Augsburg Fortress &#124; One Mission Blog

Click here to view the embedded video.

Care about young adult faith formation?

Beth A. Lewis — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:41:32 +0000

If so….this is for you! Enjoy this 2 minute preview! Coming soon from sparkhouse: Animate!

Blessings,

Beth

And more kudos for our worship resources team….

Beth A. Lewis — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:34:14 +0000

A couple of days ago, I noted in this blog that one of our titles, Welcome, Child of God, is a finalist for the Midwest Book Awards.

Adding to our growing collection of kudos for the resources we publish is this brief but terrifc review of our small book, A Watered Garden: Christian Worship and Earth’s Ecology, by Benjamin M. Stewart, one of the titles in our Worship Matters series.

My favorite line in this Christian Century review? "… this book is too rich to be hoarded by Lutherans…" Love it, love it, love it!

Am I proud of my colleagues and our creative partners who develop great resources for congregations? You bet!

blessings,
Beth

AF title is Midwest Book Awards Finalist!

Beth A. Lewis — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:39:36 +0000

Congratulations to AF Worship Sr. Editor Suzanne Burke, author Anne Ylvisaker and illustrator Claudia McGehee! Welcome, Child of God has been selected as a finalist for one of the 2011 Midwest Book Awards.

This beautiful board book for young children (and those parents, grandparents and godparents who love them!) help children connect to their baptism and reinforce the baptismal connections that surround us everyday.

For congregations wanting to give a meaningful gift to families with infants and young children being baptized, Welcome, Child of God quantity discounts are available for 5 or more copies purchased.

This book may be purchased as a standalone item or as a part of the popular Washed and Welcome series of baptismal education resources.

We will be anxiously awaiting the results of the May 9 gala awards ceremony, of course! But, whether we win this award or not, I'm very proud of the Augsburg Fortress team and our creative partners who put together this resource that will assist families and congregations for many years to come. And, this recognition as a finalist for the award is great, too!

Blessings,

Beth

Exploring Christian Faith series

So many books…so little time!

Beth A. Lewis — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:15:58 +0000

Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking at three worship services on "Generational Differences in the Church" and leading a Sunday morning adult forum on "Gutenberg to Google: Effective Use of Technology for Congregations" at Cross of Life Lutheran Church near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had a blast! What a dynamic congregation!

A few days after I was there, I received an email from one of their members who asked for advice on how to revitalize their congregational library and encourage people to use it. We scheduled a conference call and brainstormed together on a number of ideas ranging from moving it, if possible, from the second floor to a more central and easily accessible location or, if that isn't feasible, to having rotating displays by theme in the narthex or lobby of the church encouraging people to check out books right there or stop by the library to see a much larger selection. They are fortunate to have comfortable seating, a coffee pot and wireless access in their library, so I encouraged them to advertise that (especially to youth and young adults!) And, as will not surprise you, I encouraged them to make certain that they not only have "classic titles" but also some current resources for children, youth and adults.

This made me realize that we needed to update our list of "essential titles for congregational libraries" published by Augsburg Fortress, Fortress Press and sparkhouse. Of course, if you are looking for a specific title or topic for your church library, it may not be represented on this updated list! And, I am certain I will hear from at least one or two authors about "why isn't my book on that list?" But, we were trying to keep it to a reasonable number! So, if you are looking for something specific, I would encourage you to check out our websites for our three imprints. And, of course, if you still can't find it, you can always contact our wonderful Customer Care team at 800-428-3638.

Here's the list! Happy reading!

CHURCH LIBRARY ESSENTIALS

from Fortress Press www.fortresspress.com

and

Augsburg Fortress www.augsburgfortress.org

800-328-4648

CHRISTIAN LIFE

Lutheran Voices series

40 Day Journey series

Compass series

Living Well series

The Jonah Factor

Stretch and Pray

Psalms Through the Year

Dog Psalms

Cat Psalms

GRIEF

Good Grief 50^th Anniversary edition

Seasons of Grief and Healing

Winter Grief, Summer Grace

When Your Child Loses a Loved One

When Your Parent Dies

When Your Spouse Dies

When Your Baby Dies

CHILDREN

Spark Story Bible (Age 2-Grade 2)

Spark Bible NRSV (Grades 3-6)

