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Consider your household to be a little “school of discipleship.”  As our days turn towards the long green growing-in-faith season of Ordinary Time and summer, consider how you can connect to God, one another, church, and community through this playlist of activities organized around Westminster’s (and Micah’s) invitation to “Do Justice – Love Kindness – and Walk Humbly with our God.”

WALK Humbly | Exploring who we are as God’s beloved children  

The Flat Jesus Project:  This summer, more than ever, we need reminders that Jesus is with us wherever we are, whether we are apart or together.   Flat Jesus is inspired by “Flat Stanley,” a fun project that lets the community know where you (and Jesus) are going, what you’re doing, and what is inspiring you!  Download complete instructions attached and email Marietta Wynands or post your pics on the Families of WPC Durham Facebook group!

DO Justice  | Learning about and engaging with our neighbors

Let’s Read about Race Together:  Join Marietta in reading some books with our children that help us have challenging conversations about race, how we got here, and steps we can take.

For Younger Children (ages 4 – 8):  A Story Time Zoom Event, July 8 at 12:00 noon:  Something Happened in Our Town follows two families — one Black, one White — as they discuss a police shooting of a Black man in their community. The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events, and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives.  This book is unavailable at present, Marietta will share the screen so the children can view an animated reading of the book.

For Older Elementary or Younger Middle School – Two Book Suggestions:  These selections help us better understand our history.  Let Marietta know if your family is taking up the challenge!  We’ll schedule a Zoom gathering that’s convenient for the group.

• Leon’s Story, by Leon Walter Tillage.  This book was brought to our attention by Amy Stanfield.  She writes that this book is about “Leon, a boy growing up in rural Wake County (near Fuquay) in the 1950s. There is lots of violence and death in the book yet it still makes for a great middle elementary age read. I wish this book and ones like it were required reading for North Carolina history/social studies. I shudder to think how many more stories like Leon’s are out there, not told.” We agree with Amy. Please read this book ahead of your child, or at least alongside, so that you can be ready for questions and conversations.  Amy has purchased two books for  WPC.  Let me know if you’d like to borrow one, or you can order it here.

• January’s Sparrow, by Patricia Pollaco.  This book is set further back in time, telling the true story of the horrors and occasional happiness of slave families just before emancipation. Like Leon’s Story, this is a difficult but engrossing, suspenseful story about the Crosswhites, including young Sadie, who flee the Kentucky plantation they work on.  This book is available, used or new at Amazon and other retailers.

LOVE Kindness |  Deepening connections to church, community, and God

Taking Faith Home  – download and print for a week of activities around Sunday’s lectionary passages! Contact Marietta to receive the latest issue.

Choose a Book or Toy Together and Donate to Families Moving Forward 

Rachel Taylor, the Children’s Services coordinator at Families Moving Forward, says that children’s foam puffy books with pop-out parts are popular and always needed.  They have a wishlist on Amazon, which you can access here.

Great Resources for Anti-Racism Curated for You

Excellent Reading-About-Racism Storytime Videos

Christian Educator Donna Chase, the DCE at First Presbyterian in Greensboro, is doing a summer reading series for children and families on talking about race.  We recommend Donna’s fantastic series, which includes excellent recommendations for parents to do their own work: https://www.fpcgreensboro.org/digital-formation-library/.

• Donna Chase reads The Youngest Marcher by Audrey Faye Hendricks. Parents, Donna recommends Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in A Racially Unjust America by Jennifer Harvey. Rev. Harvey is a professor of religion at Drake University. Here is an interview with the author and “How to not raise a racist white kid,” column by the author.

• Donna Chase reads Let’s Talk about Race by Julius Lester. For parents, grandparents, and others who care about children, Donna recommends reading So You Want to Talk About Race by parent and best-selling author Ijeoma Oluo. Watch the author’s 8-minute video, “On Talking about Race and Racism.”  Here is an interview with her from ParentMap.

Beyond the Golden Rule booklet, an excellent all-ages resource