Posts by Debbie Kolacki
Back to School Ministries
In most parts of the country, August/September is back to school time. Churches may have their children in worship, Sunday school, and other programs for a few hours a week, but much more time is spent in school. It makes sense that churches should support the local schools in their area. Many churches are already…
Read MoreSunday School Curriculum for Multiage Classrooms
In many churches, we’re seeing less children in Sunday school. Adapting to decreased attendance may mean reevaluating how children are grouped and going to a multigraded or one room curriculum. Publishers are responding to these changes and there are now a number of choices available. Celebrate Wonder All Ages comes from Cokesbury, the United Methodist…
Read MoreInvite Resources – A New Christian Publishing House
On November 9, 2020, Invite Press, the official imprint of Invite Resources, published its first book, Everything Is Gonna Be All Right by Robert Hasley, a collection of the author’s life experiences and short devotional messages of comfort and encouragement. Invite Resources is a ministry of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Plano, Texas, where…
Read MoreFaces
During the pandemic, we missed many things, some of which we previously took for granted. It wasn’t until wearing a face mask became the norm, that we realized how strange it was not to see the faces of those around us. For those longing to see faces with their wonderful diversity, Roger Hutchison’s Faces: A…
Read MoreBreathe
When I heard that Paraclete Press was publishing another book by Laura Alary, I was excited! I loved her previous books Make Room: A Child’s Guide for Lent and Easter and Look! A Child’s Guide to Advent and Christmas. They stand head and shoulders above other children’s books on those topics, combining explanations of the…
Read MoreMaking Room for Everyone
The subtitle for the book Making Room for Everyone is “More Stories for Building a Children’s Chapel.” It follows author Bill Gordh’s book, Building a Children’s Chapel: One Story at a Time, and both books include information on creating a children’s chapel, storytelling tips, and song suggestions which support the story themes. Whereas the first…
Read MoreSilence
The pandemic has been traumatic for many of us, including our children. As we look for ways to help children cope with their anxiety and loss of structure, there has been a surge of interest in spirituality and mindful practices. A recently released book from Church Publishing, Silence by Jerome W. Berryman, is a wonderful…
Read MoreWe Shall Be Changed
In March 2020, as the country shut down due to the pandemic, church leaders were asking questions. How could they continue to worship without meeting in person? Could sacraments like Holy Communion and Baptism be celebrated virtually? Would the business of the church be able to continue without face-to-face meetings? Would they survive financially without…
Read MoreFinding Home
Julie K. Aageson, author of Finding Home, drew me in right from the introduction: “When my children were growing up, we often talked with them about how important it is to be ‘at home’ in many different places.” Isn’t that what most of us crave — finding home or finding a home? I believe this…
Read MoreThe Very Best Day
n 2018, the Episcopal Church invited its people to practice the Way of Love. Reminiscent of one of the names which referred to the first century Church (the Way), the Way of Love is a way of life, a commitment to follow Jesus by using seven principles: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest.…
Read MoreWild Hope
There are many Lenten devotionals available, on many different topics. The recently published Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing is a unique and challenging one. It was written by Gayle Boss, author of the Advent devotional All Creation Waits, with woodcut illustrations by David G. Klein. Both books feature detailed and fascinating descriptions…
Read MoreDrawing God
One of my favorite responses to certain theological questions was from someone who said, “How can anyone know that?” If religious people are honest, they accept that there are many unanswered questions about God and the spiritual realm. A delightful and beautifully written and illustrated new children’s book deals with one of those mysterious questions:…
Read MoreFamily Faith Formation Resources from Faith Alive
When I do in-person Sunday school teacher training (becoming rarer and rarer these days), I like to share a white rope of 168 inches which has one inch colored in black. I ask people if they know what the 168 inches represents. Usually they don’t, so I explain that it’s the number of hours in…
Read MoreBuilding Faith Brick by Brick II
If you’re looking for something different for Sunday school, other church programs, or even family faith formation at home, consider Legos. The book Building Faith Brick by Brick II written by Emily Slichter Given provides all the information you’ll need. The book is subtitled “An Imaginative Way to Explore the Parables with God’s People” and is…
Read MoreI Am God’s Storyteller
I was immediately drawn to the title of a children’s picture book recently published by Paraclete Press: I Am God’s Storyteller written by Lisa M. Hendey with colorful and cheerful illustrations by Eric Carlson. In my work with those in children’s ministry, I often tell them that they are privileged to be part of a…
