“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

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope…

Hope is always about God’s presence. For a compelling picture, take a look at the old classic, The Rabbi’s Gift. This 7-minute DVD is about resolving group conflict, revitalizing community, and the hope that comes from respect for diversity. (DVD382)

It’s Not Too Late: A Field Guide to Hope is a remarkable collection of reflections and questions that get at the deeper meanings of Christian hope. A detailed study guide will soon be available as well. (B3755)

More Than One Right Answer by National Geographic photographer, DeWitt Jones, takes viewers on a short journey (3 minutes!) to discover multiple ways of addressing problems and challenges. (DVD383)

Turn My Heart: A Sacred Journey by Marty Haugen and Susan Briehl is among the most poignant collections I’ve found on the topic of hope. This book and CD includes music, texts, and prayers for dealing with loss and acknowledging hope. (CD6, B2850)

Nooma: Dust is a beautiful film affirming what it means that God believes in us! (DVD116) View preview trailer on YouTube (external link)

Celebrate What’s Right with the World is a compelling vision about leading a hopeful life focusing on abundance and new possibilities. Includes leader’s guide, workbook, and CD Rom of PowerPoint presentations. (DVD265)

Building Hope is a workshop format based on six core values for building hope among small town and rural congregations. An accompanying book, Discovering Hope: Building Hope in Rural Congregations is about best practices. Can be used with church councils and planning groups. Ideal for congregations thinking about realignment, cooperative ministry, long-range planning and visioning. (DVD252 and B2626)

At the Intersection of Fear and Hope, a 7 minute DVD with words from Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson about the challenges we face as a church and a culture. (DVD334)

Walter Brueggemann’s The Hopeful Imagination offers an interpretation of Ezekiel that speaks to hope in our present situation. (B1151)

…all hope for the future rests in the very character of God…

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: Hope

The following resources are available immediately by calling the Resource Center in the synod office.  These are for worship, individual use, and community gatherings.  Most are reproducible and can be adapted to fit different community and congregational settings.

Worship Resources:

• Marty Haugen and Susan Briehl’s Turn My Heart is a collection of worship litanies, hymns and scripture that can be used in small groups, for community prayer, or individually. CD and book for loan.
• Suggested hymns:
  • Healer of Our Every Ill (ELW, WOV)
  • Shepherd Me, O God (ELW)
  • Out of the Depths I Cry to You (ELW)
  • Thy Holy Wings (ELW, LBW)
  • You Are Mine (ELW)
  • On Eagle’s Wings (WOV, ELW)
• A Rite for Marking a Time of Natural Disaster by Pastor Linda Henke (from Marking Time: Christian Rituals for All Our Days) includes a prayer and liturgy that can be reproduced for one-time use with the inclusion of a copy statement.
• Services that can be adapted and/or reproduced include the following:
  • A Light to Lighten Our Darkness
  • Paraphrases from Psalms 61 and 62
  • A Prayer for Those Distressed (said or sung to “Take My Life, That I Might Be”
  • A Service of Word and Prayer based on Isaiah 35, 2 Corinthians, and Psalm 23
  • A Community Gathering to Share Winter Stories, Offer Help, Encourage One Another, and Give Thanks for the Gifts God Has Given Us to Share

Web Resources:

• ELCA.feautor.org > Resources in times of disaster
  Two downloadable hymns for times of disaster
• ELCA Disaster Response
  Multiple downloadable resources that may be helpful during this difficult time
• Lutheran Disaster Response
  Additional resources appropriate for worship and individual use

See also, Resource Center Recommended Collection: “A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance: Resources for Difficult Times“

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: Resources in the Midst of Floods

» Download: A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance (download pdf file)

None of us is exempt from difficult times. Experiences of loss and grief, deep disappointments, fear and worry are the stuff of life. The death of someone whose life was once full of promise, the loss of one’s job, an unwelcome or unexpected transition, dreaded health diagnoses, broken relationships, and unfulfilled promises are the great common denominators. Very often, we don’t see another’s suffering, we don’t know another’s disappointment or the circumstances that bring sorrow and grief. Knowing that the incarnate God who came to us in a suffering Christ walks with us in our suffering is our anchor and our hope. The following resources are representative of what the Resource Center provides in our collection on loss and grief.

Julie K. Aageson,
Director of the Resource Center
Coordinator, ELCA Resource Centers

Both The Lutheran Magazine (external link) and The Little Lutheran (external link) include ongoing stories and resources for dealing with difficult economic times. The March, 2009 issue includes a cover story about how ELCA congregations and members are coping with stress and loss. Helpful tips are included. A free January, 2009 e-newsletter from The Little Lutheran “Faith and the Economy: Managing stress around young children” (external link) offers ways families’ faith can help them.

Lent provides an important time this year for congregations to enjoy a meal together, worship, and reflect about some of the challenges many people are facing. As individuals and families worry about the possibility of job losses and other economic uncertainties, Lenten suppers and other occasions for gathering together can be a time and a “safe place” for connecting with one another.

