The risk associated with COVID-19 has disrupted communities around the nation and around the world. Many congregations and other ministry settings have closed their doors and are re-envisioning how community can be fostered in such a time as this. Pastors, church members, chaplains, and others in congregational leadership have questions about how to create sanctuary, while at the same time those to whom we minister feel isolated and anxious. When we find we need each other the most, it can be difficult to remind ourselves that indeed - to borrow a phrase from our UCC partners - God is still speaking. We are an Easter people.

In response to the challenges of ministering to faith communities in this current climate, Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School is curating and sharing a variety of resources accessible online. These resources include ideas for worship, children’s messages, and prayers, as well as general resources from our denominational partners and affiliates. Some are offered by our staff, others by alumni/ae, and still others from regional and national bodies.

The partners on the Sterling Quadrangle - Yale Divinity School, Andover Newton Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School, The Center for Faith and Culture, and the Institute for Sacred Music - have also joined together to create various resources and opportunities for connection on an updates and resources page. 

If you have resources you would like to share, please email Ned Allyn Parker. This page will be updated every 48 hours if new resources are available. New entries are time-stamped for two weeks for ease of locating. (This page last updated on June 11, 2020 at 10:00am)

Resources can be found under the following headings:

• Reflections from Andover Newton Founding Dean Sarah Birmingham Drummond - Updated June 5, 2020
• Reflections from Alumni/ae and Friends
• “Upper Zoom” (©2020) Bible Study and Worship Experience
• Worship Resources - Updated June 11, 2020
• Talking to children about the coronavirus
• Youth Resources
• Prayers, litanies, poems, and music 
• Addressing anxiety and fear
• Working with vulnerable and at-risk populations
• Other helpful thoughts and suggestions
• Denominational Resources
  • American Baptist Churches
  • United Church of Christ
  • Unitarian Universalist Association
  • Alliance of Baptists
  • Bautistas por la Paz - BPFNA

Congregational Resources:

Reflections from Andover Newton Founding Dean Sarah Birmingham Drummond

• “Remove Obstacles to Love” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium (added 6/5/20)
• “Dis-aster” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium (added 6/5/20)
• “Dis-rupt” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium (added 6/5/20)
• “Supply Chains” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium 
• “Principled Leadership” from Sarah Durmmond’s blog on Medium 
• “Roads We’ll Never Walk” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium 
• “Preventive Medicine” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium
• “Pilgrimage Within” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium 
• Sarah Drummond offers a pastoral word to students at the beginning of Eastertide in this Facebook video. 
• Sarah Drummond reflects on Good Friday in “Risk is Real”
• Sarah Drummond offers another pastoral word to students and the community in this Facebook video. 
• “Pity Parties” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium 
• Sarah Drummond offers a pastoral word to Andover Newton students and the community in this Facebook video. 
• “… and I Feel Fine.” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium
• “Living like a learner” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium
• “An open letter” from Sarah Drummond’s blog on Medium
• Sarah Drummond was recently quoted in this piece from the CT Examiner
• Sarah Drummond quoted in this piece from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Sarah Drummond offered the welcome and blessing during Marquand Chapel’s online worship service on April 1, 2020.

Reflections from Alumni/ae and Friends

• “Turning the Corner” is a UCC daily devotional written by Andover Newton trustee Kaji Douša 
• “Caring for Self and Others in Times of Trouble” is a piece written by Alexander Levering Kern (MDiv ‘02) 
• “Dear Beloved Clergy” is an open letter from Andover Newton trustee Susan Townsley 
• “Must I Become a Digital Pastor? Maybe. Or Not Yet.” is a piece by graduating student Mahogany Thomas (MDiv ‘20) 
• “Crisis can help us reorient what we prize” is a piece by Jim Antal (DMin ‘98) 
• “Celebrating Easter in a Good Friday world” is a piece written by Curtis Ramsey-Lucas (MDiv ‘95) 
• “Our national homework assignment—Beginning to envision a just and inclusive society” is a piece written by YDS alumnus and Andover Newton trustee Jeffrey Haggray 
• “Lessons amid a disaster: Ministry in response to crisis” is a podcast in which Curtis Ramsey-Lucas (MDiv ‘95) interviews Matt Crebbin (Mdiv ‘94) 
• “For blood drive, food pantry, Maine church members don masks, gloves” is a piece written about 2nd Congregational Church in Newcastle, ME, pastored by Char Corbett (MDiv ‘10) 
• “Ministry in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak” by Mindi Welton-Mitchell (MDiv ’02)
• “Planning for ministry during COVID-19” by Mindi Welton-Mitchell (MDiv ’02)
• In this podcast Curtis Ramsey-Lucas (MDiv ‘95) interviews Mindi Welton-Mitchell about “ministry in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak” on the Christian Citizen podcast series 
• “Church and the coronavirus: practicing compassion and care even as we take precautions” by Andover Newton Fellow, Cody Sanders
• “Lessons From Ministry in the Midst of Disaster” is an open letter written to fellow clergy by Matthew Crebbin (MDiv ‘94), who ministered in Newton, CT, during the horrific school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School 
• “7 Things” by Stephanie Rutt (DMin ‘17) is a reflection about speaking up and living in the moment 
• Ned Allyn Parker (MDiv ‘10) joins current Andover Newton affiliated students to reflect on Mark’s Jesus Calming the Storm
• “A time to fear and a time to trust” is a piece written by Doris Garcia Rivera (MA ‘88) 

