11th Sunday After Pentecost Year 3: August 20, 2017 Preaching Text: Romans 6:1-11 Blue Ethel by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Written for ages 4-7) Comment: In his introduction to this preaching series on sacraments, Rev. Karl Jacobson refers to baptism as a daily event, “not...

Name of Book: A Cat Named Swan Author: Holly Hobbie Illustrator: Holly Hobbie Publisher: Random House Publication Date: 2017 ISBN: 9780553537444 Audience:  4-7 years Summary:  “Then he was alone.” With that opening sentence, Holly Hobbie begins her tale of an abandon little gray...

10th Sunday After Pentecost Year 3: August 13, 2017 Preaching Text: Acts 2:37-42 Rain Fish by Lois Ehlert (Written for ages 3-6) Comment: These four weeks focused on the sacraments invite us to consider their meaning within our lives. Professor Matt Skinner explores that for the...

9th Sunday After Pentecost Year A:  August 6, 2017 First Reading:  Genesis 32:22-31 Excellent Ed by Stacy McAnulty (Written for ages 4-7) Comment: In Excellent Ed, Ed the dog feels left out because everyone in his family (the humans, that is) excel at something, but he doesn’t....

Title: The Tree Author:  Neal Layton Illustrator:  Neal Layton Publisher: Candlewick Press ISBN: 9780763689520 Audience: 2-5 years Summary: In only sixty words, Neal Layton tells the story of a small ecosystem: a tall tree, the animals which live happily on, in, and under it, and...

8th Sunday After Pentecost Year A:  July 30, 2017 First Reading: Genesis 29:15-28 A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams (Written for ages 4-8) Comment: In Genesis, Jacob loves Rachel. He wants to marry her, and in order to win her father’s approval for the marriage, he is...

8th Sunday After Pentecost Year 3: July 30, 2017 Preaching Text: Ephesians 4:1-16 Head, Body, Legs: A Story from Liberia retold by Won-Ldy Paye & Margaret H. Lippert (Written for ages 4-8) Comment:  In this section of the Epistle, Paul explains how God calls we who are...

Title: Who Counts? 100 Sheep, 10 Coins, 2 Sons Author: Amy-Jill Levine & Sandy Eisenberg Sasso Illustrator: Margaux Meganck Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press Publication Date: May 17, 2017 ISBN: 9780664262747 Audience: Ages 5-10 Summary: This book places the three...