Some congregations are inviting opportunities for their members and others in the community to hear from social workers, business leaders, and other community people to talk about career connections, social services, business opportunities, and any other topics that address current concerns. These can be simple adult education forums on a Sunday morning, a weekend retreat, or a workshop where information and connections are shared. A workshop at the synod assembly also will focus on stress and dealing with difficult times.

To Comfort and To Honor is a comprehensive guide for helping families deal with the death and suffering. It provides a framework for preparing for a loved one’s death, expectations and decision making at the time of a death, and rituals and detailed information for planning a funeral. (B1907)

Language of the Heart shares rituals, stories, and information about death. (B2185)

Joyce Rupp’s many books on loss and suffering are written with poetic grace and theological integrity. Among the best are Praying Our Goodbyes, about the end of a friendship, a financial struggle, illness, a job change-losses that have given life meaning and value; May I Have This Dance, focusing on relationships that help guide us through joy and sorrow; Little Pieces of Light-Darkness and Personal Growth encourages readers to approach painful, inner darkness as a help rather than a hindrance to growth; and The Cup of Our Life uses a cup as a metaphor for difficult times. (B2115) (B1183) (B1568) (B1804)

Herb Brokering’s I’m Thinking of You-Spiritual Letters of Hope and Healing looks at ways to offer hope to those recovering from illness. (B1653)

Printed Resources

Written by area authors Jan Nelson and Pastor David Aaker, The Bereavement Ministry Program- A Comprehensive Guide for Churches offers a wealth of resources for responding to the needs of people in grief. It provides ideas for adults, children, and teenagers and addresses topics like the death of a spouse, a parent, young child, adult child, long-term illness, suicide, murder, infertility, AIDS, and other traumatic losses. It includes resources for insomnia, worry reduction, relaxation, managing stress, meditation, and a ritual for saying goodbye. An update of this resource will be available soon. (PR515)

Wheat Ridge Ministries publishes a number of helpful booklets including Odyssey of a Pain-Filled Life by Carol Ebeling and An Odyssey Through Cancer by W. J. Fields. (PR713) (PR711)

Children Are Not Paper Dolls is written from the perspective of children and illustrates how children deal with loss and grief. (PR379)

“Mother Teresa and Father Damien refused to look the other way… they chose to walk head-on into the most extreme situations of suffering and death that continue to be part of life.” A resource for a seven-day retreat, Retreat with Mother Teresa and Damien of Molokai-Caring for Those Who Suffer shows participants how to find God “in [God's] most distressing disguise.” (PR624)

To help children cope with loss, Guiding Children Through Life’s Losses offers sixteen prayers and lessons for assisting and acknowledging loss, for expressing feelings and attempting to recognize the experience as an opportunity for healing and growth. (PR603)

Books

Marty Haugen and Susan Briehl’s Turn My Heart gathers together prayers and psalms, songs and scripture, poems and pictures, all truly remarkable vehicles of comfort and grace. It includes prayer services that can be used for small groups or congregational use and community prayer. It’s the first resource I go to when there is a tragedy, illness, loss of hope, and so many other reasons for grief and loss. Music CD and book. (B2850) (CD6)

Augsburg Fortress publishes a series called Difficult Times (external link) dealing with depression, chronic illness, divorce, mental issues, the loss of a job and more. (B2759=)

Stilling the Storm: Worship and Congregational Leadership in Difficult Times (The Alban Institute) by Kathleen S. Smith combines liturgical and theological insight for pastors and congregations as they walk through difficulty and hard times. (B3310)

Gerhard Frost’s The Color of the Night takes the experience of Job to write about the “dark night of the soul” and the soul-searching that comes from thinking God has abandoned us. (B189)

Author Marva Dawn writes about the message of hope, grace and comfort to early Christians as they faced suffering in her book, Joy in Our Weakness. (B1750)

Can You Drink The Cup? is Henri Nouwen’s beautiful little essay on the spiritual life, living the life given to us even in its brokenness and disappointments. (B1791)

Daniel Simundson’s Where is God in My Suffering is a classic on God’s presence in the midst of loss and grief. (B797)

Grace All Around Us: Embracing God’s Promise in Tragedy and Loss by Stephen Paul Bouman was written in the aftermath of 9/11. (B3347)

From AFP’s Lutheran Voices, Will I Sing Again? Listening for the Melody of Grace in the Silence of Illness and Loss by John McCullough Bade deals with chronic and debilitating illness. (B2832)

For daily prayer, Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief by Martha Whitmore Hickman is for those who have suffered the loss of a loved one. (B3538)

Douglas John Hall has written a major work on the reality of suffering in God and Human Suffering. This classic goes beyond simply addressing the topic of suffering to the affirmation that God creates, sustains, and redeems and that suffering—loneliness, experience of limits, temptation, anxiety—are necessary parts of God’s good creation. (B832)

Life is Goodbye, Life is Hello addresses the importance of grieving through all kinds of loss. (B1178)

Avoiding the cliches of grief is the theme in I Know Just How You Feel. (B1034)

