Category Archives: Uncategorized

Curriculum Updates: Closure of Wood Lake Books and Parasource Distributors

Are you using Whole People of God or Seasons of the Spirit from Wood Lake Books, or any of the Sparkhouse family of curricula (Spark, Whirl, Holy Moly, Connect, Re:form, Echo the Story, Colaborate, or T.B.D.) distributed by Parasource?

You may have recently received news that both Wood Lake Books and Parasource are closing and that this will affect your ability to order curriculum through either of these bodies. In light of this you may have questions about what to do for the fall season of Sunday school – and this may be causing a bit of panic for you and your church. I want to answer a few of those questions now and promise to keep you updated as I learn more along the way.

(more…)

Announcing Two Zoom Workshops for Educational Ministry

Thank you to Mike Fox and unsplash.com for this image

Hooray!!!!!

Our churches have reopened and are now beginning to consider their educational ministry options for the fall.

In light of this good news I’ve been getting lots of phone calls and emails asking for help in two specific areas in particular.

The first has to do with Sunday school curriculum.

(more…)

The Trouble With Technology

Last week I received an article from a colleague entitled The Coming Tidal Wave of Pastoral Departures by Laura Stephens-Reed. The article can be found here and I commend it to your reading: https://tinyurl.com/y66f5gea

There is much to learn in the article, but one paragraph in particular stood out:

“Prior to the pandemic, a significant number of my clergy coachees and colleagues were working under unrealistic expectations, whether those came from their congregations or from their own internal “shoulds.” And then, mid-Lent, they had to change the ways they did nearly everything – and fast. They became not just preachers but tech experts with all that entails: recording, editing, sound mixing, lighting, inviting people to and teaching them how to participate in and managing online meetings, exploring the most accessible social media platforms, and monitoring cyber security.”

(more…)

Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Synod of CNOB – 2015

For all past commissioners to the synod meeting of 2015.

Please read the attached minutes of the synod meeting of 2015 and check for errors or omissions. If you find any please forward your concern on to the Clerk of the Synod of CNOB, Rev. Jim Biggs, prior to the 2016 Synod meeting. You can forward your concerns to Jim at revjimbob@hotmail.com

click here for the Minutes of the 2015 Synod Meeting

“Make Room” for a wonderful, new children’s Lent and Easter book

make-room-a-child-s-guide-to-lent-and-easter-5

 

Presbyterian minister and mother, Laura Alary, has gifted the church once again with a wonder-filled, story-resource for families. Make Room: A Child’s Guide to Lent and Easter invites children and their parents to consider together the story of the life of Jesus during the season of Lent, and make room in their homes and hearts to welcome God in as they prepare for Easter.

From her perspective as a mother, Laura writes, “When my children were very young I always looked forward to the changing seasons. Inside and outside the church, the turning of the circle brought new colours and sights and smells – plenty of opportunity to explore and create. My little library of activity books kept us busy. But when it came to Lent and Easter I was never satisfied. The kids and I ironed grated crayons on to waxed paper to make stained glass crosses; we made purple paper chains, and hot crossed buns; we even blended and burned our own incense. But something was missing. Although we had plenty to do, we lacked a framework – something to hold the pieces together in a meaningful pattern. We were missing the BIG picture – a narrative which held the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as an integrated whole, and which invited children to become a part of the story.”

Make Room is written for children using a story format that gently weaves episodes from the life and ministry of Jesus with reflections on Lenten practices from the point of view of children. The rituals and practices revealed within its pages are simple ones for families to complete: cleaning our rooms; eating plain meals like bread and soup; giving up snacks and using saved money to help someone in need. They are all variations on the traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, and they all centre around the theme of emptying out to make space. Woven together the practices find their meaning in the stories of Jesus as these events are brought together to become a part of the big picture of what God is doing in the world – through Jesus, and through those that follow him.

Please consider buying this resource for your own family this Lent and Easter, and also placing an extra copy in your church library for other families to discover for their homes.

Make Room: A Child’s Guide to Lent and Easter can be purchased from Paraclete Press at http://www.paracletepress.com/make-room.html, or through amazon.ca.