Breakthrough, a preaching and worship resource created by and for United Methodists of Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey, has just released something entirely new: two companion series, one in Spanish and one in English. Dios es Más and The Holy More are distinct but related series that explore different aspects of who God is. Here we share a little bit about their origin and what the creators learned through the development process.
These companion series were born out of a desire to offer a Breakthrough series in Spanish for the many Hispanic/Latine United Methodist congregations in Eastern Pennsylvania and Greater New Jersey, and for anyone who might find it helpful.
As we considered ways to offer resources in Spanish, we decided it was important for the series to be created by a Spanish-speaking team. While translation is a vital tool for communication, we chose not to simply translate a series that was already designed and developed in English. This choice came out of the recognition that language, culture, and experience are intertwined. Designing and developing resources in the language in which they will be used offers an opportunity for the cultures and experiences of those who speak the language to shape the content of those resources and how they are expressed.
Creating a companion series in English, we hoped, would not only resource our English-speaking users, but also offer an opportunity to see how the same topic might be approached differently by writers working in different languages.
While each writing team worked in one language, both teams were made up of members with diverse backgrounds – people of different ages, genders, theological backgrounds, nationalities, ethnicities, and life experiences. So, while their shared language influenced the shape that each series took, the groups were not at all monolithic.
We chose to focus the two series on the many ways people talk about God and the many images people use for God, with the hunch that different names and images would resonate with different people based on their backgrounds, experiences, and current realities. We were inspired by the multiplicity of ways God is described throughout Scripture – from maternal and paternal images to those describing God as gardener, bread, dove, wind and fire, to name just a few. Each highlights a different aspect of God’s character.
Each writing team was offered the same questions for reflection: When you think of God, what image comes to mind? Have different images or ways of speaking about God resonated with you at different moments in your life? What informs your image of God or the way you speak about God?
Then, each team was asked to identify four images or ways of speaking about God that resonated with them as a group and to develop a four-week series based on them. Dios es Mas+ and The Holy More are the result of that work.
If you compare the overviews for both series, you will see that they share some remarkable similarities. Both teams chose to highlight the idea of God as creator and to explore what that means for human beings created in God’s image. Both teams emphasized God’s constant presence with humanity. And both teams named the reality that God is mysteriously beyond all categories and yet somehow intimately related to all that is.
Despite these similarities, the teams took different approaches and the finished products reveal different emphases. For instance, the Spanish team wrote of God’s presence “on the road” with us (Week 2), while the English team drew on Psalm 139 to write of God’s presence as the one who is always seeking us out (Week 3). These approaches reflect the lived experiences of the writers.
As they reflected on the process of creating the series, some of the writers shared that it was healing to look beyond stereotypical imagery for God and to delve more deeply into some of the other God imagery Scripture puts before us. The process was a valuable reminder of a belief held dear, but one that can easily be obscured: God does not and will not fit into any box of human creation.
And, while it was interesting to observe similarities and differences in how groups working in different languages handle the same topic, the process of creating these series offered something more: the opportunity to learn from one another and to expand perspective. When the teams shared their series with each other, both teams were absolutely delighted by the other’s!
In that Spirit, we wanted to offer a gift to our Breakthrough users as well – the preaching resources and worship resources for both series are available in both English and Spanish. A huge thank you goes out to the Rev. Lisa DePaz for her generosity in providing these translations. You might consider drawing on both series in your preparation or adding weeks from both series as you use these materials in your church. You might even survey your own congregation and add a week or two based on what you learn. What images of God in Scripture resonate most with your congregation? And how do others’ answers to this question expand their perspective?
If you choose to engage these series, may you know the presence of the God who cannot be contained in one image, but whose image is reflected in the diverse beauty of each and every human being. The more we can share our experiences of God with one another, the more fully we can come to know God!
