Building Faith Brick By Brick

The Good Samaritan
September is the beginning of many things. It is a place for fresh starts and unmarked territory. We have spent a season (or two) planning and now it is “go” time. The spiritual gift for us to work toward might be the ability to stay open and loving as our calendars (rapidly) fill up. When my schedule feels overbooked, I get cranky and my vision narrows. The temptation I fight against is the desire to revert back to the old way for doing things and go with what feels safe. It takes courage to do something new. (A lot of courage.) In preparation for the 2015 Forma Conference, I have been soaking up as much Brene Brown wisdom as possible. Just today I watched one of her TED talks with a covenant group I help to lead. Brene shared the root meaning of the word “courage”. Its origin is from the Latin word for “heart”. Originally courage was the ability to tell a story with one’s whole heart. Wholeheartedness is a messy proposition. It means showing all of our parts – even the less polished ones. It means sitting in the middle of a big “what if?” (This. Is. Not. Easy.) What do we gain if we try? Often something new and wonderfully unexpected reveals itself. As many of you know, I have been working on a curriculum resource book for the program commonly known as “Lego My Bible”. Over the course of the last year, I have spent nearly every day off working on the book that would finally be titled Building Faith Brick by Brick. I have joked that it was like birthing my third child. Why? I went out on a ledge and asked the question, “What if we did Bible study and theological reflection in a different way with our children?” It was a way to take something fun and familiar then claim it as a sacred medium for story sharing. It was a way to say, “I want to speak your language because you matter”. It has been a year of joy and discovery for me. People have shared the most remarkable stories and pictures of how plastic Lego pieces have truly embodied our faith stories. I invite you to take a look at the book and explore the method. It is filled with wondering questions and ideas about how to make enough space for God to show up to speak a message of love, forgiveness, mercy, wisdom, and courage into the hearts of us all, plastic brick by plastic brick. My (re)newed expression was Lego. What might yours be? Where could you exercise a little courage to walk a new way to bring the message of God into the center of your faith communities? Step out with courage. There is a whole world out there waiting to be realized with your help. To learn more about Building Faith Brick by Brick, visit the Cokesbury Product Page: or like the Facebook page “Building Faith Brick by Brick”.   Emily Given is the Director of Children and Family Ministry at Saint Michael and All Angels Church – Dallas, TX. Emily has also served as a social worker, professional organizer, and educator in addition to being a mixed media artist and mother of two daughters.

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