September 2025 News
A New Season of Continuing Education
This month we will be sharing resources on suicide prevention, faith formation for children and youth, addressing childhood trauma, and an upcoming Bible Study on the Book of Revelation. We hope to see you at one of our virtual events and encourage you to explore our website.
Fascinating Introduction to the Bible
We are excited to share that Center for Continuing Education Director, Dr. Joel S. Baden has a new book available, “Lost in Translation: Recovering the Origins of Familiar Biblical Words.”
To read the Bible well is to understand that the text is not the same as its interpretation and translation. To care about the Bible is to recognize where the past two millennia of cultural change have shaped our understanding of the biblical text, and to sift through it, to see what the Bible once was so that we can better understand what the Bible now is–and how we, its readers, came to be who we are.
To read more go here.
Suicide Prevention Month
September is Suicide Prevention Month. Youth often turn to friends instead of parents or other adults in their life when they are struggling. Sometimes they don’t tell anyone. As a youth leader, it is important to know what signs to look for and how you can help when someone is struggling with suicidal thoughts.
Click the links below to access some of our resources:
- Tending to the Mental Health of Adolescents Training Module
- Breaking the Silence about Mental Health Challenges with Children and Teens Videos
- Nurturing Joy: Emotional Health 101 Lesson
- Pastoral Care and Mental Health
From the YMI Director: What does it mean to be formed by faith?
Dear youth ministry friends,
I think those of us in the youth ministry field bat often around the phrase faith formation without a second thought. But when I stop and ponder what those words actually mean, I find it a humbling exercise.
Looking for materials on faith formation for children and youth? Find our resources here.
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What Do We Do with a Book Like Revelation? with Dr. Yii-Jan Lin The 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 Anticipation and Arrival of Jesus in Luke 1 and 2 with the Rev. Dr. Allen Hilton The Gospel of Luke offers our most extensive biblical look at the anticipation of Jesus’s advent. Through angel visits, the enthusiastic response of faithful women, the lowly circumstances of the birth, and the earliest days of the incarnation, the Gospel trumpets the significance and shape of God’s appearing among us in Bethlehem. |
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Registration closes today! – Addressing Childhood Trauma with Liberation Psychology and Theology with Dr. Thema Bryant This presentation explores pathways that can benefit the trauma recovery process of children, especially for marginalized survivors. The trauma and healing-informed liberation pathways which emerge from the literature are culture as medicine, community support, spirituality and religiosity, expressive arts, and resistance. A more inclusive view of trauma and trauma recovery can both heal and empower individuals and society as a whole. |
Passing on the Faith to Children: Supporting Caregivers with the Process with Dr. Amy Adamczyk, Ph.D. This webinar will explore how congregations can better understand and support caregivers raising children aged 0–12 in a religious tradition. The session aims to equip faith communities with insights to more intentionally and effectively support the spiritual formation of young children through the caregivers who guide them. |
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God’s Dream: Children, Justice and Faith with the Rev. Jyrekis B. Collins What does it mean to raise children in the spirit of justice, rooted in faith? Join us for God’s Dream: Children, Justice, and Faith—a thoughtful conversation exploring how families, educators, and faith communities can nurture young hearts to live with compassion, courage, and a commitment to a more just world. Together, we’ll reflect on the role children play in God’s vision for justice—and how we can walk alongside them in love and hope. |
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Part-Time Is Plenty: Thriving in Bi-Vocational and Part-Time Ministry This four-week course will delve into four proven, part-time ministry models that lead to heightened congregational vitality and improved clergy well-being. |
Healing Along our Dangerous Roads & Finding Mercy by the Sea Come walk along the shoreline, breathe in salt air, and let the ocean’s vastness guide you towards deeper compassion and trust in the God who continues to call and equip you in new ways. Through prayer, deep rest, and shared reflections, we trust that new seeds we plant together will produce new fruits as we return to our ministries to love and serve our people with renewed vision and vocation. |
| 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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