webb, Crisis Counseling in the Congregation
• Form a clergy or colleague group where questions and issues of pastoral care shape conversation and prayer
• Consider meeting regularly with a spiritual director (see below)
• Make time for a retreat (see below)
• Ask someone you trust as a model and “fellow traveler” to be your mentor
• Read, write, take time for nature and the restorative power of creation
• Spend time on those things which give you life
• Sabbatical possibilities

Who am I? They often tell me I would step from my cell’s confinement calmly, cheerfully, firmly, like a squire from his country-house. Who am I? They often tell me I would talk to my warders freely and friendly and clearly, as though it were mine to command …Who am I? They also tell me I bore the days of misfortune equably, smilingly, proudly, like one accustomed to win.

Poke around these sites…

You’ll find interesting resources for pastoral care as well as offerings like events, tutorials, workshops, retreat opportunities, weekly blogs, and more.

• FaithAndWisdom.org
  Retreat centers, events offered by seminaries, colleges, lifelong learning centers
• Spiritual Directors International
  Spiritual directors and how to identify those most helpful
• Sacred Space
  An online prayer guide
• Alban Institute
• Paraclete Press
  Pastoral care resources

Who am I? This or the other? Am I one person today and tomorrow another? Am I both at once?
A hypocrite before others, and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army, fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Retreat Opportunities:

• Sisters of the Presentation Prayer Center - Fargo, ND
• Sisters of Mary of the Presentation House of Hospitality – Valley City, ND
• HeartSprings: Center for Health, Hope, Healing – Fargo, ND
• Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center – Carefree, AZ (see below)
• Holden Village – Chelan, WA
• Franciscan Spirituality Center – LaCrosse, WI

Spend time with the following authors…

The Resource Center loans most of the books and media resources by these authors:

• Eugene Peterson
  www.eugenepetersononline.com
  Peterson’s work can help pastors recover “vocational holiness.” His newest book is The Pastor. Check out his eloquent writing in The Contemplative Pastor; Working the Angles; Under the Unpredictable Plant, and Take and Read. You’ll find intimations of God at every turn.
• Barbara Brown Taylor
  www.barbarabrowntaylor.com
  This writer, preacher, teacher is primarily a worshiper. Her books reflect a way of being and seeing most of us long for: “ … BBT works with God’s word, God’s people, God’s gifts, God’s hope for the world… you who are entering ministry… you who are ministers who have forgotten your call… you who are not ministers but who are standing on the porch, unsure of whether you are seeking or being sought”… you must spend some time with BBT!
• Joan Chittister
  www.joanchittister.org
  Begin with Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Chittister’s recounting of the Rule of St. Benedict where she clearly describes the richness of daily life when guided by common sense reverence for God, self, and others. Order/borrow her monthly “Monastic Way” for daily reflections about living life fully.
• Abraham Joshua Heschel
  Check out classics like I Asked for Wonder and Quest for God.
• Dietrich Bonhoeffer
  Must reads include Life Together, Who Am I? and The Wisdom and Witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
• Granger Westberg
  His classic best-seller from Augsburg Fortress is Good Grief . AFP also recommends Domestic Violence: What Every Pastor Needs to Know, Pastoral Care of Alcohol Abusers, and Defeating Depression: Real Help for You and Those You Love. We have also added Pastoral Care Emergencies to the RC collection.
• Henri Nouwen
  Don’t miss The Living Reminder, Wounded Healer and Can You Drink the Cup?
• William Martin
  The Art of Pastoring: Contemplative Reflections
• Rob Bell
  www.robbell.com
  In addition to the Nooma films, don’t miss Bell’s provocative books.

Am I then really all that which others tell of? Or am I only what I myself know of myself? Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage, struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat, yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voices of birds, thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness, tossing in expectation of great events, powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance, weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making, faint and ready to say farewell to it all?

More resources from colleagues…

AIM Curt Larson, Milnor:
I attended a retreat sponsored by Luther Seminary and the Board of Pensions a couple years ago. Sandy Rothshiller was the main presenter. It was held at the Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center, north of Phoenix, AZ. I don’t remember the name of event, but it focused on self-care. The event helped me determine how to better care for myself, so I can better care for others. The week-long event schedule allowed plenty of free time and the February dates were ideal as it came between the two busiest seasons of Christmas and Easter.