Video / DVD

Walter Wangerin draws from his own experience of cancer in Confronting Death: A Christian Approach to the End of Life (Paraclete Press). This five-part conversation goes way beyond acknowledging the difficulties of illness and eventual death and explores stages of grief and loss, caring for those who are ill, handling pain, and much more. (DVD250)

The short film, Nooma: Matthew speaks to the suffering that comes with the loss of someone we love. (DVD163)

Joyce Rupp explores transitions in life like the ending of a relationship, a death, a career change, a move, or a change in one’s life in Spiritual Growth in Tough Times: Find a Reason to Hope. She compares the great cycles of life and nature to our own inner cycles. (VT1942)

Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss provides authentic experiences of loss and grief that don’t assume “right” or prescribed ways of dealing with difficult times. (DVD234) (B2320) (VT2453)

Joan Chittister addresses themes of suffering and loss in two video resources, Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope and Transfiguration Ministry to a Wounded World. Both deal with times of pain and sorrow, depression and stress. (VT2276, VT2277, VT2429)

Walter Brueggemann asks questions like “have you ever wondered if God cares about our suffering” and “does my suffering matter at all to God?” in Is It Alright with God If We Suffer? from the series, Faith and Reason II. This discussion addresses classical notions about God’s ability to deal with evil. (VT1878)

In the series, Great Figures of the Bible, Elie Wiesel tells the Story of Job weaving together images of suffering and sacrifice that characterize that classic Old Testament story. (VT1251)

Spiritual Homepage’s “Suffering” invites viewers to consider our common experience of suffering. The topic is introduced by a well-known thinker, a profile of someone whose life experience reflects a deep encounter with suffering is shared, a film or event from history illustrates the same theme helping viewers better understand their own experience of suffering. (VT1747)

Lessons on Living with Morrie Schwartz, an ABC Special featuring Ted Koppel’s interview with a sociology professor from Brandeis University whose experience of death and dying is recorded in the book, Tuesdays with Morrie, is a helpful resource about “things seen and unseen,” the joys and sorrows of life that all of us experience. (VT2111)

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: A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance – 2009

Among our most frequent requests are questions about small group study and conversation. Sometimes this means bible study or a study on biblical themes; others ask for resources that will help them with specific topics. They all reflect our common need for meaning and purpose, our search for God and God’s presence in the chaos of life, and a desire for thoughtful study and meaningful community.

We’ve chosen a sampling here of “our best recommendations.” Clearly, these reflect a wide range of topics, interests, approaches, and styles. And clearly, they are a sampling. We invite your recommendations as well. Always we are looking for resources that bear Christ to the world and challenge us as followers of Christ to see ourselves and the world through the lens of God’s overwhelming grace.

Featured Resources:

• Grounded in Prayer by Brent Dahlseng
• That You May Have Life: A Study of the Gospel of John by Susan Briehl
• Lutheran Voices Series
• Sing the Faith Series
• Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People by Dorothy Bass
• The Cup of Our Life by Joyce Rupp
• A Spiritual Formation Workbook: Small Group Resources for Nurturing Christian Growth by James Bryan Smith
• Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time by Dorothy Bass
• Food and Faith: Justice, Joy and Daily Bread edited and compiled by Michael Schut
• The Story of Ruth:Twelve Moments in Every Woman’s Life by Joan Chittister
• Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope by Joan Chittister
• Sunday Dinner by William Willimon
• To Dance with God: Family Ritual and Community Celebration by Gertrud Mueller Nelson
• Where Your Treasure Is: Psalms That Summon You from Self to Community by Eugene Peterson
• God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time by Desmond Tutu
• Praying Our Goodbyes by Joyce Rupp
• Listening for God: Contemporary Literature and the Life of Faith
• Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
• Talking about God (video series)
• What’s So Amazing about Grace? (video series) – Philip Yancey
• What’s God Up To?
• The Jesus I Never Knew
• Revelation: God’s Dream, Our Challenge
• Exploring the Sacred in Death and Dying
• Wrestling with Angels
• The System Belongs to God
• When It’s Hard to Choose
• Searching for Spirituality
• Faith and Reason

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: Studies for Small Groups

The Resource Center has numerous printed and audiovisual resources that deal with difficult times.

Featured Resources:

• “Living Pulpit” (periodical)
• The Bereavement Ministry Program: A Comprehensive Guide for Churches by Jan Nelson and David Aaker
• Liturgies of Lament
• “A Light to Lighten Our Darkness: A Service of Prayer, Hope, and Remembrance” (liturgy)
• “O God, Our Words Cannot Express” (hymn)
• “I Trust You, Lord” by Bob Schaefer (liturgy)
• To Walk and Not Faint by Marva Dawn
• Tear Soup-A Recipe for Healing After Loss
• Tested by Fire: Living as a Christian in a Post-Christian Era by Pastor Mark Vitalis Hoffman

Featured Links:

• Youth Bible study “Activities, Studies, Discussion for Terrorist Attack” (external link) from www.synodresourcecenter.org
• North Dakota State University Extension Service (external link)
• www.crossmarks.com (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: Resources for Difficult Times