Formation Resources
Included below are some of our favorite resources for Christian Formation. These will be updated from time to time, so check back often!
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Quicklinks to Resource Categories:
Hybrid & Post Quarantine Resources
Racial Reconciliation Resources
Training to Stop Anti-Asian and Xenophobic Harassment - Hollaback
Resources: Workshops, Online, Racial Reconciliation
In response to the rise of violence against Asian Americans and Xenophobic harassment due to fears surrounding the Corona-virus, Hollaback created this training to prevent future violence and hate against these communities. Sign up for these workshops here. The first session takes place on June 1st, and various different sessions will take place throughout the month of June. Make sure to sign up before the workshops reach capacity!
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy - Emmanuel Acho
Resource type: Book, Racial Reconciliation, Youth
Adapted from Emmanuel Acho's New York Times bestseller Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, comes an essential young readers edition aimed at opening a dialogue about systemic racism with our youngest generation. This newly released, and highly acclaimed book is aimed at young people around the ages of 9-12, but is a great read at any age!
d365 Mobile App
Resource type: Daily Devotional, Online
d365 Daily Devotionals is the free mobile version of the online daily devotional experience read by millions of people. With this app you can: Read daily devotionals, listen to original d365 music, set an alarm to remind you of your devotional each day, and read past devotionals in the archive. The app is available on the Apple Store, as well as Google Play.
Understanding Addiction and Supporting Recovery - led by Jan Brown
Resource type: Curriculum, Online course
In a collaboration with Bexley Seabury Seminary, Province III received a Constable grant to develop an online program to help people minister as Recovery Allies. Taught by Jan Brown, the training will help individuals and faith communities to reflect critically on the current state of substance use and addiction, to prepare to minister as Recovery Allies and/or Rapid Response Teams, and to be the hands and feet of Christ for those struggling with substance use. It is based in the work of SpiritWorks Foundation, led by Jan Brown, and the work of Province III's Opioid Response Task Force. The 8-week course begins April 10.
Second Breath Mobile App
Resource type: Mobile app, Well-being, Online
The Second Breath mobile app includes hundreds of spiritual practices that engage heart, mind, and body, audio reflections on inward and outward journeys, and guided daily centering practices. The app offers the opportunity for individuals and groups to move from overwhelmed and overloaded to true fullness of life.
Mental Illness Guide - Drugwatch
Resource type: Article, Guide, Online
This comprehensive guide on mental illness describes common mental illnesses, as well as warning signs and possible treatments for those illnesses. The article would be helpful to educate parents or church leaders about mental illness, and what they can do to help someone with an illness such as an anxiety or mood disorder. Additionally, Drugwatch, a free online health resource, has published many other guides on anxiety, mental health, and physical health.
Hybrid & Post Quarantine Resources
The Post-Quarantine Church - Thom S. Rainer
Resource type: Book
This book is valuable for those looking for local church and pastor resources to enhance church leadership, grow your church, and serve digital and online church communities in the post-quarantine world.
We Shall Be Changed - Mark D.W. Edington
Resource type: Book
We Shall Be Changed is a gathering of brief essays from thought leaders around the church on pressing topics that the church needs to be considering now, in preparation for the end of this pandemic. The book is designed to spur conversation within parishes, fellowship groups, and clergy gatherings about how to embrace the gifts this time has given while anticipating and addressing the very real challenges the church will confront in its wake.
Toolkit for COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution - The Episcopal Church
Resource type: Guide, Online
This guide is a compilation of ideas and educational resources to help churches work with the government to help end the pandemic and get congregations vaccinated so that churches can begin to return safely to normal services.
The Pandemic Population - Tim Elmore
Resource type: Book
Identifies eight strategies to help Generation Z rediscover hope after the COVID-19 pandemic. A timely treatment on how to lead youth in a crisis.
Racial Reconciliation Resources
Sacred Ground Film Based Dialogue - The Episcopal Church
Resource type: Curriculum, Video Series, Online
A film and readings based dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Part of the Episcopal Church's long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice. Can be done individually or in a church study group.
Online Anti-Racism training - The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
Resource type: Program, Online
This program includes 20 hours of virtual Anti-Racism Training streamed to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. The training takes a historical approach to help participants understand systemic racism and empower them to confront and organize against racism, inequality, and injustice. Lecture and discussion topics include “What is Race?”, “Systemic Racism and White Privilege,” “Internalized Racism,” “The Role of the Church,” “Settler Colonialism,” “Racism in Immigration and Naturalization Legislation,” and “The Prison Industrial Complex. Registration for the next training session closes May 27th.
