Catalyst

Stories in Place

Here’s a lovely set of short films created by Black filmmakers offering insights into their favorite neighborhood spots: Stories in Place. I am particularly fond of the one created to tell a story about Lori Greene, because she is a local artist who has taught my family how to do mosaics.

You Can’t Stop Us

There is far too much to say, or not say, about the challenges of living through a pandemic. But here is a television commercial that tells a positive story. You don’t need to care about the product named at the end, instead think about what it means to have a shared story.

Unleashing the power of elders’ stories

Deborah Jorgens recently successfully defended her MA capstone project at Luther Seminary. Her paper is a lovely, concise, and eloquent description of the power involved in creating room for elders in a community to share their stories with the wider community. She was particularly focused on a Christian ministry setting that was predominately white and …

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New visions of masculinity

As someone who has been partnered for more than 30 years with a man, and who is raising with him our two sons, I’m so grateful that cultural creatives are finally bringing this strong message of compassionate and wise masculinity to public notice:

Read and watch this NOW.

This is an essay about the best piece of storytelling I’ve encountered in a long time — Hannah Gadsby’s stand-up comedy special on Netflix. Yes, she’s funny, but she’s also an incredibly powerful truth teller. This NPR essay points to some of the reasons why — but watch the special first!