I don't know is an honest admission. But I believe gives our children confidence in a future that can be anticipated.

Over fifty years ago, Doris Stickney published these words in a magazine article, after watching adults struggle to talk with children about death, following the tragic death of a neighborhood child.

Celebrating the wisdom of Stickney's perspective and the story's ongoing impact, the 50th anniversary edition of Water Bugs and Dragonflies includes the original magazine article from 1970 as well as a second article she wrote about her own cancer diagnosis, which concluded:

It's as simple as this: I can withdraw inside myself, pull down the shades and wait. Or I can open the curtains and see what the day promises.

Water Bugs and Dragonflies is a lovely narrative. Beautiful illustrations support the wonder and beauty of transformations found in both nature and human experience.

--Catherine Maresca, Center for Children and Theology

Talking to children about death can be hard. Water Bugs and Dragonflies, a perennial bestseller, can help you to answer their questions.

Doris Stickney tells the story of a small colony of water bugs living below the surface of a pond. Whenever a bug leaves the pond, those left behind are faced with the mystery of their absence. Stickney invites children into the question of their absence and offers hope for the future.

Weird Church describes the massive shifts in culture that have impacted the church. It also provides a helpful common language for the different worldviews that exist in the institutional church today that might prevent further blaming of each other. Finally, it gives examples of the richness of diversity in healthy, relevant faith communities.--Bishop Sally Dyck, Northern Illinois Annual Conference, The United Methodist Church

In the post-Christendom era, the institutional church just isn't what it used to be. But don't give up hope for the future of faith. Weird Church offers church leaders a clear vision of what's coming next, so long as they're willing to live into a few critical shifts. Utilizing Spiral Dynamics as a means of framing the current changes in North American culture, Nixon and Estock give a thrilling forecast of where the church is going as we race toward the mid-century.

A wake-up call to anyone who still thinks church revitalization is simply a matter of doing better the things that used to come so easily. However, for the innovators whose ministries cannot fully be measured or understood by the old paradigms of members and money, Weird Church offers compelling vindication and encouragement that may cause them to stand and cheer.

A new translation and critical commentary of a classic reformation text.

Sarah's ability to construct a future built on the commitments of our past makes this book an essential read for those who follow the voice of our still-speaking God. --John C. Dorhauer, General Minister and President, United Church of Christ

In a world that celebrates individual charisma and personal platform, how can the United Church of Christ's ethos of shared leadership provide a countercultural message? The structure and well-being of the United Church of Christ (UCC) depends upon shared leadership:

• between pastors and congregations,
• between churches and Associations/Conferences,
• between believers with diverse life experiences,
• across regions with varied histories.

That quality of collaboration is often understated, yet the ethos of shared leadership may be one of the UCC's greatest gifts to a secular world that is increasingly narrated by division and platform.

Our world is very different from the world our founders sought to address, in ways our forebears in the 1950s could have hardly imagined. Yet we remain what we have always been at our best, a people bearing witness to a grand moral vision rooted in the Bible and the person of the crucified and risen Christ, and a people of spiritual audacity prepared to risk old assumptions for the sake of new possibilities. - John H. Thomas, former General Minister, and President, United Church of Christ This best-selling, newly revised and updated book shares the: History of the United Church of Christ; Background on its predecessor bodies; Information on its Covenanted Ministries; Explanation of its emblem; and Statement of Faith.

The Evolution of a UCC Style: Essays in the History, Ecclesiology, and Culture of the United Church of Christ focuses on the development of themes that define the United Church of Christ (UCC). Randi Walker examines the ethos and culture of the UCC rather than simply describing its structures, and addresses the themes of inclusiveness; diversity of theological heritage (Reformation, Enlightenment, and Pietism); congregational polity (the one and the many); liberal theological approach; and ecumenical spirit. Walker also takes a look at the tensions and boundaries contained within each theme.

The story of the Afro-Christian Convention, one story of many in the history of the independent Black Church, is the story of faith, survival, affirmation, and empowerment in the hostile environment of racism. From 1892 to the 1960s, the Afro-Christian Convention was composed of 150 churches and 25,000 members, located primarily in North Carolina and Virginia. The tradition of the Afro-Christian church, too long ignored and under-celebrated, takes its rightful place in the canon of United Church of Christ history.

This collection of essays spans the breadth of the United Church of Christ: its roots; its polity, ministry, and worship issues; and its theological issues and movements. The revised and updated edition includes a new preface; a new chapter title for Chapter 18 The United Church of Christ Tomorrow: A View from 1990; and the addition of a new chapter, Chapter 19: Into a New Century.

Mainline Protestant denominations are dying, while conservative traditions are flourishing. Nones are the fastest growing religious demographic in the United States. A pastor and self-proclaimed former none, Heath possesses an excellent understanding of church growth and the lack thereof, and frequently draws upon that experience when look for ways to welcome people to church.

In Glorify: Reclaiming the Heart of Progressive Christianity, Heath shares the experiences, insights, lessons, and challenges that shaped them on their journey of faith. The book is sometimes practical, sometimes spiritual, and always glorifying the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which Heath asserts is the true way to change the world.

A confirmation resource for use by United Church of Christ congregations that focuses on its Statement of Faith.