The Vestry is discussing ways to connect and/or reconnect with everyone in our congregation. We are going through our directory to identify those we haven't seen in a while and also adding new people who are actively engaging with us (yes we have newcomers!!). We are also interested in identifying everyone's gifts and ways to allow those gifts to work amongst us. We have mentioned to you that we want to do more 'listening': asking people to share their stories one-on-one. This is a powerful way to find out more about people and their unique gifts. Ray Battistelli trained some of us this past spring and over 30 people were 'listened' to. We 'heard' a great deal and we want to continue this project which is so rewarding to both the listener as well as to those to whom we listened. Everyone has a story (see below). Let me, or anyone on the Vestry, know if you would like to participate!
Finding strength in collective storytelling:
We are revived by the stories that we tell about our reality, our bodies, our spirits, and our God. These stories challenge and unsettle us. They touch us in places that facts seldom reach and often move us to action. Most religions have more stories than anything else. Whenever Jesus is asked a question, he answers with a story, a parable. “He did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Matthew 13:34).
We tell our stories because all of us have survived something, because stories are signposts from the past that give us clues about the future. Our stories are a witness to the next generation and an opportunity to understand the universal as well as the particular in tales of trauma, healing, and survival.
Barbara A. Holmes, Crisis Contemplation: Healing the Wounded Village (Albuquerque, NM: CAC Publishing, 2021), 110–111.