Nebraska Synod ELCA

Tell the Story Handout

Downloadable handout that is great for bulletin inserts, enewsletters, or posting on a bulletin board!

Prayer Beads

For April's prayer practice, try using prayer beads! Prayer beads add a useful tactile element to add to your prayer life to help you remain centered.

Tell The Story Slide

A downloadabe PowerPoint slide available for sharing!

Conversation Starters

Go and… Tell The Story! Be a storyteller and a good listener when others are ready to share their stories. There are many storytelling tools on the market these days. Is this a sign of our inability to just strike up a conversation? Perhaps in our busyness, we have forgotten how to engage in conversation and are out of practice. So why not practice?

Can You Tell THE Story?

We think we know the story because we hear it every Easter. But can you put the whole story of Holy Week and Easter together? We've put together some creative ideas and resources to get you started!

Tell THE Story of Creation Care

In April, we celebrate Earth Day. It’s a great month for us to tell the story of God’s creation and our part in it by being advocates for creation care, taking time to appreciate God’s creation and thinking about how we weave creation care into our own stories. Download the resource to find out creative ways you can be part of the Creation Care Story.

The Haiku Bible

What happens when you combine the sacred Scriptures with the highly structured Japanese Haiku poetic form? Author Chris Suehr took on the challenge created The Haiku Bible. It uses only seventeen syllables to describe each book of the Bible, bringing us statements that are imaginative rather than comprehensive. The Haiku Bible started as an effort to make better sense of the complex and nuanced anthology. While rich in content and layered with meaning, the overarching themes of Scripture can be easily lost. The Haiku Bible weaves fresh insight into the ancient writings, while finding the threads that tie together the tapestry of Scripture. Rev. Dr. Rick Carlson (First Lutheran Kearney) shares “The Haiku Bible is a delight to read and contemplate. Suehr demonstrates a keen understanding of both the Japanese poetic form of haiku and the core thrust of each biblical book. Readers will be able to savor the simple complexity of both the Bible and haiku through Suehr's deft and insightful presentations." Chris Suehr has ties to Nebraska having completed his internship as a Word and Sacrament candidate with First Lutheran Lincoln.

Children’s Book: Listening with My Heart: A Story of Kindness and Compassion by Gabi Garcia

Kindness matters! Especially towards ourselves. When Esperanza finds a heart-shaped rock, she sees it as a reminder to spread kindness and love in the world. But when the school play doesn't go as planned, will she remember to show kindness to herself?

We talk to kids a lot about how to be friends with others but less about how to be friends with themselves. Yet when kids show themselves empathy and understanding, especially when they make mistakes, it helps build their emotional resilience, growth mindset, and sense of well-being.

Listening with My Heart reminds us of the other golden rule -- to treat ourselves with the same understanding and compassion we give to others. It also touches on the universal themes of friendship and inclusion.

Listening with My Heart includes kid-friendly mindfulness and self-compassion activities that support the book’s message. It’s a beautiful addition to your home or school social-emotional library!

(Available in Spanish as: Escuchando con mi Corazón.)

Stories that Challenge our Understanding of the Story and How We Tell it

As we tell THE story of Christ’s love for all, I invite you to read these books which may challenge you to think deeper about how others tell the story and how their interpretation of the story may be different than yours. I've included a summary of each book with some “dig deeper” questions. And don’t just read the
books on your own! I encourage you to read them with a friend and have some discussion around the questions. Can’t find a friend to talk with? Contact me, Gretchen Ahrens, at the Nebraska Synod. I’d love to dig deeper in these books with you and others!

A Musical Reflection: I Love to Tell the Story

The words to this hymn were written by Arabella Katherine Hankey as a two-stanza poem published in 1866. She was the daughter of a wealthy English banker who taught Sunday School as a teenager and later became a missionary nurse in South Africa. She wrote the words as part of a 50-stanza poem. The first part was called “The Story Wanted” and the second part was “The Story Told”. Find out more, including modern-day versions of this hymn in the resource!

I Am Spring

By Rebecca and James McDonald. After the cold of Winter, comes the warmth of Spring. “I Am Spring” takes young children on a journey through the many important events that occur uniquely in the beautiful growing season of Spring. When the day becomes longer than the night, and the leaves begin to sprout on the bare branches, and bugs and animals that were hiding start to reappear, get ready, because that means Spring is here! Go, And … Tell the Story of new life and the wonders of Spring in this engaging book.