The week of July 19th is rich with ideas to help you teach and preach and let Auburn help you stay current with all that is happening in religious news and resources. Consider highlighting National Parent’s Day in your message this week. Here’s how Auburn’s resources can strengthen your message to trouble the waters and heal the world.

National Parents Day
Raising families takes support, care and hard work and National Parent’s Day celebrates the important role that parents play in shaping youth. Learn more about National Parent’s Day, the fourth Sunday in July by clicking here.  Podcast Auburn invites you to listen to the story of courage from one parent by clicking here to this StoryCorps podcast. Documentary Let the power of documentary storytelling be a resource to you and your community. Auburn recommends Hiding and Seeking  and Off and Running that feature the hard work of parents who are raising kids to help be a voice in justice and peace.

Also for National Parent’s Day, this week’s Auburn Today’s Religious Leader is Rabbi Sandy Sasso who speaks to the intersection of faith and parenting. Click here to listen to her inspiring words and click here to listen to the full Podcast on Speaking of Faith.

Using the Auburn Web site for sermon and worship preparation Are you looking to use the Auburn Web site to create your sermon message? Here’s how these resources helped me in my sermon and worship preparation.
To preach on the U.S. celebration of Juneteenth and the continued need to speak openly about racial justice and equality in all areas of life, I resourced Auburn’s Facebook  postings. This alerted me to religious news of the week and how current events touch at a religious life of faith. I watched Auburn’s recommended documentary clips on civil rights and heard personal stories that touched and inspired me. I’m still thinking about this new documentary about how the global church ended South African apartheid. I podcasted this great StoryCorps segment on segregation and reflected on how our faith calls us to risk, even in moments when we doubt that we are ready to create lasting change. I followed the links that Auburn recommended to outstanding Web sites that provided rich research into the history and mission of Juneteenth.
All of these resource tools enriched my prayerful devotion of Luke’s Gospel text. I created a sermon message and worship service that challenged the congregation to find their voice in their communities, offices and classrooms and let their faith guide them to respond to God more deeply and turn to their neighbor with love and mercy.

Looking ahead
Start thinking now about International Day of Forgiveness and how this important message can reach your community. Click here to learn more about this annual event on the first Sunday of August
and check back to Auburn next Monday for planning resources.

Looking for more ideas to help your religious community? Contact Auburn’s Associate for Media and Education, the Rev. Kellie Anderson-Picallo with any questions.