A Few Holiday Reading Suggestions

PLAY ~ BELONG ~ TRANSFORM

Back in 2007, W.H.Y. brought you an article about the GO project. For Chris Giffen and Jessie Negropontes, this project involved a six-month trip from Victoria to Toronto. Along the way, they engaged congregations and communities through workshops, intergenerational worship services and conference and youth programs. Part of their goal was to re-imagine mission across the country for the United Church of Canada. This was (and is) no easy feat.
“Some of the most important things we learnt became clear early on in the journey:
We need to challenge the habit in our church of segregating youth to the basement. Often, con-
gregations would assume that, because we have training in youth ministry, theGOproject was
something only for youth, and that we would not have relevance to the rest of the community.
Thus, we had to make it clear that we did not want theGOproject to be a “basement tour.”
It’s a false assumption that all elders are resistant to change, and that all young people want to
abandon tradition. Worship shouldn’t be a piecemeal attempt to please various age groups. We
committed ourselves to choosing content that was appropriate for our purpose. We had our own
gifts to offer, and our own personal wisdom and stories to share.”
Play Belong Transform is a compilation of their GO project experiences, but more importantly it is a rich resource full of games, music, stories, and worship ideas. Highlights include a weekend youth retreat program, creative tools for engaging with scripture, experiments in Faith, Justice, and Creativity with young adults, and holistic youth ministry practices. While the book is full of amazing ideas, it also is full of inspiration to kick start your own creativity!
Best of all, this resource is FREE until August 2009! Visit www.playbelongtransform.ca to download your copy now.

A LITTLE PLUG FOR DAVID GIULIANO'S NEW BOOK!

David Giuliano, moderator of the United Church and possibly our biggest hero ever, has written a new book which we highly recommend you add to your ‘Christmas reading’ pile. Postcards from the Valley: Encounters with Fear, Faith, and God, includes previously published articles and some of Giuliano’s regular blog postings from wondercafe.ca.
“As a community we are learning about the ‘valley of shadows’ after a history spent primarily on top of the world. We are experiencing tremendous change and loss as a community. The church we have known and loved is dying,” writes Giuliano. “Death is always part of transformation. We don’t know where it will lead, but we do know that we no longer claim special authority and place in our culture. For a long time we rode a great white charger. Now we are learning to ride the donkey. There is confusion, denial, and pain, as well as hope, in our body. I think we are closer to Jesus.”
Check out www.chapters.com to order your copy!

(**Editor’s Note: We haven’t actually read this book yet and would certainly welcome a full review for our next issue!)