The Church Cracked Open - Stephanie Spellers
Resource type: Book
The Church Cracked Open invites us to surrender privilege and redefine church, not just for the sake of others, but for our own salvation and liberation. In this newly released book, Spellers explores the American story and the Episcopal story in order to find out how communities steeped in racism, establishment, and privilege can at last fall in love with Jesus.
Stamped from the Beginning - Ibram X. Kendi
Resource type: Book
In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. He uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to drive this history: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis.
How to be an Anti-Racist - Ibram X. Kendi
Resource type: Book
In the New York Times Bestseller, How to Be an Anti-racist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of anti-racist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man - Emmanuel Acho
Resource type: Book
In this top-rated book, Emmanuel Acho takes on all the questions, large and small, insensitive and taboo, many white Americans are afraid to ask―yet which all Americans need the answers to, now more than ever. The former NFL player explains the vital core of such fraught concepts as white privilege, cultural appropriation, and “reverse racism".
Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults) - Bryan Stevenson
Resource type: Book
In this work, adapted from the New York Times #1 Bestseller, Stevenson's story is one of working to protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society--the poor, the wrongly convicted, and those whose lives have been marked by discrimination and marginalization. Through this adaptation, young people of today will find themselves called to action and compassion in the pursuit of justice.
Anti-Asian Violence Resources
Resource type: Additional Resources, Online
Here, you'll find resources that have been gathered to help individuals educate others, take action against Anti-Asian Hate, donate, and more.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Book Collection - Lee and Low Publishers
Resource type: Children's Books
These 38 books can be purchased all together, or individually. The books pay tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success with this collection. Celebrate the many Asian-Pacific American stories and cultures with this collection.
Church at Home - The Bible Project
Resource type: Curriculum, Video Series, Online
A free resource designed for youth and families to help in these unprecedented times to continue to engage in Scripture with engaging multimedia Bible studies. Easy to understand, and very informational.
The Bible Study: Youth Edition - Zach Windahl
Resource type: Curriculum, Bible Study, In-person
A 90-day bible study that engages youth in scripture, and focuses on how each book of the Bible relates to their lives.
Faith in An Anxious World - Fuller Youth Institute
Resource type: Curriculum, Discussion Group, In-person
This 4-week curriculum is designed to help open channels of communication between young people and their peers, their parents, and the church about mental health. It integrates anxiety into conversations about discipleship and holistic, faithful living.
Books of the Bible - The Bible Project
Resource type: Curriculum, Video Series, Online
Free animated videos that explore the books and themes of the Bible. Accessible and easy to understand.
Confirm not Conform
Resource type: Curriculum, Confirmation
Confirm not Conform provides a safe place for confirmands to explore the breadth of the Christian tradition, to ask questions and express their doubts, and to discover what they truly believe.
The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens - Karen Bluth
Resource type: Book, Mental Health, Mindfulness
The Self-Compassion Workbook for Teens offers valuable tools based in mindfulness and self-compassion to help you overcome self-judgment and self-criticism, cultivate compassion toward yourself and others, and embrace who you really are.
Grace In the Midst of Trial - The SSJE Brothers
Resource type: Article Compilation, Online
During this challenging time, the Brothers share from their own traditions, resources, and practices for living well which have been sources of grace to them.
Seabury Resources for Aging
Resource type: Older Adult care, Online or In-person
Seabury Resources for Aging is a non-profit organization that serves the greater Washington D.C. Area. Their mission is to provide personalized, affordable services and housing options to help older adults live with independence and dignity.
The Path Ahead: Spirituality and Purpose Later in Life
Resource type: Video Presentation, Online
View this presentation on the spirituality of aging by Elizabeth Boyd and Rev. Susan Walker at Province III's Synod and Council meeting in October 2020.
Sustaining Earth, Our Island Home - The Episcopal Church
Resource type: Personal Development, Program, Online
This Carbon Tracker is a web-based application that helps individuals, households, congregations and even dioceses to measure carbon footprints and take steps to shrink it to fit a sustainable life.
Love is the Way - Bishop Michael Curry
Resource type: Book
This book will lead readers to discover the gifts they need in order to live the way of love: deep reservoirs of hope and resilience, simple wisdom, the discipline of nonviolence, and unshakable regard for human dignity.
The Space Between Us - Sarah Bauer Anderson
Resource type: Book
A timely and necessary book; shows that following Jesus is our best hope for navigating the most complex issues in culture. For those who are looking to build a bridge with the people politics and religion has isolated them from, and for those who won't settle for the growing space between us and who believe there's a better way.
Dream Big - Bob Goff
Resource type: Book
A life-proven journey to rediscover your dreams and turn them into reality. Bob Goff draws on a lifetime of living and dreaming large to help you reach your larger-than-life dreams.
