Summer Dreamin'
Is Pentecost the new Memorial Day?
Dear Friends,
I am not meant for the summer. And, blessedly, given that I live in New England, mid-May is still mostly cool and lovely. At the same time, though, the routines are shifting. Our Church School year wrapped this past weekend in advance of Pentecost, even as we still have about a month of the regular school year left. As I’ve attuned myself to the rhythms of my community, I could feel the change happening after Easter.
Yes, with the way the demands on families’ time changed with the seasons, Pentecost feels like the start of some kind of summer. I even started putting up our bulletin board!
So, what does it mean for it to be “summer” in our parishes? What do we do? How do we stay connected?
From Disconnection To Collaboration
Two weeks ago, one of my Church School kids asked if we would be doing the art programming we did last year again. It isn’t on my agenda, and I was a little surprised she remembered the handful of art pop-up programs I had offered. (You can read about the program I put together over at Grow Christians.)
As it turns out, that isn’t my plan this year, but mostly because it didn’t succeed as to the extent I had hoped as an intergenerational program. And that’s okay. We can still do some of these types of activities, setting those particular hopes aside. No, this summer I’m turning to a particular spirit of collaboration to encourage that engagement across generations, by partnering with our Racial Justice Initiative.
The plan: we’ll be telling Godly Play’s People of Color Who Inspire stories. Our RJI group has already been offering well-attended movie screenings and other programs and at least one leader for that ministry is already engaged with and excited by Godly Play. It’s an optimal collaboration, and it’s just the start.
Summer is the perfect time to actively invite young people into additional leadership roles, not just because they may not have Church School programming, but because many of our communities are simply more relaxed during the summer months. Attendance is lower, meaning fewer eyes on emerging leaders, people who often occupy key roles as lectors or acolytes may be away, and – at least for me – the fact that I don’t have my usual program responsibilities means I can offer more support for their service in these roles.
This is the baseline for my summer programming, while otherwise following where the energy is. It’s a season of staying open for collaboration and opportunities to cross the boundaries between different age groups and ministries. And it’s not too late to think about what that will look like for your community. Summer can be one of those seasons of rest, but the lower stakes that make it easier for me to invite an elementary schooler to lector can also make it easier for us to test small experiments within our ministries.
I wonder, what fertile ground for experimentation there might be in your community?
Resource Round-Up
Pentecost is looking pretty low-key this year in my corner of the world, but maybe it’s going to be a huge festivity in your parish! Either way, you’ve either got a plan for Pentecost or not, but here are a few things for your Summer planning consideration –
Kaitlin Curtice has a second installment in her children’s book series on loving the earth and the creator out later this month. Summer’s Magic will join Winter’s Gifts in her offering an indigenous celebration of nature meant for young audiences.
The Godly Play Foundation has several new opportunities for expanding the reach of our work! Check out the Circle of We Scholarship opportunities, as well as the Michael Macaluso Fund for Creativity (deadline 5/31!). Between these two funding frameworks, Godly Play is really thinking big about how we all can support children’s spirituality.
I saw a question in a formation group the other day about the new NT Wright children’s Bible and this is my official note that I won’t be recommending it. I really wanted to like it! It has incredible art and it makes some really compelling choices about integrating pieces of Biblical poetry and wisdom literature, as well as pushing beyond the Gospel in covering the New Testament but it’s also got a big supercessionism problem. I don’t have the temperament to avoid exclusively male God language (though it’s got that, too), but we’re not going to mess with some of his interpretive moves. I do recommend checking out the illustrations if you get a chance, though!
Finally, not a resource, but I ask your prayers for my home-base diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, this weekend as our representatives vote to select a new diocesan bishop. May the Holy Spirit be at work among them.
More summer schemes soon -
Peace,
Bird