Water Come Down

Jesus the Word

This Is the Earth that God Made

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Family Time Story Devotions

Before and After Easter

CONGREGATIONAL RESOURCES

Luther’s Small Catechism

Luther’s Small Catechism: Bilingual English/Spanish edition

Starting Small Groups and Keeping Them Going

Grounded in Prayer

One Anothering

The Lutheran Handbook: A Field Guide to Church Stuff, Everyday Stuff, and the Bible

Go Make Disciples: An Invitation to Baptismal Living

Bread for the Day

ADULT STUDY/REFERENCE

Studies in Lutheran History and Theology series

Lutheran Study Bible

Freedom of Christian

Treatise on Good Works

The Bible: An Introduction

Introducing the Old Testament

Introducing the New Testament

Introduction to World Religions

Inside World Religions

Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know

Christianity

The Jewish Experience: An Introduction to Jewish History and Jewish Life

Christian Music

Christian Worship

Wrestling with the Questions

The Lutheran Confessions

The Book of Concord

Moral Issues and Christian Responses

WORSHIP

Evangelical Lutheran Worship, pew edition

Sundays and Seasons

Washed and Welcome

Fed and Forgiven

Thanks to the good people at Cross of Life Lutheran Church for their gracious hospitality and for asking about congregational libraries!

Blessings,
Beth

Love blog posts like this!

Beth A. Lewis — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:26:55 +0000

Now, this is a nice way to end my Monday workday….with this unsolicited blog post about re:form Ancestors. Please feel free to share this link with anyone you know who might be interested in an engaging Bible study for high school aged youth. re:form Ancestors Old Testament is out now and re:form Ancestors New Testament will be published in May.

blessings,

Beth

Two Gold ADDY’s for Toolbox Studios and sparkhouse!

Beth A. Lewis — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 16:43:55 +0000

One of our hallmarks at Augsburg Fortress, Fortress Press & sparkhouse is to work with the best talent we can find. We are so blessed to have partners from all around the world who bring their gifts to bear on the creation and delivery of great faith formation, worship, music, text & reference resources for congregations and higher education.

One of those great partners is Toolbox Studios with whom we work on the creation of the re:form series of youth resources from sparkhouse. Yesterday, we learned from them that they (and we!) will be recognized for the great design work on these resources & the marketing that supports them. Here's the note that sparkhouse Publisher Tim Paulson & I received from Paul Soupiset at Toolbox

"WOW! Congrats are in order again! — re:form Ancestors Old Testament AND re:form Traditions will both take home a GOLD ADDY at the forthcoming multi-state AdFed District Ten awards presentation this April in Shreveport, LA. This means both products (in Category 38C) have also been entered into the judging of the National ADDY Competition later this year.

Toolbox is very proud of our shared achievement. Please pass along our kudos to the writers, animators, marketers, admins, proofreaders, etc., etc.

Thank you again for such a stellar opportunity…"

Very exciting to see this type of recognition for outstanding work by folks in the secular world of advertising & design! Congratulations to all of our partners in ministry who have worked on making these youth (and sometimes even adults use them, too!) faith formation resources a success!

Blessings,
Beth

Bet you didn’t know…anyone can attend our free webinars!

Beth A. Lewis — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:46:21 +0000

In many congregations, the pastor makes the worship planning or confirmation resource decisions or the Christian education director makes the Sunday School or summer faith formation programming decisions, so they attend one or more of our free webinars either to learn about a new Augsburg Fortress or sparkhouse resource or to learn how to use the resource most effectively in their context. But, did you know that anyone from your community of faith is welcome to attend our webinars?

Perhaps you have a committee of Sunday School teachers that is considering whichl resource to select for next fall?

Or, maybe there is a worship planning committee in your congregation?

Or, you may have small group leaders who want to find something new and theologically sound to use for adult faith formation?

If you have volunteers or committees, please invite them to one or more of our free webinars! Sometimes congregations sign up for a group gathering so that several people are meeting together and attending the webinar from a classroom on your campus. Other times, given everyone's busy schedules, members of a task force agree to attend a particular webinar but can't find one date and time that works for everyone, so they attend at various times over the course of a couple of weeks, then discuss the content of the webinar at their next regularly scheduled meeting.

Whatever works for you, works for us! But, please be sure that the members of your faith formation and worship teams know that we are constantly adding new webinar topics and, best of all, they are free! Just give them this link and encourage them to try one out! In addition, if members of your congregation want to be "in the know" on new resources we are publishing, they can also sign up for one of our free eNewsletters!

If you have questions about which webinar might be right for your congregational leaders, please ask the Congregational Resource Representative who is assigned to your church! They'll be happy to assist you in finding just the right one!

