Molly Baskette
Progressive Christian pastor.
Incorrigible optimist, despite all the facts.
Church renewal cheerleader.
Transformation junkie.
Cancer survivor, author and mom.
Keep up with my latest news here.
HOW TO BEGIN
WHEN YOUR WORLD IS ENDING:
A Spiritual Field Guide to Joy Despite Everything
(available for pre-order now! Out November 2022)
As a progressive parish minister, Rev. Molly has companioned people at their most vulnerable, traumatized and disoriented--in prisons, ERs and queer-affirming churches set upon by homophobic intruders. She has also had a front row seat to human transformation, as many of the ruptures her people lived through turned out to be Holy Spirit portals:
the way God got in.
When Rev. Molly was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer as a mom with two young children, it was an opportunity to test the seaworthiness of the faith she had been practicing and preaching. Cancer forced her to personally confront questions like: Is it true that prayer changes things? Does God care whether we live or die--and is there a damn thing God can do about it anyway? How can vulnerability, counterintuitively, be a strength? And the million-dollar question: is there life after death, and just what might it be like?
How to Begin When Your World is Ending is a series of related stories on how to mine joy from all the hardest parts of being human. Whatever you are going through, someone has been there before you and found meaning in the madness. Part cancer memoir, part resurrection & redemption stories from the trenches of parish ministry, and part disaster theology for everyone, How to Begin will help you wend your way not just to post-traumatic resilience, but to a core joy that nothing can take away.
How To Begin When Your World is Ending is available for pre-order at Amazon, Broadleaf Books, Indiebound and Bookshop.
BLESS THIS MESS
A Modern Guide to Faith & Parenting in a Chaotic World
When Rev. Molly Baskette and Dr. Ellen O’Donnell first met, they were both new mothers seeking parenting wisdom. They read a lot of books on the topic, but none of them contained practical suggestions that would help their families psychologically and spiritually while maintaining their progressive values: How do we teach the art of forgiving and serving others? How do we raise kids who are curious, generous and kind? And what about the sex talk?
Taking matters into their own hands, Baskette and O’Donnell began creating actionable steps addressing these questions and more. This book is the fruit of their many conversations begun long ago during the daycare carpool, from angsty moments to hallelujahs.
In Bless This Mess, readers will gain constructive tools as they learn how to talk to their children about social justice, money, God, ethics, bullying, disabilities, sexuality, and their bodies. Parents will also glean insights on how to serve others with joy, give generously and gratefully, and—perhaps most important—learn how to stop being so afraid all the damn time, even while raising kids in an increasingly chaotic and often scary world. With real-life examples, relatable personal stories, and strategies tailored to the toddler, preteen, or teenager, Bless This Mess guides parents of children at all stages of their development.
See more Bless This Mess resources, including a limited-run podcast and a book group guide here!
Bless this Mess is available for purchase at Bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or
ask your localbookseller to order it!
REAL GOOD CHURCH
HOW OUR CHURCH CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND YOURS CAN, TOO
Real Good Church offers a look at everything Molly's former church, First Church Somerville UCC, did to reverse their death spiral and become a healthy, stable, spirited and robust community. Their triumphant renewal was highly visible in the large percentage of children and young adults in the church, a sixfold increase in pledged giving in the last decade, and most importantly in the spirit of joy that pervades their community.
The pragmatic strategies they used can work in any church, in any setting: regardless of denomination, demographics, or political landscape. Real Good Church addresses topics like outreach and growth strategies, finances and giving, creative worship including the central place of personal testimony and corporate prayer practices, church conflict and change, anxiety and laughter, and much more–-all treated with humor and offering real, practical, immediate steps for getting started. A great resource for church leadership councils, pastors just getting started in a new setting, the newly ordained, and more. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, Pilgrim Press, or ask your fave local bookstore to order it! Book group discussion guide available here.
HOW OUR CHURCH CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND YOURS CAN, TOO
Real Good Church offers a look at everything Molly's former church, First Church Somerville UCC, did to reverse their death spiral and become a healthy, stable, spirited and robust community. Their triumphant renewal was highly visible in the large percentage of children and young adults in the church, a sixfold increase in pledged giving in the last decade, and most importantly in the spirit of joy that pervades their community.
The pragmatic strategies they used can work in any church, in any setting: regardless of denomination, demographics, or political landscape. Real Good Church addresses topics like outreach and growth strategies, finances and giving, creative worship including the central place of personal testimony and corporate prayer practices, church conflict and change, anxiety and laughter, and much more–-all treated with humor and offering real, practical, immediate steps for getting started. A great resource for church leadership councils, pastors just getting started in a new setting, the newly ordained, and more. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, Pilgrim Press, or ask your fave local bookstore to order it! Book group discussion guide available here.
