1 P a g e W o m e n o f t h e E L C A P r o g r a m R e s o u r c e s O c t o b e r

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1 A Different Kind of Journey: Advent as a walk, not a spring A Different Kind of Journey offers several practices to explore, each helping you discover what is waiting to be born in you in the upcoming Advent season. Whichever of the practices you adopt, you are invited to follow Mary's example and ponder things in your heart as we await the coming of Jesus. Sonia Solomonson Advent: A Season for All Generations This two-part Advent program can be used by a group of any size. You ll discuss various customs and explore the biblical figures of Advent (Zechariah and Elizabeth, Simeon and Anna, Joseph and Mary, and more). You might use it with your regular study group or as a special Advent Bible study group. Each part takes about 20 to 45 minutes and includes prayer, hymns, Scripture, narration, and discussion. Christa von Zychlin All about Thankofferings This program will help you better understand the history and significance of Women of the ELCA s Thankoffering tradition. Did you know that the concept of Thankoffering celebrations dates back more than 100 years and beyond Lutherans? Thankofferings show gratitude for God s blessings and give us an important and tangible way to express that gratitude. It is a tradition grounded in our celebration of community, of meeting together to joyfully give thanks for what God has given us. A Thoughtful Prayer Life Being Good Stewards of Water A Thoughtful Prayer Life: Making time and space for what matters explores some of Martin Luther s and Deitrich Bonhoeffer s thoughts on prayer. You re invited to consider times at work where you feel particularly prayerful and reflect on times of trouble that drive you to prayer, among other things. This resource includes a hands-on bead making activity. Learn what virtual water consumption is, how North Americans compare to Europeans and Africans on water use, and easy ways to conserve and recycle water which is good not only for the local and global environment but for your wallet, too. Mary Button A Bold Life of Faith: Katharina von Bora Luther Katie Luther was a wife, mother, farmer, brewmaster, innkeeper, and more. In all that she did, she acted boldly on her faith in Jesus Christ. There s a little bit of Katie in all of us. Learn about Katie while learning more about yourself. Use this resource, designed to take about an hour, a small group or individually. Linda Post Bushkofsky 1 P a g e

2 Caring for the Earth as God s People Discover what it means to have dominion over the earth and see why caring for the earth is an expression of gratitude to God for its riches. Use this short resource in connection with Earth Day or any time you want to explore increasing your commitment to caring for creation. The Colors of Christmas: A reflection on preparing for Christmas Our celebrations are often sprinkled with seasonal traditions that bring us joy and remind us of times gone by or people who have graced our lives. Do you know where or when your traditions began and the meaning behind them? This resource takes a look at the some of the customs around Christmas. Bonnie Belasic Epiphany: Unfolding the discovery Epiphany is a church festival celebrated on January 6. We also have epiphanies throughout our lives sometimes suddenly, sometimes gradually of how we understand the world, ourselves, and others. This resource looks at epiphany as both unfolding discovery and sudden illumination. The Faces of Grief The Faces of Grief is a three-session resource designed to help you find wholeness and peace after loss. Loss comes in many forms: miscarriage, trauma, natural disaster, goodbyes, death, foreclosure, to name just a few. Discover your own grieving process, explore how grief can transform you, learn to feel the feelings of grief. The Faces of Grief is filled with questions for reflection, discussion or journaling. Sonia Solomonson Faithful Stewardship: An offerings report Faithful stewardship is a principle that we are committed to by our organization s constitution. Women of the ELCA operates almost solely on your offerings. This report shows how we use the gifts you entrust to us and summarizes the ways you can give to Women of the ELCA. Finding Your Bold: An Ice- Breaker Boldness comes in many forms. Some is bright and loud. Some is firm and quiet. Women of the ELCA celebrates this range of voices, knowing that the avenues for bold self-expression are limitless. Do you have a definition of BOLD? What do you believe is your best BOLD? Come explore what "bold" is. 2 P a g e

3 Gifts for You: Opening your spiritual gifts Discovering or recovering your spiritual gifts and exploring how you can better use them is part of growing in faith and discipleship. Gifts for You, complete with two Bible studies, will help you in that discovery with its spiritual gifts assessment. God Colors Outside the Lines: A short workshop on diversity and God s Church Grace-Full Living Diversity is one way God demonstrates genius at coloring outside the lines. Through scripture and simple, brief exercises, this short resource will help you demonstrate how diversity is a gift from God, as well as a trait of God, worthy of our exploration and embrace. We continue our focus on women s health in all its many facets. If we look at our complete and total health holistically, doesn t it make sense to include financial health? When we consider health in mind, body, and spirit, do we ponder how financial health and giving are integral to our wellbeing? Grace-Full Living can be used in its entirety all at once or divided over a longer period of time. It is divided into three parts of about 60 minutes each. Use in a congregational setting, as a conference event, or as a workshop. Emily Hansen, Cathy Malotky Hospitality: More than warm and friendly Hospitality is more than being warm and friendly. It is a transforming way of life that opens our hearts to seeing Christ in others and being available to those in need. This resource is designed for individual study but can also be used in a group setting and should take about 60 minutes. How to lead a Bible study Whether you are a confident, experienced leader or are struck with terror when someone asks, "Could you help lead the Bible study?" this resource offers practical suggestions and will motivate and inspire you to claim or reclaim your role in building up the body of Christ through teaching. You can lead Bible study! Diane Monroe 3 P a g e

