By Dr. Johannah Myers
Is your desk messy this month?
What’s on my desk this month? A mess, that’s what. Anyone else in the craziness of fall planning and getting organized for back-to-school? Here in my neck of the woods, schools are getting ready to start back, with our teachers heading back to work in just over a week. We’re all scratching our heads a bit wondering how July 4th was just yesterday and now it’s August!
Share your tips on how you organize your church calendar
On Facebook a couple of weeks ago, I crowd sourced to see how other churches keep their church calendars, especially for facility use. The popular answer seems to be using a Google calendar. I wonder what tips and tricks you’re using right now to stay organized with meetings, studies, and such. Seriously, I’d love to hear what’s working for you!
Let the Children Lead: Models for Worship with All Generations
Buried in all the fall planning, I do want to share a great new book called Let the Children Lead: Models for Worship with All Generations by Nelson Cowan. Newly published by Abingdon Press, this resource offers several models for bringing generations together. It’s an easy read, packed with ideas of actual practice, not just theory.
And it shouldn’t surprise you to know that Messy Church is one of the models mentioned! Roberta and I enjoyed talking with Nelson about Messy Church when he was researching this wonderful resource.
Peacemaking…any resources you recommend?
Meanwhile, I’m working on a Messy Church session about peacemakers for our August Messy Church. I’ve gone a little crazy ordering children’s books about peacemakers from around the world. Who are the peacemakers you think I should include? Do you have any great books about people who worked for peace in their community? Send them my way!
Back to School Messy Church Resources
If you’re looking for ideas for your own back-to-school Messy Church, make sure to check out our Messy Church USA resource page because there are several great sessions that work well this time of year. Put on Love would be fun for thinking about what we wear to school and how love should be something we wear every day. One of our newer session, Fill a Bucket, uses the children’s book Have You Filled a Bucket Today by Carol McCloud to explore kindness and encouraging others. What a great way to start a new school year!
Do you have recommendations to share with our community? Send them my way! Until next month, Johannah
johannah@messychurchusa.org