Blessings,
Beth

Bet You Didn’t Know…You have choices!

Beth A. Lewis — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:13:51 +0000

Spark Sunday School has proven to be an extraordinary success for congregations in a wide range of contexts….Lutheran congregations, United Methodist congregations, PCUSA congregations and more! And, they are in a variety of settings, too! Urban, rural, suburban and small towns all across North America. Some have lots of kids and some just a few and everything in between. It really is pretty extraordinary.

Spark has proven to be so popular, that we have launched an extension (or stand alone if you use something else for Sunday School and would like to try out something Spark). It is called Spark Summer!

Like Spark Sunday School with choices of formats, Spark Summer was designed from the ground up to be flexible so that it can be used in a wide variety of situations….from traditional VBS to Summer Sunday School (I remember when I first came to Augsburg Fortress and visited with congregations in the Carolinas…you were very clear about needing materials for summer Sunday School and I have never forgotten it!) to a weeknight family faith formation gathering.

My colleagues have put together several different types of teaching plans to help you. They are posted below.

If you have questions, I'm happy to hear from you or please feel free to contact your Augsburg Fortress Congregational Resource Representative.

Thanks for your partnerships in ministry!

Blessings,

Beth

Spark Summer Options

Spark Summer is designed to be flexible for planners and fun for kids and leaders. Whether your congregation has a long tradition of summer programming or wants to start something new, there is a Spark Summer plan for you.

Half-day Schedule

9:00-9:15: Kids arrive and meet in small groups with their Shepherd

9:15-9:30: Large Group Gathering

9:30-10:00: Workshop

10:00-10:30: Workshop

10:30-10:45: Snack

10:45-11:15: Workshop

11:15-11:30: Kids gather in small groups with their Shepherd and are sent home

Full-day Schedule

9:30-10:00: Kids arrive and meet in small groups with their Shepherd

10:00-10:30: Large Group Gathering

10:30-11:15: Workshop

11:15-12:00: Workshop

12:00-12:30: Lunch

12:30-1:15: Workshop

1:15-2:00: Workshop

2:00-2:30: Snack

2:30-3:00: Choose an All-Kids activity from one of the workshops, gather again for more singing, or have a free play time

3:00-3:30: Kids gather in small groups with their Shepherd and are sent home

Summer Sunday School

Spark Summer can also be extended for use as summer Sunday school. Here are three possible ways to extend Spark Summer:

5 Week Water Themed Sunday School (1 week per story)

Small Group Gathering –

Gather (10 mins) and Open the Bible (10 mins)

Workshop (30 mins) – Offer one workshop per week

Close with snack and prayer

10 Week Water Themed Sunday School (2 weeks per story)

Large Group Opening -

Gather (10 mins) and Open the Bible (10 mins)

Week 1: Use content from the Shepherd Guide using Bibles, Booklets, and PPT slides.

Week 2: Use the skit from the Large Group Opening

Workshop (30 mins) – Offer one workshop per week

Large Group Sending (10 mins) –

Week 1: Use sending from the Shepherd Guide

Week 2: Use the sending from the Large Group Opening Guide

Five 20-30 Minute Family Gatherings or Children’s Church Sessions

Gather: Welcoming Activity from the Shepherd Guide

Open the Bible: Read the story as directed in the Large Group Gathering

Worship: Sing one of the song suggestions

Finish with Offering and Prayer

No matter which option is right for you, we are confident that the children in your congregation will grow in their faith as they splash in God's Word this summer!

Innovation in kids’ faith formation! Really!

Beth A. Lewis — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:44:31 +0000

It just doesn't get any better than this!

I am always proud of the great, innovative work being done by my colleagues on the Augsburg Fortress, sparkhouse and Fortress Press teams as we all the many creative partners who work with us. But, when I read this blog post about our forthcoming sparkhouse Sunday School resource, Holy Moly! I was absolutely delighted! Among the many wonderful things that Episcopalian priest Nurya Love Parish wrote in her Plainsong Farm blog about Holy Moly! perhaps my favorite line is this:

"After fifteen years of looking at different curricula, this is the first time I have looked at one and said, “I love it!”

Thanks so much for your delightful blog post and affirming words for the work of my colleagues, Nurya! It's great to "meet" you in the blogosphere! And, by the way, if you (or anyone reading here) want to watch that sample video again and try it out with the kids in your congregation, that sample video (and more!) is on our sparkhouse website.

Blessings,
Beth