E-ssentials: Happy New Year! New Anti-Racism App, Lenten book, Work with Young Leaders, and more!

Happy New Year! Happy New Year! We wish you and your loved ones a blessed 2023. Thank you for your support, your care, and for all you do to bring the love of God to life in our world this year. [Photo: Alain Audet from Pixabay]   New Anti-Racism App In case you missed it, there's a new anti-racism app for youth available from The United Church of Canada. Jonisha Lewinson is one of a team of young adults who helped create it. Called AR4YT (short for Anti-Racism for Youth Training), the app—supported through your Mission & Service gifts—is aimed at 12-18 year olds and covers topics like the history of racism in Canada, White privilege, and how to get involved in anti-racism work. It is available at no cost on Google Play and the App Store.  [Photo courtesy of Jonisha Lewinson] Your Generosity Matters: Working with Young Leaders Team Lead for Identity and Mission Amy Crawford has been doing ministry with youth and young adults for almost 30 years, and she’s never been more excited about the future for youth leadership in the church.  “We took it for granted that youth and young adults were going to be in the church,” Amy says. “And we can’t take that for granted anymore.” “Our youth ministry in the United Church in many ways has grown in recent years,” she says. “The youth are here because they choose to be here. And they’re here because they find a place for themselves.” Mission & Service has funded outdoor ministries like camps and supported youth and young adults to take education trips, receive project grants, and initiate new ministries. This work with young leaders is helping to create the next generation of leaders in the church and even beyond the church. Read the full story and find out how your generosity matters! [Photo courtesy of Amy Crawford.]   Buy Good Courage and Get a Free 2023 Canadian Church Calendar! Lent is coming up in just a few months! For those of you making plans for the Lenten season, both the print and the ebook versions of our 2023 United Church Lenten devotional, Good Courage: Daily Reflections on Hope are now available! Good Courage offers honest testimonies from people who have had the courage to follow their hearts, to hope against hope, and to faithfully work toward a better world. In this new book, you will find inspiring examples of practical and courageous hope in the midst of despair that deepen your spiritual experience of resurrection and new life. Edited by the Rev. Alydia Smith, this new Lenten devotional includes daily scripture, reflections, study questions, and prayers for individuals or groups. When you purchase the softcover edition of Good Courage, use code PLANAHEAD to receive one free 2023 Canadian Church Calendar! (Note: You must have both Good Courage and the 2023 Canadian Church Calendar added to your cart for the discount to apply to your order.) Offer valid while supplies last. [Image credit: The United Church of Canada] Then Let Us Sing! Online Music Portal Have you heard the news about Then Let Us Sing!, the new online musical portal coming in fall 2024? The Then Let Us Sing! digital music resource will offer most of the selections from Voices United, More Voices, and Nos voix unies, plus a growing collection of new music that has been recently solicited and curated. The Then Let Us Sing! digital platform will provide copyright cleared for all available hymns for print, projection, and streaming.  In order to develop Then Let Us Sing! in the most just and faithful way possible, we are engaging in a unique partnership with Hope Publishing Company and OneLicense.net (GIA Publications), industry leaders in the areas of Christian music publishing and worship music copyright.  This resource is an investment in the faith formation and spiritual health of our United Church. It will provide adaptable tools to worship and music leaders, strengthen our ecumenical relationships, and introduce new music regularly to make this a living resource. Stay up to date with the progress of Then Let Us Sing! by signing up for our newsletter and following Then Let Us Sing! on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. [Image credit: Then Let Us Sing!] Worship Resources  See our Worship Resources for upcoming Sundays and special celebrations. Epiphany - January 6, 2023 Baptism of Jesus - January 8, 2023 Second after Epiphany - January 15, 2023 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - January 18, 2023 Third after Epiphany - January 23, 2023 Fourth after Epiphany - January 29, 2023 Black History Month - February 2023 Fifth after Epiphany - February 5, 2023   Essentials Newsletter will return on January 3, 2023.  Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Our gifts for Mission & Service bring healing, justice, and hope to life. Donate today.

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