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Meeting Dinka Christians and musicians decades ago in East Africa made a lasting impression on Karen Campbell, a pastor and musician. She reflects on what we can learn about God through the lens of other cultures.
During decades of Sudanese civil war, the Jol Wo Lieech song ministry and Thiec Nhialic prayer ministry gave refugees and refugee congregations a sense of family and purpose. Both still work to unite Christians, whether or not they belong to the Dinka tribe or still live in South Sudan.
Accompanying people on their faith journey is an art that can be learned, according to Pope Francis. When St. Thomas More Catholic Community committed itself to the art of accompaniment, it learned principles that nearly any worship community can apply, Catholic or not.
Rather than starting with words and theories of interpretation, scholar Shively T. J. Smith uses Howard Thurman's metaphorical imagery to help congregations visually process how they understand scripture and live out their Christian faith.
Congregations and lay Christians have methods of interpreting the Bible and faith life even if they can't articulate them. Using Howard Thurman’s image-rich meditations, scholar Shively T. J. Smith offers a visual way to reflect on applying the Bible to faith and ordinary life.
Pastors play a crucial role in promoting or preventing intergenerational worship. Scholar Mimi L. Larson explains why, despite the pressures, pastors should treat children as full image bearers of God. This choice influences how all ages engage with God in worship.
Scholar Mimi L. Larson explains how theology, beliefs about children's capabilities, and pastors influence whether or how children meet God in worship. She says that Black church culture offers valuable examples.
Au Sable Institute developed its Liturgies of Restoration workbook to help university students in summer field science courses connect Christian worship and creation care. Now small groups and churches are using the workbook to cultivate habits of worship, community, earthkeeping, purposeful stewardship, and hope.
Brandon Helder's elementary students and his own children responded to tactile Jesse Tree devotionals during Advent, but he couldn't find similar Holy Week resources. To help children and families anticipate Easter, Helder wrote The Gift of the Cross: Celebrating Christ Through Holy Week and designed Resurrection Blocks.
The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated death-related issues in the Navajo Nation. Even so, affirming all that's good about "walking in beauty" gives Navajos on the Jesus Way a bridge to comfort people bound by fearful Navajo taboos about death.
Window Rock Christian Reformed Church used a Vital 91 Grant project to connect with more people by engaging scripture in ways reflective of Navajo cultural practices.
Just as lectio divina invites people to meditate on scripture, visio divina helps people pray with art. Visio divina, which translates as “divine seeing,” uses silence and images to help worshipers reflect and respond to God in ways other than listening to a sermon or singing praise songs.