4 I Am She Our mission statement calls us to act boldly. What does this mean? It means a variety of things, for boldness has a range of voices. Some is bright and loud. Some is firm and quiet. Do you know what is your best bold? This program will help you discover it and put it into action! I Am She can be used in a congregational setting, as a conference event, or as part of a synodical convention. It could be conducted over five to six weeks or as a weekend retreat. So boldly claim your boldness today, declaring, I am she! Journaling Journaling can open up pathways to new thoughts, new insights and new energy. If you're intrigued by the idea of journaling but need some guidance on how to get started, this resource will show you the many benefits of regular journaling and set you on your way. This resource is primarily for individuals, but it would also be good for a small group that wants to come together to learn about journaling and then support one another along the way by sharing tips, struggles, inspiration and success stories. Kathryn Haueisen Kitchen Table Philanthropy Do you discuss your beliefs and values around giving together as a family? Have you ever asked your children if there are places or causes they would like the family to make a commitment to? This short resource has ideas to help you start talking about giving with your family. It includes conversation starters, questions for personal reflection and ideas on how to make giving a regular part of your children's lives. Emily Hansen Knitting as a spiritual practice Knitting, a once grandmotherly craft, has been rediscovered. New generations of women are toting their knitting bags around, making scarves, hats and prayer shawls. Knitting has also emerged as a spiritual practice that opens a way to meditation. Understand the connection between craft and spirituality with his simple scarf project that will help you practice deliberate focus and meet the Divine as you work. Kathy Kastilahn Lent: Penitence, Pilgrimage, Preparation Our resource engages your imagination as you explore Lenten practices and our Christian history. Intended for use by a group, this resource also includes Lenten practices, some of which can be taken up immediately and others that call for additional preparation. Audrey Riley 4 P a g e

5 Lessons for Today s Disciple This resource will help you discover, practice, and be empowered by the seven marks of discipleship: praying, studying, worshiping, inviting, encouraging, serving, and giving. Use it individually or as a group study, perhaps covering each of the seven marks over seven sessions of about an hour each. Listening to God: A Guide to Discernment Living a Life of Daily Bread This resource was written for Women of the ELCA by Debra Farrington, a popular author and motivational speaker. It consists of six flexible hour-long sessions exploring what it means for an individual to discern God's hopes and desires for her life and what it means for a group to discern what their God-given gifts are for ministry. Ideal for a small group in either a retreat or workshop setting. A reflection on the phrase Give us this day our daily bread that explores what you can learn about by baking bread: patience, community, how to be intentional and attentive, and the joy that comes from wide-eyed anticipation. Can easily be used as a one-day retreat, complete with bread-baking! Debra Farrington Mikka McCracken Living Hope: Funeral Hymns and Scripture Have you thought about hymns or Bible readings for your funeral? Or the funeral of a loved one? Living Hope: Funeral Hymns and Scripture guides your exploration of hymns and Bible readings, drawing on the experiences of women and worship planners. Living Hope offers a great 90 minute program, but it can easily be expanded into two sessions or even a three-hour mini-retreat. Sue Edison-Swift Looking into the Mirror: A Lenten reflection Lent is about looking into a metaphorical mirror, the kind we hold up to our souls. Use the Lenten season to refocus your faith life and realign your relationship with God through 40 days of reflection. The discussion questions work best in small groups, though this resource can also be used independently. Linda Post Bushkofsky 5 P a g e

6 Navigating the globe Acts 1:8 commissioned the apostles to engage in mission to the ends of the earth. We have received the same command; we no longer leave our global mission ministry to men and women who leave home for years to go to parts unknown. Each of the four sections of this short program Purpose, Language, Approach and Navigate contains commentary, biblical references with questions and directions for connecting the P.L.A.N. Once completed, it will give participants a new tool for viewing and navigating their participation in global mission. Our Journey to Wellness Page Turners: Building a book club that suits your style Paths to Wholeness This resource is your starting point for participating in our health initiative, Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls. It is a guide to having healthy dialogue in your community about women's total health: physical, emotional, and spiritual. Use it with your women's group, as part of a cluster or conference event, or as part of a synodical convention. Try it with a confirmation class or with young adults. The program can be used over several sessions or as a one-day retreat. This resource helps you build a book club that suits your style. It features four different book clubs along with an annual book retreat and the reflections of a solo reader. A helpful companion for those wanting to learn about book clubs or how to start one, Page Turners can take those in existing book clubs to a new level with its creative ideas. Six book lists are included. How is your spiritual life? Do you sometimes find it hard to connect with God or let God connect with you? Would like to try some new things? Take a journey in spirituality and learn about the many different paths to God. Paths to Wholeness is a retreat experience that offers a holistic approach to spirituality. You will recognize your own spiritual paths as well as the spiritual paths of others. This retreat resource can be conducted over a period of several weeks and is ideal for a one-day retreat. Tammy Divine, Mary Stein- Webber, Ginger Anderson-Larson, Gwen Wagstrom Halaas Linda Post Bushkofsky, Kathleen Kastilahn, Terri Lackey, Linda Nansteel Lovell, Kim Wilkinson Shindle, Sonia Solomonson 6 P a g e

