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.
- November project update 6 November 2023The recent time change we underwent here in the US has made me particularly conscious of how the sun’s rising and falling impacts my sense of time. As the days feel so much shorter, with dark falling earlier, the sense of the earth in this hemisphere settling down for a “long winter’s nap” is tangible. ...
- October update 18 October 2023Welcome to the October update for the Digital Storytelling and the Earth project. I’ve been thinking about water a lot. In the midst of the various violent conflicts around the world, having access to clean water is an urgent life or death matter. I pray that we find ways to engage these conflicts that keep our ...
- Juxtaposition 13 September 2023I can’t help sharing this piece from the Apple launch yesterday, which explores their current achievements around the environment and sustainability. It’s a great little story — but it’s only one version, and so next to that I want to juxtapose Bill McKibbon’s latest essay. Perhaps my point, at least one of them, is that ...
- September project update 12 September 2023I was delighted to join Jesse Lake Lutheran and Suomi Lutheran churches up “on the edge of the wilderness” in Talmoon, MN for the first workshop in this project. 16 people from around the area came together to share stories in story circles, and then to work with their own devices on turning those stories ...
- August project update 21 August 2023This month I’d like to share the following: (1) Our project website is up and running! you can find basic information there about the workshops, as well as some beginning story prompts, and ways to sign up to participate (please share!) (2) Did you know that September 1 is the beginning of the Season of Creation in the liturgical calendar? ...
- Stories and the earth 21 August 2023During the 2023-2024 academic year I will be working on a participatory research project that employs digital storytelling workshops that are based in religious institutions (churches, mosques, schools, etc.) to elicit stories about the earth, particularly the land we live on and with. Phase one is a day long digital storytelling workshop that teaches people ...
- Transformative story 17 March 2023I don’t want to lose the link to this organization, which has two scholars who work on transformative forms of storytelling in organizations. Or this link to the Big Stories Small Towns project.
- 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.
- Interfaith Photovoice 1 July 2022Here is a powerful project that is using a photovoice methodology to support interfaith learning.