Ready to Rise - Jo Saxton
Resource type: Book
Ready to Rise tackles the real life issues women face — workplace harassment, sexism, low self esteem, financial woes, power battles, and old wounds — while providing meaningful wisdom from Jo’s own journey to leadership.
Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope - Jasmine Holmes
Resource type: Book
In Mother to Son, Jasmine Holmes shares a series of powerful letters to her young son. These are about her journey as an African American Christian and what she wants her son to know as he grows and approaches the world as a black man. She invites us to read over her shoulder as she reminds Wynn that his identity is firmly planted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, even when the topic is one as emotionally charged as race in America.
Purpose Driven Youth Ministry - Doug Fields
Resource type: Book
An indispensable guide to creating and maintaining youth ministry for the long run. It will help to create a solid spiritual team that builds the foundations of the Christian faith into the hearts and lives of young people.
Free Range Worship
Resource type: Prayer Stations, Online/In-person
Free Range Worship, with curator Lilly Lewin, has tons of great resources for creative worship and prayer for people of all ages for in-person and digital online gatherings. Great for family ministries, youth groups, churches, camps, retreats, and Christian Schools.
Sustainable Youth Ministry - Mark DeVries
Resource type: Book
Based on his own experience and on his many conversations and interviews with churches in crisis, DeVries pinpoints problems that cause division and burnout in youth ministries and dispels strongly held myths. He then provides the practical tools and structures pastors and church leaders need to lay a strong foundation for youth ministry.
When Relationships Matter - Reggie Joiner, Tom Shefchunas, Kristen Ivy
Resource type: Book
With the best practices, training tips, and real-life stories from ministry leaders across the country—this resource will help ministers to create an effective small group culture in your church.
Growing Young Video Series - Fuller Youth Institute
Resource type: Curriculum, Video Series, Online
In this 9-episode series, Growing Young authors Kara Powell, Jake Mulder, and Brad Griffin offer proven research and stories from churches nationwide as they guide youth leaders to think about how each core commitment can transform a church in its unique context.
It's Personal - Virginia Ward, Reggie Joiner, and Kristen Ivy
Resource type: Book
In "It's Personal," the authors provide ways to disciple young people in a way that is relational. They suggest five major strategies related to identity, worth, empathy, love and belief.
Sticky Faith - Kara Powell and Chap Clark
Resource type: Book
Describes a powerful strategy to show ministry leaders how to actively encourage their young people’s spiritual growth so that it will stick with them into adulthood and empower them to develop a living, lasting faith.
When I Pray for You - Matthew Turner
Resource type: Book
When I Pray for You celebrates the dreams, hopes, and longings parents pray over their children, and shares with children how much care and concern a loved one feels for them.
Breathe and Be - Kate Coombs
Resource type: Book
These simple poems in Breathe and Be help children learn mindfulness as they connect to the beauty of the natural world.
God's Dream - Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams
Resource type: Book
Focused on a wish that everyone will see they are brothers and sisters, no matter their way of speaking to God or the shade of their skin. Encourages children to be compassionate, kind, and to forgive others, and includes colorful illustrations. Geared towards children aged 2-8.
Godly Play
Resource type: Curriculum, In-person
The Godly Play approach helps children to explore their faith through story, to gain religious language and to enhance their spiritual experience though wonder and play.
The Hopeful Family - Amelia Richardson Dress
Resource type: Book
The Hopeful Family is a guidebook for parents who are building a life of meaning and hope even in a time of unease. Readers will be reminded of the hope that is part of the Christian story and find both inspiration and evidence to step more fully into a framework of abundance and optimism.
Faith in an Anxious World - Parent Podcast - Fuller Youth Institute
Resource type: Podcast, Online
Tune in to gain tools and tips to have new conversations with your teenager about anxiety and healthy living.
The Gift of Failure - Jessica Lahey
Resource type: Book
Focuses on the critical school years when parents must learn to allow their children to experience the disappointment and frustration that occur from life’s inevitable problems so that they can grow up to be successful, resilient, and self-reliant adults.
Websites with Additional Resources
Grow Christians - https://www.growchristians.org/
Parent Cue - https://theparentcue.org/
Building Faith - https://buildfaith.org/
Illustrated Ministry - https://www.illustratedministry.com/
Download Youth Ministry - https://www.downloadyouthministry.com
Forward Movement - https://www.forwardmovement.org/
Teaching Cultural Compassion - https://www.teachingculturalcompassion.com
Church Publishing - https://www.churchpublishing.org
Way of Love Resources - https://www.episcopalchurch.org/way-of-love/
Creation Care Resources - https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/creatio...
RightNow Media - https://www.rightnowmedia.org/
These are just a few favorites! Search our full list of resources here.