Pr. Kathy Brown, Grand Forks:
Read Wesley Granberg Michaelson’s new book, Unexpected Destinations (Eerdman)

Pr. Dan Carlson, Larimore:
One resource that I have found helpful early in my ministry was a little book entitled, Minister’s Prayer Book edited by John W. Doberstein, Fortress Press copyright 1986. Another thing that I try to do for self care is to make my day off (if there’s an emergency, I try to take another day). Sabbath is important for self care. Some of the best advice for pastoral care came from Professor BIll Smith at Luther Seminary… telling us to know when you are in over your head—REFER. Refer to someone who is a specialist and trained counselor.

Pr. Jim Winjim, Grand Forks:
A couple of books that I have found useful are Becoming a Pastor: Forming Self and Soul for Ministry by Jaco J. Hamman. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press. 2007 and Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges. Da Capo Press. 2004.

Pr. Rich Budd, Leeds:
I like Eugene Peterson—everything he writes is good. I just recently finished his auobiography, The Pastor: A Memoir. On target also: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, The Contemplative Pastor, and the one that really hits home, Working the Angles.

Pr. Adam Copeland, Fargo:
A good intro for pastoral ministry—The Pastor by Eugene Peterson. A good site for congregational studies, support, and classes— thethoughtfulchristian.com

Pr. Lucinda Lien, Ypsilanti:
Kirk Byron Jones’ Rest in the Storm and Addicted to Hurry; for depression and its treatment without medication, The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns.

Pr. Bonnie Weaver, Cando:
Since our rural population is aging I have found that the annual Geriatric Healthcare, Alzheimer’s, & Hospice Conference in Bismarck is a great help. Each year they have different topics, but I have attended sessions on Pastoral Care for the Care Giver, Communicating with Alzheimer’s Patients, Using Laughter to Ease Crisis Situations, Grief and Alzheimer’s, etc. Also, taking the Prepare/Enrich class on pre-marital counseling was enormously helpful.

Pr. Jessica Merchant, Tri-County:
Two books that immediately come to mind are William Willimon’s Pastor, and Marva Dawn’s Sense of Call. Those two books were quite helpful with self-care my first years of ministry.

Pr. Marty Simmons, Fargo:
Read Chaim Potok!

Pr. Rich Kramer, West Fargo:

• David Augsburger, Caring Enough to Confront;
• Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death
• Anything by Fredrick Buechner
• Edwin Friedman, Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue
• Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence
• W. Paul Jones, Theological Worlds: Understanding the Alternative Rhythms of Christian Belief
• Andrew Lester, Hope in Pastoral Care and Counseling
• Gerald May, Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions
• Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather’s Blessings
• Daniel Simundson, Faith Under Fire: How the Bible Speaks to Us in Times of Suffering
• Howard W. Stone, Depression and Hope: New Insights for Pastoral Counseling
• Insight: Keep a Sabbath day each week; keep a Sabbath time each day.

Pr. Elwood Rieke, Fargo:
I recommend Pastor Art Johnson who was in charge of pastoral care at Merit Care for many years.  Best authors: William Willimon and Granger Westberg (Good Grief).

Pr. Patrick McCormack, Thompson:
I go back to How to Keep the Pastor You Love by Jane Rubietta and The Cry of Tamar by Pamela Cooper-White.

Pr. Jerry Protextor, Fargo:
I recommend Mark Allen Powell’s work; The Generosity Ladder by Nelson Searcy; and Kirk Nowery’s The Giving Church and The Giving Christian. Best care should also include Dave Ramsey’s material on Financial Peace University.

Pr. Mike Woods, LaCrescent, MN:
The language of God is story, symbol and ritual. (I think Carl Jung said this) and silence. Pastoral care is helping people become fluent in the language of God.

