|
The Resource Center is open and available for use from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Book shelves
are labeled by subject matter for easy browsing and there is a VCR for viewing videotapes.
Requests for materials may be made by phone, fax, letter or email to the Resource Center c/o the Conference
Office. The more specific your request, the better.
Borrowed material is due no later than a month after it is sent. Usually material may be renewed upon request.
The purpose of the Center as stated in the Mission Statement for the Resource Center is:
- to serve the needs of the lay members and professional staff of the local churches and Conference staff
- to maintain a quality collection of appropriate materials, concentrating especially on UCC materials
- to keep the UCC membership informed about materials available and to deliver and retrieve these materials efficiently.
New Books and Materials
- Church Education: Creative Resources for Church Educators. This monthly magazine contains wonderfully
written articles about children's ministry, youth ministry, adult ministry, worship and leadership. High recommended.
- Thinking Through the Children's Sermon. Whether you've sat through some really good children's sermons
or some really horrendous ones, you'll enjoy this book which shows how children's sermons can be both meaningful
and edifying for children. The author suggests ways of preparing and presenting children's sermons so they will
become the valuation additions to worship that they are meant to be.
Worship Resources
- Walking On Sacred Ground. The tapestry of the land is as diverse as those who live on it and care for
it. The writers of the 2005 Mosaic Series, women from the Iowa Conference of the UCC, share their stories and beliefs
that persons can and do walk on sacred ground wherever they are. In unit lessons, participants have the opportunity
to learn more about the value of farming as well as experience life in small towns and rural churches. Whether
active in agriculture or not, the land has touched us and made us sisters in Spirit.
Videos
- Ready, Set, Grow! Resources for Congregational Vitality is a DVD with two resources: The first features
vital UCC congregations where God is Still Speaking. l the second resource features our UCC national officers explaining
what maters to them as members of our beloved denomination.
- Call Me Malcolm. For the past 2 years, this film has had a very successful run at UCC events and film
festivals in the U.S. and around the world. The film is a 90-minute documentary about one man's journey of faith,
love, and gender identity. The film explores being a transgender person of faith with a call to ministry. Discussion
guide available.
- Let It Shine: UCC 50th Anniversary Promotion is an exciting introduction to the anniversary
celebration of the United Church of Christ, which began on All Saints' Day November 5.
- Transforming Covenant: A Pastoral Excellence Project is a promotional and explanatory presentation of
the 5-year Lilly grant to the Nebraska Conference UCC, Nebraska Region of the
Disciples of Christ, and Cotner College Educational Ministries.
- Safety Tips on a Sensitive Subject: Child Sexual Abuse. A notes attorney and a psychologist who specialize
in sexual abuse cases share their knowledge of how churches can make their building a safe place for all. Learn
how to prevent a child sexual abuse occurance at your worship center and what to do if there is an allegation.
Peace & Justice
- What God Has Joined Together? Two thoughtful pro-marriage Christians, one male and one female, have
authored this short (171 page) book in an effort to bridge the divide between marriage-supporting and gay-supporting
people of faith by showing why both sides have important things to say and showing how both sides can coexist.
Drawing on scientific research as well as the Bible, the authors explain that marriage is emotionally, physically,
financially and spiritually beneficial for everyone, not just heterosexuals. The book explores, in side by side
charts, what different versions of the Bible say about same-sex relationships. Discussion questions are included.
- Same-Sex Relationships: A Compassionate, Christ-Centered View. When Jesus knelt down and washed the
disciple's feet, he was revealing to them the nature of Christian community -- tender, humble, intimate. The divisive
subject of same-sex relationships or homosexuality has become a wound in the church. People feel Bible morality
is not being upheld and that their churches and families are somehow threatened. The 65 page writing spells out
a Christ-centered way of interpreting Scripture and discerns God's deepest truth among the multiple voices of the
Bible. It examines the handful of biblical passages that pertain to same-sex sexuality.
- What We Wish We Had Known...Breaking the Silence, Moving Toward Understanding: A Resource for Individuals
and Families. This downloadable 90 page question and answer resource addresses the most frequently asked questions
about homosexual orientation. The subject matter is divided into sections including scientific, social, family
life and theological perspectives. The resource was compiled by The Presbyterian Church in Mt. Kosco, New York
after many, many hours of discussion among church members and after reading a wealth of books and articles. The
Resource Center has one copy and others can be downloaded from www.mkpc.org.
Click on Resources, then Blue Book.
