Being church in a digital culture
It’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!
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.
Episcopal Church resources for storying faith
The Episcopal Church in the US has put together some lovely resources for storying faith. Here is their main site, which includes an introductory booklet, and a full guide.
How stories invite empathy
Here’s an interesting essay, full of links to other resources, that is exploring how we might be “wired for empathy” and why stories cultivate emotions.
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 …
Indigenous Storytelling
A lovely piece from the Duke Faith&Leadership blog about the epistemological convictions embodied in indigenous storytelling.
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!
Storying resources from a specific congregation
Here’s a lovely post about the First Baptist Church of McMinnville, Oregon, and its use of storytelling to create community, remember history, and engage people beyond the sanctuary. The post includes a variety of very useful resources for doing this kind of storytelling particularly in the context of worship.
Digital stories to reform criminal justice
“I’ll tell my story” is a project of the Sarah Webster Fabio Center for Social Justice. Formerly incarcerated persons tell their stories through the creation of digital stories using the CDS methodology.