Tracey and Pam, our editors, guide you through the highlights
of current and forthcoming issues. Plus links to highlights of issues in the archive.
Welcome to the July/August edition of Roots!
This summer, we continue our journey through the story of David and his successor Solomon in 2 Samuel and 1 Kings. These readings contain enough drama to rival a soap opera.
We begin with David fulfilling his God-given destiny by becoming king and making Jerusalem his capital. We see the triumphant arrival of the Ark of the Covenant and the establishment of David’s royal line. But, like all good soap operas, there are some dramatic twists ahead. David’s bad choices lead to a spectacular fall from grace. He repents but there are long-lasting consequences. However, this set of readings ends on a high with the beginning of the reign of the wise Solomon and the building of a permanent place of worship. These themes have many contemporary resonances for our lives today and we hope you find exploring them fruitful.
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Warmer weather might tempt you out of your worship space and into the great outdoors. Read Celebrating Communion in creation if you’re curious about how to start and the benefits that might bring. And, if you’re planning other all-age Communion services, don’t forget our Bread & Wine resources which will enable you to build worship that ties in with the weekly themes.
The summer also promises to be full of sporting drama, with the Paris Olympics starting on 26 July. With school summer holidays on the horizon and hopefully some warmer weather too, this might be a great opportunity to put on a fun Olympic-themed event for your community. We have a fantastic resource to enable you to do just that: rootsforchurches.com/olympic-challenge
Churches at their best are inclusive communities, welcoming to all. In Dementia-friendly church, Julia Burton-Jones (Anna Chaplaincy’s Training and Development Lead) shares tips on making our churches more friendly and accessible to those with dementia and their supporters.
Whatever your plans, enjoy the summer!
The July/August 2024 issue of Roots Children & Youth is full of fresh ideas to see you through to the end of the school year and holidays. The weekly materials delve deeper into David’s story and that of his son, Solomon. If you’re new to Roots, check out the teaching poster we've provided to help share the story with your group(s).
Our latest drama A mansion for God gives a contemporary take on 2 Samuel 7, reminding us – like David – not to assume that we know God’s will, and instead make space for God to move in our lives. Do check out the Roots website for our latest dramas – there’s a new script to download with every issue.
Many churches are looking to boost connections with schools. Primary School leavers’ services provide a fantastic opportunity for churches to meet the needs of schools and strengthen relationships with pupils and staff. So, we’re delighted to provide Rooted in God’s love, an interactive service devised by Emma Anderton and Chelmsford Diocese, which can be readily adapted to your context.
This year we’ve partnered with God and the Big Bang to create Whizz! Bang! Wow! – a holiday club exploring some big questions around faith and science. There are plenty of games, crafts, songs, whizz-bang experiments, Bible stories and more, for children to discover and enjoy. Again, this is all about meeting the needs of children and young people, starting with the questions they are asking, while providing the means for them to become more confident in their faith.
Our latest Discovering God resource All who are thirsty can be used in a variety of settings; perhaps at a family fun day, a school event or even as a small group study. The water-based games, activities exploring water justice and reflective worship ideas remind us that we should seek to be resourced by Jesus, the water of life.
Best wishes for a refreshing July and August!
In Adult & All Age journey with us alongside the new Christian community in Acts as we come to the end of the Easter season. After Pentecost and Trinity, we return to Ordinary Time and continue our exploration of the Old Testament. We focus on the intertwined and dramatic stories of Samuel and David, both called from humble beginnings to serve God.
Father’s Day this year takes place on 16 June, which is also close to the start of the European Football Championships. Many footballing heroes will be taking to the pitch in the Euros and dads are often heroes within their families. In our all-age resource True Heroes, football fan Gill Page offers some hero-themed ideas and activities to help you engage all generations, both from within and outside your church community.
AI is having an increasing impact on all our lives, even in football, and there are implications for churches too. In The AI invasion: Preparing for a new era, technology expert James Poulter explores some of the potential benefits as well as highlighting some of the things we might need to be concerned about.
We continue our Bread & Wine Holy Communion resources, with prayers linked to the themes of this issue: Being filled with the Holy Spirit and Being led by God, to enable you to put together all-age Communion services linked to the Roots weekly material. Within this provision, Darren Philip considers how you can incorporate elements that cater for all spiritual styles in your Communion service.
And finally, if you’ve ever asked (or been asked!) tricky questions about the Trinity, you might want to check out our ‘Discovering God: Three is a magic number’ resource.
And in Children & Youth, we complete our Acts of the Apostles series and commence our coverage of the King David and Solomon lectionary passages. We’re delighted to bring you these brand new sessions which are sure to engage children and young people and help them develop their understanding of the big picture of the Bible.
There’s also a new drama for older children and teens, The big task, exploring the story of David and Goliath.
We’re excited to share our new Youth resource: Pentecost Escape Room. it’s been great fun creating an escape room scenario, and we hope your young people enjoy completing the challenges to discover more about the start of the early church, as much as our test youth group did!
We’re mindful that it’s exam season for many children and young people – take a look at Under pressure, an article about supporting children’s mental health. And don’t forget to prioritise your own well-being – it’s very easy to put ourselves last when we’re serving God and others, which is not the best model for our children and young people to follow!
We hope these resources will help to ease the load, as well as inspire you and those you work with to flourish in faith.