May 2025 News
Mental Health Matters: We Have Resources!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It is important to take care of your mental health, especially if you have found the last few months (or years) to be overwhelming, exhausting, and stressful. We have listed a few of our resources below to assist in navigating these challenging times.
- Tending to the Mental Health of Adolescents
- Pastoral Care and Mental Health
- “Breaking the Silence about Mental Health Challenges with Children and Teens” with the Rev. Dr. Sarah Griffith Lund video
- “Social Media Smarts: Helping Youth Use New Media in Positive Ways for Good Mental & Spiritual Health” with the Rev. Dr. Angela Gorrell video and video clips
- Clergy Well-Being During a Time of Uncertainty: A Report From the Trenches with Dr. Frederick “Jerry” Streets video
- Meditations
Resources for Life and Learning
We have compiled a campus-wide list of Yale Divinity School’s resources to support your spiritual enrichment and ministry. You can find these resources here.
The Meaningful Inclusion of Children in Worship: Theology and Practice
Last month, Wendy Claire Barrie joined us for “The Meaningful Inclusion of Children in Worship: Theology and Practice.” Canon Barrie led the webinar exploring the theological whys and practical hows of incorporating children and youth into congregational worship. If you missed it, you can watch it here.
For book recommendations, websites, and online resources, you can find a compiled list by Canon Barrie here.
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YDS Certificate in Youth Ministry Leadership Deadline
The deadline for the applications for the 2025-2026 Yale Divinity School Certificate in Youth Ministry Leadership is May 15th. This is a nine-month, digital, cohort-based program where participants learn from select faculty and staff from Yale Divinity School and other leading institutions. The next cohort for this academic and practical primer on the themes relevant to leading resilient, healthy, theologically rooted youth ministries will run from September 2025 – May 2026.
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For more information or to apply, go here.
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From the YMI Director: Mental Health for Youth…and for Us, Too
Dear youth ministry friends,The narrative found in youth ministry is that mental health is on the decline within our young people. Indeed, one can hardly open up a youth ministry book—or newsletter article!—without being struck by the alarming statistics and concerning trends of the mental health of adolescents.
The narrative is exhausting.
Spotlight on YDS Summer Study
Jonathan Edwards on the Trinity – Yale Divinity School Summer Study Program
June 2-6, online, 10:00-12:15 pmThis course presents an opportunity to read and discuss some of Edwards’ own formulations on God as three-in-one, from early essays such as “Discourse on the Trinity” that addressed the Trinitarian Controversy of the early eighteenth century, to notebook entries and sermons considering the “offices” of the three persons and the aesthetic and relational nature of God and of sainthood, to Edwards’ participation in the pneumatological renaissance of the evangelical revival period, to unfinished “great works” such as “A History of the Work of Redemption,” to his search into world religions to glimpse the echoes of what for him was “true” religion.
Register for Jonathan Edwards on the Trinity here.
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egister today for one or more of our 8 courses taught by renowned YDS faculty, which will take place online from June 2-6, 2025. You can view the list of courses and register at summerstudy.yale.edu. Registration closes May 28th.
with Dr. Yii-Jan Lin
Zoom | September 16 – October 21 | 7:30 pm | 6 SessionsThe Book of Revelation is a strange book, full of conflicting timelines, bizarre images, and coded language. This course will look at the many different ways to read and interpret this ancient text by analyzing its historical and literary context and exploring the many different ways people have used the book.
- The 6 sessions will occur on September 16, 23, 30, and October 7, 14, and 21 at 7:30 pm Eastern on Zoom.
- Register at What Do We Do with a Book Like Revelation?
Love of Children Program
We are excited about the YMI Fall lineup, which will include three events for the Love of Children program.
These events were made possible by the Justice and Local Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ, who awarded a grant from the Lilly Endowment through its Nurturing Children Through Worship & Prayer Initiative. This series allows the denomination to engage in thorough research to assess the state of Children’s Ministry in the United Church of Christ and then take that information and create a dynamic program to strengthen our local congregations in the work of children’s faith formation.
Upcoming Offerings:
- Trauma informed work with children with Dr. Thema Bryant on September 3, 2025
- Understanding the caregivers with Dr. Amy Adamczyk on October 1, 2025
- Faith in action with the Rev. Alyssa Aldape on November 5, 2025
Registration opens soon!
View past Love of Children videos here.
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Mindfulness for Ministry In this workshop, you are invited to “taste and see” several different ways that you might incorporate mindful pauses in your own busy life. Together, we will explore guided breathing, very gentle movement exercises (which may be done seated or standing), and an introduction to mindfulness meditation. |
Leadership Lessons from Thomas Merton: Riding a Wave of Joy Apply Backstory Preaching’s foundational sermon prep framework to crafting sermons throughout the Easter season you believe in and can’t wait to preach. In this process, rooted in prayer and practical tools, you will discover a framework you can rely on week after week to prepare sermons more efficiently and with more joy. You will discover how to experience sermon prep as a spiritual respite, versus as a purely academic exercise. |
| If you’d like to help support our mission, you can make a donation here. There is joy to be found in practicing generosity. Your gift will enable us to continue to provide the necessary tools and resources that support life changing ministries. | 
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