For doing good ritual and symbols I recommend:

1. Gertrude Mueller Nelson To Dance With God
2. The Nilson Family For Everything a Season: 75 Blessings for Daily Life
3. Robert Fulghum From Beginning to End

For good stories

1. Rachel Remen Kitchen Table Wisdom and My Grandfather’s Blessing
2. Mary Pipher Letters to a Young Therapist

For Caregivers

1. Wayne Muller’s 3 hour DVD, Called to Action: Strengthening Ministries of Healing is pure gold. (read him in this month’s The Lutheran magazine)
2. Robert Wicks Riding the Red Dragon: Ten Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times
3. The Art of Pastoring by William C. Martin

Local Spiritual Directors:

• Sisters of the Presentation – Fargo, ND
  Sr. Andrea Arendt presprayerctr AT cableone DOT net
  Sr. Elaine Garr garrye@presentationsisters.org
  Sr. Francine Janouse fjanousek@cableone.net
• Catholic Charities ND – Fargo, ND Office
  Peter Edwards pedwards AT catholiccharitiesnd DOT org
• Valley Christian Counseling Center – Fargo, ND
  Ellen Zaeske ezaeske AT mcleodusa DOT net
• Olivet Lutheran Church – Fargo, ND
  Pr. Tiffany Sundeen tsundeen AT olivet DOT org
• MICAH – Crookston, MN
  Daniel Wolpert micahprays AT midco DOT net
• Catholic Diocese - Fargo, ND
  Sr. Dorothy Bunce dorothy.bunce AT fargodiocese DOT org
• Pr. Terry Hagensen stsinner4u AT gmail DOT com

More information about spiritual directors…

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine!
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Replenishment, Reflection, Pastoral Care

Open for Exploration!

Connect with the Resource Center: Ways to Help Your Congregation

• Find topical collections of resources for all areas of congregational life
• Include the synod website, brochures and bookmarks, and resource collections in your church communications
• Bring your church council, parish education committee, worship leaders, women’s group, youth leaders for a tour of the center. We’re happy to share resources and we welcome input and requests.
• Use the Resource Center for meetings, sharing and learning together.
• Julie Aageson, Director of the Resource Center, welcomes invitations to share resources with pastoral conferences, women’s and men’s groups, and in other congregational settings. Call to make a date!
• Check out the synod website and online catalog

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Connect with the Resource Center

Photo by DOUG KANTER/AFP/Getty Images

On September 11, 2001, our lives and world were changed.  The Worship Committee of the Metro D.C. Synod has developed a resource to commemorate the anniversary of September 11 and help us remember the ways our senses and our souls were affected that day. The Entrance rite including prayers, litany and hymn suggestions is posted at metrodcelca.org (external link)

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Commemorating the Anniversary of September 11

Get Some Rest

Think about slowing down—even stopping—to give your soul a rest. Look to the August issue of The Lutheran for help. In “Sabbath,” take a look at “being, having and doing enough.” Get advice on slowing down with “Six steps to sufficiency.” And learn how “Emmaus walks” helped a family become aware of what God has done and is doing in their lives.

To help your discussion, a study guide by Robert Blezard, an ELCA pastor in Pennsylvania, is available in the print edition and online (external link) (free to print and Web subscribers; click on “study guides”).

Summertime

Kick back and enjoy some summer reading with The Lutheran’s August issue:

• meet an ELCA member who incorporates her art into her faith
• read a review of the documentary Vanishing of the Bees and the children’s book Merci Mister Dash!
• see how summer camping programs are not just for kids anymore
• get some advice on helping your child through “camp homesickness“
• stop for some tea and story time
• think about fall and staging a Reformation reunion
• and hear how Iowa youth and residents of a Lutheran retirement community are making beautiful music together.

Stay Connected

In The Lutheran’s August issue, find out what’s happening in the church—locally and globally:

• get a preview of the 2011 ELCA Churchwide Assembly
• discover how a “Disastrous youth ministry” has teens ready to deploy in case of emergency
• read assembly reports to see if synods are moving forward after the 2009 Churchwide Assembly’s decisions on sexuality
• see how a S.C. congregation was transformed from despair to hope through Transformational Ministry and how an Oregon congregation rises to the challenge of transformation
• and travel to India where Lutherans leave a legacy of hope and opportunity.

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Sneak Peak: The Lutheran August 2011 Edition

Gifts to ELCA World Hunger (external link) help support the work of international partners like Lutheran World Relief, The Lutheran World Federation, Church World Service/CROP and global companion churches through ELCA Global Mission.

