Acknowledgements

The Summer of Kindness: Sharing God’s Love playlists are a collaboration of conference staff from the Rio Texas, Great Plains, and Michigan Conferences of The United Methodist Church.

Rev. Tanya Campen, Rio Texas
Rev. Melissa Gepford, Great Plains
Rev. Christy Miller-White, Michigan
Rev. Kathy Pittenger, Michigan

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Westminster John Knox Press, Elizabeth F. Caldwell and Carol A. Wehrheim, editors for permission to use stories from Growing in God’s Love: A Story Bible for the videos. You can purchase your own copy from:
Westminster John Knox
Cokesbury
Amazon
or your favorite bookseller

Looking for a Children’s Bible?

Check with your church to see if they have a preferred Bible or one that they frequently use with children.

Here are additional favorites:

Story Bibles:

Children’s Bibles:

Recommended books about Kindness… additional books are on each playlist

Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson and Fumi Kosaka

What Does It Mean To Be Kind by Rana DiOrio

The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig

I Walk with Vanessa by Kerascoët

Otis and the Scarecrow by Loren Long

Kindness is My Superpower by Alicia Ortego

Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind by Jessica Hische

Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss

God’s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Summer is upon us! Though we enter into what the Church calls “Ordinary Time,” we are aware that we live in extraordinary times that require flexibility, playfulness, and kindness.

That’s what we hope this resource is for you – flexible curriculum that ignites a playful spirit as we practice kindness. We’ve included six sections that help us understand kindness better. Each section contains five parts: Hear, Wonder, Pray, Play, Act. You can hear the Bible story adapted from Growing in God’s Love (or read it yourself), wonder together about the story, offer a short prayer, play a fun game or activity, and then choose an act of kindness (or a few) from the Bingo Sheet! Who can get BINGO first?!

Grownups can use this in day-to-day activities with children and youth of all ages. Use all six sections in one week, a month, or all summer long – it’s up to you! Choose which parts bring you and your loved ones joy; if that’s just the Bible stories, that’s great! If it’s the Bingo Sheet, go for it! Hear us – whatever you do, during these extraordinary times, it is good and enough!