SHARING STORIES
Have you noticed the parent resource shelves located at each church site? These bookshelves feature lots of resources for our congregation aimed at parents – but of interest to anyone who loves children or is curious about lifelong learning. The resource centers intentionally include books that encourage readers to widen their understanding of God’s beautifully diverse vision for the world.
Multiple copies of most of the adult books are available for group study. Interested in using one for a life group or book study? Reach out to Rhonda Doran (rdoran@easter.org) to reserve some copies. Most of the children’s books featured at the resource centers are part of the Sharing Stories: Conversations About Culture project.
What is the purpose of Sharing Stories: Conversations About Culture?
The Sharing Stories project aligns with Easter Lutheran Church’s Commitment to Racial Justice. In April 2021, our congregation approved a resolution proclaiming our commitment to racial justice. The resolution included organizing educational opportunities for all ages and stages like Sharing Stories: Conversations About Culture.
Rooted in love and justice, Easter families have an opportunity to learn about a different perspective and engage in conversations about other cultures with their children. This project addresses the intersection of faith and justice. By reading books that feature characters from other cultures and highlight themes of culture, identity, race, and the challenges of racism, we draw closer to an understanding of God’s Beloved Community and learn justice and compassion for all God’s people.
About the Sharing Stories books:
Church copies of each children’s book distributed through the Sharing Stories project are featured on the resource center displays along with helpful discussion questions and information about why the book was selected. Please feel free to enjoy the sample copies while you visit.
Interested in borrowing a book? Copies of each Sharing Stories book and additional family resources are available in the Easter Spiritual Resource Library located at Easter on the Hill.
About the Sharing Stories: Conversations About Culture project:
Parents of all JAM (Jesus and Me) students are invited to opt into receiving a free, age-appropriate, culturally diverse book for their child(ren). Families are invited to read and talk about the book together using suggested discussion questions. When they finish enjoying the book, families are asked to share it with another child by passing it along to a friend or placing it in a Little Free Library located throughout the area. There is a Little Free Library located at Easter on the Hill by the Easter Preschool entrance.
Actions for Participating Families:
Read the book with your family a few times over the course of a month.
Talk about the book. Use the suggested questions as a starting point.
Pass the book on to another family or share it through a Little Free Library.
Share what you learned or thought about the book with others.
The Sharing Stories: Conversations About Culture books are:
Preschool (3-year-old) Book: Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem
Written by Amanda Gorman and illustrated by Loren Long
Published by Viking/Penguin Random House LLC, 2021
Pre-K (4-year-old) Book:
All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin
Written by Katie Kissinger, Photography by Chris Bohnhoff
Published by Readleaf Press, 2014
Kindergarten Book: Dreamers
Written and Illustrated by Yuyi Morales
Published by Neal Porter Books, 2018
1st Grade Book: The Proudest Blue: A Story of Hijab and Family
Written by Ibtihaj Muhammed with S. K. Ali
Illustrated by Hatem Aly
Published by Hachette Book Group, 2019
2nd Grade Book: Greet the Dawn: The Lakota Way
Written and illustrated by S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)
Published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2012
3rd Grade Book: A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart
Written by Zetta Elliott and illustrated by Noa Denmon
Published by Farrar Straus Giroux, 2020
4th Grade Book: Something Happened in Our Town
Written by Marianne Celando, Marietta Collins, and Ann Hazzard
Illustrated by Jennifer Zivoin
Published by Magination Press, 2018
5th Grade Book: Yang Warriors
Written by Kao Kalia Yang and illustrated by Billy Thao
Published by the University of Minnesota Press, 2021
A Blessing for Reading Together
from Ordinary Blessings for Parents: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Family Life, written by Meta Herrick Carlson
The world is storied layers,
characters and scenes making
a home in your shared wonder.
Magic gathers under fingertips
tracing illustrations and in the whispered
hints of sounds for little learners trying.
There are a trillion ways to fall in love
with stories waiting on pages –
in between someone reading them aloud
and listening to our own voice trying.
Gracious and all-knowing God,
Thank you for the gift of your Beloved Community. Work through our curiosity and wonder as we listen well to stories shared by people who have different perspectives from us so that we become more aware of the fullness and beauty of life together. We seek to see the world as you do – made in your own image – and pray that love and trust will triumph over fear and uncertainty.
Amen