VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 8/30/12)—Whether you’re planning a trip to Washington, D.C., as the summer heat wanes or creating a patriotic-themed lesson plan for the start of school, American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) has just the resource to enhance either a visit or your students’ classroom learning experience—a handy booklet that serves as a guide to the buildings, memorials and statues on the National Mall.

Written by Curtis Ramsey-Lucas, ABHMS managing director, Resource Development, with the Rev. Cassandra Carkuff Williams, Ed.D., ABHMS national coordinator, Discipleship Resource Development, the booklet—titled “What Do These Stones Mean?”—provides historical information while encouraging Christian reflection.

Thirteen sites are covered, including the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Washington National Cathedral and the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Photographs and vivid descriptions make the resource appropriate for use onsite or in the classroom.

“Memorials remind later generations of the struggles and sacrifices of those who have come before. Yet these physical reminders cannot achieve their purpose if we have little understanding of the people and events to which they bear witness,” states the introduction. “As you visit . . . each of these memorials, consider Joshua’s question [in Joshua 4:6-7]: ‘What do these stones mean?’ Consider not only the national ideals and aspirations these memorials represent, but also their testimony to God’s presence in the midst of tribulation.”

The booklet is available for $3 each via Judson Press, ABHMS’ publishing ministry, at www.judsonpress.com or 1-800-458-3766.

American Baptist Home Mission Societies—the domestic mission arm of American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA)—ministers as the caring heart and serving hands of Jesus Christ across the United States and Puerto Rico through a multitude of initiatives that focus on discipleship, community and justice.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.