Read MoreBeating Guns
Beating Guns: Hope for People Who Are Weary of Violence is not just a book; it’s a movement. Authors Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin recently conducted a thirty-seven-city Beating Guns Tour, literally hammering guns into garden tools at each stop, alluding to Isaiah 2:4: “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into…
Read MoreThe Dog in the Dentist Chair
Let’s face it – kids and animals have a special affinity and watching them interact brings smiles to adult faces. While pets, usually dogs and cats, provide love and companionship, there is a special class of animals who go above and beyond that. These are service animals and The Dog in the Dentist Chair: And…
Read MoreRetreats to Go
A well planned retreat is a great gift to give your congregation or other spiritual friends. Anyone who has taken the opportunity offered by a retreat to get away and spend some time with God and their own spirit knows the value of retreats. But planning a good retreat is not easy. It takes creativity…
Read MoreCandle Walk: A Bedtime Prayer to God
Children love repetition and ritual and at no time is that more important than at bedtime. Little ones need a calming routine to help them transition from the excitement of the day to a time of rest and quiet. For Christian parents, a bedtime routine usually includes a time of prayer as parent and child…
Read MorePaul and His Friends
I love the children’s book The Day When God Made Church which tells the story of Pentecost, so when a review copy of another book by author Rebekah McLeod Hutto came across my desk, I read it with interest. It did not disappoint. The book is Paul and His Friends: A Child’s First Book About…
Read MoreColoring Women of the Bible
Until a few years ago, coloring was for kids. Then adults discovered that it was a wonderful, meditative spiritual practice which required little preparation or equipment. Now there has been a profusion of adult coloring books featuring everything from animals to mandalas. You may think there’s no need for another adult coloring book, but I…
Read MoreLoving and Leaving a Church
Let’s face it – for many pastors the perception they have of their ministry when they set off to their first pastorate and the reality of that ministry are two very different things. Barbara Melosh’s Loving and Leaving a Church: A Pastor’s Journey tells the story of an older, second career, female pastor and her…
Read MoreMy Favorite Color Is Blue. Sometimes
Life is hard. Sometimes, children find that out sooner rather than later. For a child the loss of a loved one may be difficult to process. Children lack the vocabulary to express their feelings as adult do; their brains are not fully developed so completing the process of reconciling to the death may take years.…
Read MoreCrafting Gratitude
Most of us know that practicing gratitude has many benefits including greater happiness, better health, and increased productivity. Gratitude journals, where you might list five things each day which you are thankful for, are one way to focus on gratitude, but after a few weeks or several months, this practice can become monotonous. If you’re…
Read MoreThe Lifesaving Church
From the title, you might think this book is a how-to for churches and other faith communities on how to prevent suicides. It is that, but also much more. It is the story of the author, Rachael A. Keefe, her struggles in a highly dysfunctional family, her eating disorder, and her own attempted suicide as…
Read MoreThe Pope’s Cat
Children are drawn to animals and find them fascinating, so it’s no surprise that a number of children’s books focus on animals. The Pope’s Cat written by Jon M. Sweeney and illustrated by Roy DeLeon is a little bit different, however. It tells the story of a very special relationship between a cat named Margaret…
Read MoreBruised & Wounded: Struggling to Understand Suicide
I must have been around eight or nine years old when Aunt Mill died; she was my mother’s aunt (my great-aunt) and my mother was close to Aunt Mill, who called the night she died. Aunt Mill had been drinking and had taken pills. She wanted to end her life but had second thoughts, so…
Read MorePiggyback Psalms for Fun and Easy Singing
There’s something about setting words to music which impresses them into our memories. I remember once my husband and I went to visit our two children who were attending the same college. We decided to go out to lunch and, with the parents in the front and the kids in the back, it was a…
Read MoreBooks to Share to Show You Care
It’s hard to watch someone we love going through a tough time. We can offer to listen, pray, and try to help in other ways. Sometimes we might want to share a book which we think would be helpful. Both All Shall Be Well: A Spiritual Journal for Hope & Encouragement and Love Never Fails:…
Read MoreHoly Ground: An Alphabet of Prayer
There’s no shortage of devotionals available. Search for them on Amazon and you’ll find ones for women, men, girls, boys, teens, and even animal lovers. Some of these encourage us to “claim” the promises in the Bible and realize the power of prayer to get us what we’re entitled to. Julie K. Aageson’s book, Holy…
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