- This Was Not Our War--Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace. This book shares first-person accounts of
26 Bosnian women who are reconstructing their society following years of devastating warfare. One woman survived
Auschwitz only to be caught up in "ethnic cleansing" madness fifty years later. One woman lost her husband,
son, two brothers and her brother-in-law in the massacre of 8000 unarmed Muslim men at Srebrenica. One is a teenager
who lived in a cellar for 3 years during the war. All 26 women survived the war with enough emotional strength
to work toward rebuilding their country. Author Swanee Hunt was U.S. Ambassador to Austria during the Bosnian war
and worked to stop the killing, raping, maiming and torture. She now does diplomatic and humanitarian work.
- Disrupting White Supremacy From Within: White People on What We Need to Do. Through careful, thoughtful
examination of the nature and workings of race, racism, and white supremacy, the contributors--an all-white group
of theologians, ethicists, teachers, ministers, and activists--have provided a resource that will help white people
do their own work of confronting and understanding the impact of white supremacy in the malformation of their own
souls, acknowledging its devastating effects on people of color, and taking their own steps toward its abolishment.
Editor Karin A. Case is an ordained UCC minister.
- Same-Sex Marriage? A Christian Ethical Analysis. Extending the right to marry to same-sex couples is
front page news and hotly contested in both church and society. This critical book is written by a gay man and
progressive Christian ethicist who places justice making at the heart of contemporary spirituality. He is in dialogue
with both legal scholars and theologians in this book. The author is an ordained Presbyterian minister and a professor
at Bangor Theological Seminary.
- Transgendering Faith: Identity, Sexuality & Spirituality is a resource to help churches respond
with love and care to transgender people in our society, both those within the Christian community and those who
find themselves -- unhappily -- outside its doors. It is also a book for transgender Christians, their families,
pastoral counselors, and clergy. The book's first section includes essays written by professionals and therapists
who give a basic understanding of the transgender issue. The second section features stories of transgender persons.
Part three includes worship resources, Bible studies, and transgender resources for individual and community use.
Feminism
- The Sacred Selves of Adolescent Girls. Girls between the ages of 15 and 18 shared with the authors
life stories showing how they struggle to make sense of their experiences of racism, sexism, classism, and heterosexism
i light of their belief in God or their concept of a higher power. Riveting stories are gathered from an Asian
american, African American, Native American, Hispanic, Working-class White, and Lesbian girls
Domestic Violence
- the dinah project: a handbook for congregational response to sexual violence. One in six women, one
in twelve boys, one in six children is a victim of rape or attempted rape. Approximately 95% of rape victims knew,
loved, or trusted their attacker before the rape. Rape victims suffer emotional problems or post-traumatic stress
years after the rape. Every congregation contains victims of sexual violence. In Genesis 34 Dinah is raped. We
hear the voices of her attacker, his father, her father, and her brothers. But we never hear Dinah's voice and
she disappears from the pages of the Bible. Have you heard of Dinah? Have you ever heard a sermon about Dinah?
The Dinah Project was founded by a clergywoman who was raped and who found inadequate and even hurtful responses
in churches where she sought help and solace. This book is a resource for churches to reach out to and genuinely
help victims of sexual violence.
Curriculums:
- Domestic Violence: What Churches Can Do
- Violence in the Family: A Workshop Curriculum for Clergy and Other Helpers
- Bullyproof: A Teacher's Guide on Teasing and Bullying for use with Fourth and Fifth Grade Students. This
spiral-bound 60 page notebook contains eleven sequential lessons comprised of writing activities, reading assignments,
class discussions, role plays, case studies and homework assignments that engage children to think about teasing
and bullying.
- QUIT IT! A Teacher's Guide on Teasing and Bullying for use with Students Grades K-3. All children--girls
and boys--can find themselves the targets of bullies and can themselves initiate the teasing and bullying. It has
been found that typically boys are more frequently victims of physical bullying while girls experience more exclusion.
Typically, expectations for girls and boys are quite different. Girls are encouraged to be nurturing and emotionally
expressive. Boyes are often encouraged to act physically or aggressively. It is important to provide alternative
models of behavior for boys and girls. Research confirms that teachers and other adults usually do not intervene
when they witness teasing and bullying The good news is that adults can make a big difference in the attitudes
and behaviors of bullies and teasers. This spiral bound 100 page notebook is divided into 3 parts: Creating Our
Rules, Talking about Teasing and Bullying, and Exploring Courage.
- Love--All That and More
- Selected Bibliography About Teasing and Bullying for Grades K-8. The purpose of this bibliography is
to furnish a list of literature and support materials (such as videos and internet sources) that can be used to
reduce and prevent teasing and bullying among elementary and middle school students. It is designed for classroom
teachers, educational specialists, mental health consultants, parents and other adults who work with young people
ages 5-14.