7 Pentecost, Prayer and Power This short program connects the disciples experience at Pentecost and the days leading up to it with three areas in which we can be a blessing to others through prayer and action: women s health, violence against women and clearing the red tape that keeps people from being fully empowered. Bonnie Belasic Planting Seeds for a Healthy Tomorrow Rachel s Day This resource can be used to introduce your unit or better yet, all the women in your congregation to the Women of the ELCA health initiative, Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls. It includes 17 easily adaptable program ideas that have been created and used by congregations just like yours from around the country. Programs include health and wellness fairs, healthy eating education, exercise and fitness programs, health retreats and more. This new resource offers step-by-step information on how you can carry out a service project that helps incarcerated mothers and fathers read to their children. Your congregation donates books, blank tapes, and recorders, and then volunteers help parents choose a book, record it, and mail the recording to their children. Rachel s Day is observed by Women of the ELCA annually on the first Sunday in May, though it can be observed any time of the year. It is a time set aside to mourn the loss of our children and to renounce the forces of violence and fear. Sonia Solomonson Maxine Washington Raising Up Healthy Women and Girls: Connecting with and support girls Girls need the women in their lives more than ever as they search for deeper connections and for more than their peers can provide. Talking and being with them early in their lives will help us to help them navigate their most challenging life passages. This resource is designed to help women and girls build relationships and can be used by an individual or with a planning group. Allow about 60 minutes for the first meeting. Resurrection: A Holy Discipline In Luke 20:36, we are called children of the resurrection. What does this mean? Is it a reference to a future event, the resurrection of our spiritual selves? Or might it have implications for our lives and the lives of others here and now? Consider how resurrection might appear in our everyday lives here and now with this multi-session program. Megan Manas 7 P a g e

8 Sacred Space as Metaphor Sacred Space as Metaphor follows an earlier resource, Sacred Spaces. Since we know God creates a sacred space within each of us, we can live into this metaphor, embracing all that is ours in Christ and the question, In what ways am I experiencing the life of Christ? This resource will help you engage the sacred work of growing into Christ as a bearer and reflector of God s grace and love for the world. Sacred Spaces This is a helpful guide to creating a personal sacred space that enriches and supports your practice of regular worship within a community of faith. Learn how to select and create a sacred space, whether that space is a whole room, a quiet corner of a room, or your garden. Shared Wisdom: An effective style of leadership Are there occasional (even frequent?) differences of opinion at your meetings? Do tempers flare? This resource summarizes a group discernment model for decision-making built on the principle that every person has a piece of the wisdom, but not all of it. Try it at your next meeting to help move you in a new direction. Joan Pope Speaking Faith through Art Explore how one's deepest convictions can be expressed through art by looking at the work of two Christian artists from different centuries. Lucas Cranach was a painter, propagandist, printer and illustrator during the Reformation. Sister Corita Kent was a nun who used her artistic gifts to communicate her commitment to the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1950s and 60s. How does art inspire you or help you express what you believe? Mary Button Stitches and Scripture This 4-session Bible study takes place over seven weeks and pairs seasoned knitting mentors with beginners. Novice knitters will learn several basic knitting techniques as the group makes scarves and dishcloths, perhaps to donate to others. Everyone will learn a bit about how knitting is frequently used in Scripture as a metaphor to describe God s creative and intimate relationship with us. Audrey Riley The Three Stations: A Readiness Exercise This minute tool can be used as an ice-breaker activity at the beginning of a retreat, workshop, or other group time. Its meditative approach helps participants to clear their minds, to "do what they need to do" in order to become open and ready for their time together as a group. 8 P a g e

9 Understanding and Responding to Human Trafficking Human trafficking is the third-largest criminal industry in the world after drugs and arms trafficking. It is a much wider problem than most of us realize because it is often so well hidden. This program will help you understand what human trafficking is, what is being done to stop it and how you and your church can participate in those efforts. Mary Button Women over 50 and HIV/AIDs In the United States, the number of new cases of HIV among women 50 years of age and older has been increasing at an alarming rate. This is a population well represented within our organization and denomination, and among our friends and family. This short program addresses the need for people over 50 to know how to protect themselves and help their neighbors learn how to protect themselves. 9 P a g e