Great Ideas for Congregations:

Easter chicks at Easter time, what a better time to bless a family in need with the gift of chicks or ducks that can help fight hunger? A chick, starting at just $1, can bring a family with an abundance of protein-rich eggs to eat and sell on the market. At $20, a duck is the best pesticide around–eating insects that harm crops while fertilizing the fields at the same time. Visit God’s Global Barnyard for more information (external link)

Host an ELCA Good Gifts Fair (external link) and invite members to buy chicks and ducks in honor of friends and loved ones. They also make great additions to Easter baskets! Start a buck-a-chick sale during Lent. For $1, allow members to purchase and decorate paper chicks. Hang colorful chicks in a prominent spot and announce the total raised on Easter Sunday. Check out the Lenten resources for congregations at ELCA World Hunger (external link)

ELCA Malaria Campaign (external link)
Teach your congregation about the biological and theological implications of malaria and learn what the ELCA is doing about it. The Malaria Jeopardy PowerPoint and many other games for children, youth, and adults are available online. (external link). More information about the ELCA Malaria Campaign (external link)

Bread for the World 2011 Offering of Letters (external link)
Bread members write to their members of Congress, advocating for policies that help end hunger in the U.S. and around the world.

Remember the Hungry this Lent (external link)

This year your congregation can host Wednesday night Lenten meals and help fight hunger at the same time. Enjoy global cuisine. Learn about different parts of the world. Discover how gifts to ELCA World Hunger are making a difference. Instead of charging for the meal, collect donations to support ELCA World Hunger.

Visit www.elca.org/hunger/lent (external link) for six complete meal plans (including global recipes, table tents, table prayers and discussion starters).

Spring Boxes (external link)
The ELCA added a new project to their Global Gifts Program: Spring Boxes, a cost-effective ways to increase access to potable water in the Central African Republic, our companion synod! Congregations interested in giving money towards the Spring Boxes in the CAR may write/send checks to the EaND Synod; individuals may send their contributions directly to the ELCA.

VBS Idea:
Check out the Taking Root (external link) Vacation Bible School curriculum for children and youth.

ELCA World Hunger Education and Advocacy Grants (external link)
Now available! These grants support work that furthers the education and advocacy objectives and guidelines of ELCA World Hunger. Is your congregation already active in this type of work? Please apply.

Called to Be Bread: Resources on Hunger
A collection of recommended videos, books, and bible studies from the EaND Resource Center that illustrate what it means to be Christ’s body in the world, the bread of life. Read online or download article. (download pdf file)

Resources from ELCA World Hunger:

Congregation Connections Resource (external link)
Congregation Connections is an online magazine designed to help leaders integrate hunger themes throughout worship and congregational life. It follows the church calendar to assist people in integrating hunger awareness and engagement all year.

ELCA World Hunger Toolkit (external link)
A practical, easy-to-use, and intergenerational resource to help you design, host, and lead a learning experience on hunger or hunger-related topics. It is adaptable to your audience, including participant activity level and your time frame.

ELCA World Hunger Video Series (external link)
Short (average 6 mins) videos showing stories of individuals whose lives have been impacted by gifts to ELCA World Hunger. Perfect to show during Sunday morning offerings, temple talks, adult forums and youth group gatherings.

A brief, four-minute video introducing the breadth of work made possible by gifts to ELCA World Hunger is also available.

Reproducible Hunger Stories (external link)
Examples of how ELCA World Hunger donations make a difference in the United States and around the world. Download from the ELCA website (external link) or order through the new ELCA Global Gifts Catalog. (external link)

More Information on Hunger:

• ELCA Global Links e-newsletter (external link)
  Stay informed. Be inspired. Get involved. Explore the breadth and depth of our church’s global ministry and of how God is transforming lives through our work together. Get regular updates from around the world!
• Hunger Facts (external link)
• Sign up for the ELCA World Hunger e-newsletter (external link)

The preceding resources are highlighted and recommended for your consideration. If you have questions or would like to reserve a resource, contact Julie Aageson at 701-232-3381 or julie.aageson@ecunet.org

Visit the EaND Resource Center | Search the Catalog

Eastern North Dakota Synod - ELCA: Hunger Facts, Information, and Congregational Resources