Videos:
- Broken Vows: Religious Perspective on Domestic Violence. Part 1 -- 37 minutes. Part 2 -- 22 minutes.
- Wings Like a Dove: Healing for the Abused Christian Woman. 34 minutes. The Resource Center also has
Circles of Healing, which is a 3-session program to be used in conjunction with this video. The goal of
the program is for women "to reflect upon their experiences in light of the core message of Christian scripture
which is God's love for them..."
Curriculum
- Gather 'Round: Hearing and Sharing God's Good News will be available beginning in September 2007. This
is a Bible-based curriculum developed via a cooperative arrangement with the publishers, The Church of the Brethren
and the Mennonite Publishing Network, and provides a Bible story apporach to teaching and learning. More information
about this resource is available at www.gatherround.org.
- Come Join the Circle is a rotation-based curriculum "developed specifically to help leaders arrive
feeling prepared and leave feeling energized. All teaching material is included in one package--including teaching
pictures, printed music, and a music CD. No extra material to buy." This product is from Logos Productions
Inc.; the Resource Center has 2 copies.
- Sowing the Seeds: A Journey of Acting on God's Dream for Rural Nebraska. This curriculum for rural congregations
was recently piloted in various locations in Nebraska by the United Methodist Church. It is designed for small
groups of up to 12 persons in 6 one-hour sessions. Goals:
- Encouraging discussion about trends in rural Nebraskan communities
- Exploring Bible understanding of land management
- Discussing how public policy shapes our future
- Discussing pros and cons of policy proposals for a better future
- Learning things church members can do to help create a better rural future
- Bible Quest 2004, is lectionary based curriculum. Note: Bible Quest will no longer be available
as of September 2008. Also available are
- Bookmarks: Bible Explorations for Older Youth
- Push It!: Young Adults Engage the Bible, a four volume set offering exciting, fresh and practical
approaches for young adults seeking to explore and challenge the Bible.
- Bible Quest for Adults, which is published quarterly.
- BQ: Be Quiet With God, a small pamphlet of reflections by teens for teens.
- The Present Word: A Bible Study for Adults.
- Seasons of the Spirit is the current, inclusive, lectionary curriculum that is a resource for the whole
congregation. A Bible-based resource connecting worship, learning and service for all ages, Seasons of the Spirit
also provides leadership guides including photocopiable resources to support participation of all ages. The Resource
Center has two sets of this curriculum for your examination.
UCC Resource materials are available to any Nebraska UCC churches and
their congregations.
To borrow any of the UCC Resource Center materials, call 402/477-4131;
write Nebraska Conference, United Church of Christ, 825 M St., Ste. 201, Lincoln, NE 68508-2246; fax 402/476-8100
or Email uccneb@inebraska.com.
Resource Center for Churches Videos
The Nebraska Conference is a member of the Resource Center for Churches so UCC churches may borrow videos not
available in the Nebraska Conference Resource Center. The on-line catalog can be accessed at http://www.umcneb.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/Resources.
New Video Resources
August 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan, when 270,000 people
were killed. The Resource Center has two resources available in this area:
- Advent Videos/DVD's:
- A Christmas Carol Bible Study. One of the most beloved Christmas stories, Charles Dickens' "A Christmas
Carol," has been adapted into a four-week Bible study on the topics of selfishness, regret, repentance, and
salvation.
- A Clear view of the Birth of Jesus. Why didn't Mary and Joseph go to her cousin Elizabeth's house for
the birth of Jesus? why wouldn't anyone in Bethlehem take in the couple? Dr. Bailey, a Presbyterian minister who
has lived in and taught in the Middle East for 40 years, gives some surprising answers. The 4-session Bible study
reveals many llittle known facts about how a Christian from the Middle East would view the birth of Jesus.
- The Savior is Born. Follow Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and celebrate the birth of Jesus. The beauty
of the first Christmas is captured in the inspiring stained glass window illustrations and the warm voice of Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman.
- The Story of Silent Night. Filmed in Austria and featuring the Vienna Boys' Choir, this video talls
the story of how this carol came to us today.
- Nativity: The Art and Spirit of the Creche is a wonderful Christmas special about the history and art
of one of the most beloved symbols of Christianity. The program displays the enormous variety of nativity scenes
that have been collected from around the world.
To borrow videos form the Resource Center for Churches or to inquire
about others, visit the web site at www.umcneb.org
or write: c/o Resource Center for Churches, 2651 N. 49th St., Lincoln, NE 68504, Phone (402)464-5994, Fax 402/464-6203,
Email:ddunkerson@umcneb.org
|
