How could we have a site focused on any form of faith formation, and not talk about believing? But how do we talk about belief on a site that seeks to be open to multiple faith traditions? Some websites solve this problem by seeking to be so generic that no one is offended. We’d like to support a different approach. We want people to speak as clearly as they can, and as specifically as they can. We hope for very particular stories. Think of a poem, which might describe an utterly unique experience but do so with language that resonates far beyond the specific moment. We hope to provide access to ideas and tools that generate engagement and conversation. Our primary value for this site is precisely that: open and respectful engagement across differences in the pursuit of faithful and faith-filled truth.
Digital storytelling is a wonderful tool to use in support of this value, because it promotes clarity and care in the telling of stories while at the same time providing a mechanism by which they can be widely shared. In this section of the website we will point to a variety of stories, and also post items that might be of theological interest.
Believing- ELCA faith stories 12 March 2023The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has begun to share stories of faith online, in some digital formats. It’s a step in the direction of digital storytelling, although not quite fully there.
- Memories of September 11th site 29 August 2022This project has a great curriculum for gleaning and sharing stories, as well as a deep collection of stories people have already shared.
- Stories have conflict 3 June 2022Kyle Oliver has just successfully defended his dissertation in the program at Teachers College — and the whole thing is a set of podcast episodes! More on it, soon, but here’s a taste of it engaging the reality that all stories have conflict.
- USDAC Digital Storytelling a crisis 11 November 2021The USDAC group, which is a collection of creative people who do justice work, held a webinar on digital storytelling in a crisis. In addition to the video of the event, they have also posted a collection of resources.
- Datastories 30 September 2021A “data story” is a practice of building a narrative around a set of data and its accompanying visualizations to help convey the meaning of that data in a powerful and compelling fashion. The Episcopal Diocese of Long Island has been working with a group called FaithX to put together a data story that draws on ...
- The Reciprocity Project 23 September 2021Facing a climate crisis, the Reciprocity Project “embraces Indigenous value systems that have bolstered communities since the beginning of time. To heal, we must recognize that we are in relationship with Earth, a place that was in balance for millennia. This short film series and multimedia platform, made in partnership with Indigenous storytellers and their ...
- Te Tai Treaty Settlement Stories 21 March 2021The New Zealand government has a programme aimed at increasing understanding of the past by exploring Treaty settlements and their enduring impact. The stories are powerful and such a profound way to go about doing this.
- Stories in Place 8 March 2021Here’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.
- StoryCorps toolkit 1 November 2020Here is a very useful toolkit for recording the kind of story that StoryCorps is famous for — great questions, conversation starters and such more.
- Being church in a digital culture 30 September 2020It’s not technically only about story, but Dr. Frances Ford Plude’s new website contains almost all of her writing on theology, communication studies, and culture. There’s rich work here!