STANDING NAKED BEFORE GOD
THE ART OF PUBLIC CONFESSION
We suffer when we screw up, but we suffer doubly when we conceal our screwing up from each other and from ourselves. As the good folks in AA say, “we are only as sick as our secrets.” We all like to think of ourselves as ‘good people,’ but that’s only half the story–and to tell only half the story is to live only half our lives. Standing Naked Before God is a book about telling the whole story–one amazing, vibrant progressive Christian church’s countercultural practice of public confession of sin.
Every week, millennials, Gen-Xers, Boomers and even young teens at First Church Somerville UCC, the church Baskette pastored in hipster Boston, take the stand to tell about a time they messed up, broke bad, or made Jesus want to cry.
The book is part how-to, part devotional reading, part how-to, and part anthology of stories of personal loss, vulnerability, failure and redemption–stories to make you laugh and cry in equal measure. It’s a book, in our tell-all culture, that is not about baring our souls to get more likes or page views: it’s about putting our wounds into the service of others.
Telling the stories of our sins in a sacred setting means learning to see how God has entered those stories, turning even our failures and flaws to goodness and grace. All we have to do is show up–and tell the truth. All of it.
This is a book for spiritual seekers of any stripe who love true stories, and who might be aching for a spiritual practice that will move them toward a wholehearted, vulnerable and fully integrated life. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, Pilgrim Press, or ask your fave local bookshop to order it!
REMEMBERING MY PET
Kids need honest, caring words and hands-on activities to accept and grow through the loss of a beloved pet.
Why did this happen? How do I feel? What can I do? What happens next? The death of a pet is often a child’s first encounter with grief. How your child learns to cope through this experience may affect his or her attitude into adulthood.
With wisdom from a skilled psychotherapist and the broad multi-faith perspective of a Christian minister, Remembering My Pet provides a sensitive and practical resource that will help children ages 7-13 cope with the death of a beloved animal. Children can write, draw, read, create and express feelings via concrete, hands-on activities including:
~Becoming a Memory Detective to piece together clues to remember their pet
~Planning a memorial service and making a pet memorial
~Recording photo memories of their pet
~Honoring their pet’s memory by giving to others
Open and gentle, this book will help your child―and you as the parent―understand difficult concepts and communicate deep feelings as your child grows through this personal season of mourning. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, or ask your fave local bookshop to order it!
Kids need honest, caring words and hands-on activities to accept and grow through the loss of a beloved pet.
Why did this happen? How do I feel? What can I do? What happens next? The death of a pet is often a child’s first encounter with grief. How your child learns to cope through this experience may affect his or her attitude into adulthood.
With wisdom from a skilled psychotherapist and the broad multi-faith perspective of a Christian minister, Remembering My Pet provides a sensitive and practical resource that will help children ages 7-13 cope with the death of a beloved animal. Children can write, draw, read, create and express feelings via concrete, hands-on activities including:
~Becoming a Memory Detective to piece together clues to remember their pet
~Planning a memorial service and making a pet memorial
~Recording photo memories of their pet
~Honoring their pet’s memory by giving to others
Open and gentle, this book will help your child―and you as the parent―understand difficult concepts and communicate deep feelings as your child grows through this personal season of mourning. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, or ask your fave local bookshop to order it!
REMEMBERING MY GRANDPARENT
Honest, caring words and activities―from a Christian perspective―can help kids work through their grief.
The death of a grandparent is often a child’s first encounter with grief. Why did this happen? How do I feel? With wisdom from a skilled psychotherapist and the progressive perspective of a Christian minister Remembering My Grandparent provides a sensitive and practical resource that will help children ages 7-13 cope with the death of a loved one.
Kids can write, draw, pray, create, and express feelings via concrete, hands-on activities including:
Open and gentle, this book will help kids―and their parents with them―understand difficult concepts and communicate deep feelings as they grow through their season of mourning. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, or ask your fave local bookshop to order it!
Honest, caring words and activities―from a Christian perspective―can help kids work through their grief.
The death of a grandparent is often a child’s first encounter with grief. Why did this happen? How do I feel? With wisdom from a skilled psychotherapist and the progressive perspective of a Christian minister Remembering My Grandparent provides a sensitive and practical resource that will help children ages 7-13 cope with the death of a loved one.
Kids can write, draw, pray, create, and express feelings via concrete, hands-on activities including:
- Remembering after the Funeral
- Remembering throughout the Whole Year
- Remembering during the Holidays
- Becoming a Memory Detective to uncover clues to their grandparent’s own childhood
- Recording favorite memories, photographs and events
- Turning Christmas, Easter and other holidays into times of special remembrance
Open and gentle, this book will help kids―and their parents with them―understand difficult concepts and communicate deep feelings as they grow through their season of mourning. Buy from Bookshop, Amazon, or ask your fave local bookshop to order it!