Upper Zoom Bible Study and Worship Experience (©2020)

• Outline for Week 1
• Outline for Week 2
• Outline for Week 3 - Maundy Thursday 
• Outline for Week 4  
• Outline for Week 5

Worship Resources

• “Reflections from Quarantine” is a series of reflections and written reflections offered by the faculty of our partner on the Sterling Quad, the Institute of Sacred Music - added 6/11/20
• “Creating live streamed worship in three days” from Hacking Christianity
• “Preparing for the coronavirus in your congregation” from the Unitarian Universalist Association (There is more from the UUA below under denominational partners)
• “Preach awareness, not panic” from the United Church of Christ and featuring Andover Newton trustee and YDS alumna Rev. Kaji Douša
• “Streaming Sunday Services - Technical Tips” is a concrete overview of online options and tools from the UUA 

Children’s Messages: Talking to children about the coronavirus

• “Just for kids: A comic exploring the new coronavirus” from National Public Radio
• “Talking to kids about the coronavirus” from the Child Mind Institute
• “How to talk to your kids about coronavirus” is a fantastic resource with concrete information from the Girls Scouts of America
• “Helpful coronavirus resources for parents and kids” is a resource from Sparkle Stories for the whole family to talk about the coronavirus
• “Thirty ‘Virtual’ Field Trips” - This is simply a great resource to pass the time with children while practicing social distancing

Youth Resources

• The Yale Youth Ministry Institute has compiled the very best resources for ministering to youth during COVID-19

Prayers, litanies, poems, and music

• “Easter Worship Celebration: Passing the Peace” is an inspiring music video compiled by the Southern New England Conference UCC for Easter Sunday 
• “A prayer during the coronavirus pandemic” in The Christian Citizen
• “A faithful response, with worship, to the coronavirus” - a Google doc from the United Church of Christ
• “Pandemic” - a poem by Unitarian Universalist pastor and author Lynn Ungar

Addressing anxiety and fears

• “Honest to God,” written by Talitha Arnold (YDS MDiv ‘80) 
• “With the Voice of Thanksgiving,” also by Talitha Arnold (YDS MDiv ‘80) 
• “10 guidelines for pastoral care during the coronavirus outbreak” in The Christian Century
• “Feeling anxious about COVID-19?” from Yale Medicine

Working with Vulnerable and At-Risk Populations

• “What Bay Area Counties Are Doing for Homeless Residents” from NPR and PBS affiliate KQED 
• “How you can help the homeless during the coronavirus pandemic” from Newsweek 
• “Online Intergroup Resources” from Alcoholics Anonymous with online meeting directories 
• “Update on the Coronavirus” from Alcoholics Anonymous 
• “Amid coronavirus, recovery community urges: Even if you skip 12-step meetings, stay connected” featured in the LA TImes 

Other helpful thoughts and suggestions

• “Guidance for cleaning and disinfection for COVID-19 for houses of worship” from the New York Department of Health
• CDC Resources for Community and faith-based leaders
• “Concise Corona Guide for Churches” is a downloadable pdf from Christianity Today with great resources and ideas

Denominational Resources

American Baptist Churches USA

• “ABHMS stands with Asian-Americans against racism amidst coronavirus” from American Baptist Home Mission Societies 
• “Best practices for pastors during COVID-19 crisis” from the Regional Executive Ministers Council (REMC) of ABCUSA 
• “An update on COVID-19” from ABCUSA
• “Guidance, litany, and prayer for congregational response to COVID-19” from American Baptist Home Mission Societies

United Church of Christ

• “Phasing Forward” is a fantastic resource from the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ, which outlines an “orderly return to church,” among other things 
• “Coronavirus and the church” – A great clearinghouse of information from the UCC
• “UCC churches offer pastoral touches, prophetic voices” is a fantastic piece about moving worship online and features alums, trustees and friends of Andover Newton

Unitarian Universalist Association

• “Updated Recommendations for congregation’s response to COVID-19”
• “Updates on the UUA General Assembly” from the UUA GA main landing page

Alliance of Baptists

• “Responding to COVID-19: worshipping online, worship resources, and getting connected“ 

Bautistas por la Paz - Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America

• “A time to fear and a time to trust” from Doris Garcia Rivera (MA ‘88) 
• “COVID-19 Faith Resources” is a page that includes reflections, hymns and prayers