There are a lot of great racial justice resources available. We are highlighting those recommended by the CCI congregations and those that focus on calling. Please email Jessie with other suggestions.

Vocational Questions Concerning the Call to Racial Justice — these questions are intended for a group of people in predominantly White congregations, discerning both individual and communal callings to a ministry of racial justice.

Pray, Study, and Work: Benedictine ideas for discerning anti-racism — this article, written by Jessie Bazan, suggests ways white Christians discerning how to be anti-racist can take action through study, prayer, and work around related social issues. 

The Call of This Moment: An Anti-Racism Workshop with Rev. Jacqui Lewis – Rev. Jacqui Lewis says, “We become who we become because of the stories that shape us.” Race is a story that profoundly shapes our callings. In her two-part workshop, Lewis helps participants take stock of their individual stories of race and considers how we can change the story of race in the United States. The workshop videos cost $25 to download and come highly recommended from the Plymouth team.

White Privilege: Let’s Talk — A Resource for Transformational Dialogue — Members of First Congregational UCC in Boulder are using this curriculum, developed by United Church of Christ leadership, to discern their communal calling for this time.

Prayer of Confession — written by Rev. Erica Cooper of Plymouth Church, this prayer acknowledges how “we have turned away from the calling of your Spirit to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.” Cooper asks the Holy Spirit for forgiveness and to “ignite our hearts to pursue your vision for our world.”

Prayer for the Spirit — written by Rev. Mark Patrick of Colonial Church, this prayer asks for the intercession of the Holy Spirit as the community confronts racism and discerns action, for “only by your spirit can we create the faith community you have always called us to be.” 

Lament Exercise — This exercise lays out a form for writing a lament, using Psalm 22 as a template. 

Nature as Practice in Grief — The intention of this practice is to recover in your memory places in nature you have gone for consolation and to return there or find new places in the natural world that comfort you. 

Ryland Angel Chants Psalm 142 — “I cry to the Lord with my voice. I pour out my complaint before him, and tell him all my troubles …”

• Creative Strategies on Calling – a webinar offering practical ideas for starting or continuing efforts around vocation and calling in your congregational community. Chris Braudaway-Bauman, pastor of Frist Congregational Church in Boulder, shares her story of an innovative, multi-year effort around vocation from Wellesley Village Church. Laura Kelly Fanucci also shares an overview of the Exploring Vocation in Community program in which 10 congregations worked on vocation: project examples, key findings, and best practices. Click here to download the webinar PowerPoint. Additionally, Chris shares an example schedule and brochure from the GIFT in Testimony program.

• Exploring Vocation in Community – a project developed in 2011 to ground the theological work of the Collegeville Institute Seminars in the lived experiences of Christians in congregations. Two cohorts of congregations met to learn about the theology of vocation and design a year-long project on vocation for their own community. An overview of findings from the group, as well as insights from our partners at Wellesley Village Church, the Visitation Monastery of Minneapolis, and the Church of St. Paul & the Redeemer can be found on Bearings Online. 

Small Group Programs:

Called to Life is a 6-week program for small groups in parishes and congregations to explore questions of vocation and calling—how God works in our everyday lives.

Called to Work is a 6-week program for small groups in parishes and congregations to explore questions of vocation and profession—how God calls in our everyday work.

All materials are available for free online for participants and facilitators.

Pastor Jason Van Hunnik of Westwood Lutheran Church (who presented at the June 2019 meeting) developed curricula for small groups on calling available online:

• Vocation: Faith as a Way of Life
• God’s Story, Our Story, My Story
• Listening: God’s Story in the Neighborhood

Leif Kehrwald of the C3 Project from Vibrant Faith designed 14 modules to help people discover God’s calling through major life transitions. They are designed in a concise format so they can be used in a variety of settings – individual, home, small groups, or whole church community.

Each module is designed using a three movement process: 1) What’s Changing in My Life, 2) What’s Emerging in My Life?, and 3) How Should I Be Living My Life?

Videos:

• Lives Explored is a video storytelling project on vocation. We ask everyday Christians how they see God at work in their lives. Watch how their struggles, joys, and questions capture what calling means today.
• Foundations of Discernment from the Community of Christ curates voices speaking about vocation.
  

Worship & Prayer Resources

• CCI Advent Offering – December 2020 – an Advent practice and prayer for congregational leaders. 
• Lectio on a Catena from Philippians – developed by Rev. Dr. Jane Patterson, this lectio is an offering during the time that many (but not all) of us are sheltered in our homes, awaiting the passing of the coronavirus. The sequence of passages was chosen for its relevance to our shared work on callings and for its reflection on the meaning of community when we are physically absent from community.
• Calling Sermon – Jonathan Ritz – a sermon on finding our place in the kingdom by Ritz, a lay preacher at Edgewood United Church in East Lansing, MI.
• Calvin Institute for Worship: Worship Resources about Faith and Work
• Contemporary hymn writers on calling: Ally Barrett, Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Jocelyn Marshall, Porter’s Gate – Work Songs album
• Books on worship:
  • To Bless Our Callings: Prayers, Poems, and Hymns to Celebrate Vocation – Laura Kelly Fanucci
  • Worship & Daily Life: A Resource for Worship Planners – Aileen Williams
  • Changes: Prayers and Services Honoring Rites of Passage – Church Publishing
  • Prayer for Parish Groups: Preparing and Leading Prayer for Group Meetings – Donal Harrington and Julie Kavanagh
  • Blessed Are Those Who Mourn: Personalized Prayers of the Faithful for the Funeral Rite – George C. Michalek and Barbara M. Fader
• Calling Homily – Fr. Dale Launderville OSB – a homily delivered at Saint John’s Abbey on the third Sunday of Lent that reflects on calling in the Christian life.
• Resources for Lent: Sin, Forgiveness, & Calling – a compilation of calling-related prayers, hymns, reflections, and practices for the season of Lent.
• Resources for Easter: Commissioning, Pentecost, & Calling – a compilation of calling-related prayers, hymns, reflections, and practices for the season of Easter.
• A Blessing for the New School Year
• How to Practice Lectio Divina with a Group