October 2011 news
We had 6 for last week's meeting. Pot Luck featured 2 kinds of soup, and some terrific cole slaw.
Story Time:
We told and discussed stories we're working on:
Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids - Matt 25:1-13
Healing at the Pool of Bethesda - John 5: 1-15
gave Janet some ideas of stories to use in a Stewardship drive:
Rich Fool - Luke 12: 13-21
The Dishonest Steward - Luke 16:1-16
Widow's Mite - Luke 21:1-4 or Mark 12:41-44
The Widow's Oil - 2 Kings 4:1-7
and Amelia practiced her next "Godly Play" lesson.
(This was so much fun we plan on making Story Time a regular feature of next year's meetings.)
Projects and Programs:
"Music at 4" - May 6, 2012, 4pm (tellers to be on site by 2pm for mic checks, walking the stage, practice) a music and storytelling program in cooperation with Forest Chapel UMC's Music Program.
Janet has lined up the "Greenhills Strings" for our musical accompaniment. They are a popular and well known local group, so that should help our audience. (check them out on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTyfU0zqclw&feature=related)
Joyce brought in a booklet and CD of songs taken from scripture, obtained at a previous Festival Gathering workshop (thanks to Dick Davies), for additional ideas.
Some stories have been suggested so far:
John 8: Woman Caught in Adultry - character narrative & scripture story - Janet and Diane
stories & classical music - Tom
Acts: Paul & Silas in prison
I'll send out a call for Tellers and stories in January.
The Forest Chapel Music Program will produce posters and publicity.
Prison storytelling ministry:
This project is now happening on 2 fronts.
We're still talking to Larry Lane about an event at the Montgomery County Jail, but a 2nd opportunity has opened up with "Seminary Behind Walls" at the Marion Correctional Institute. Amelia and Tom have already met twice with people from Horizon Prison Ministry. Their program trains inmates as chaplains.
Some addition info from Amelia:
"The "Seminary Behind Walls" (SBW) project group will meet at Marion Correctional Institute on Dec. 15. We'll spend time with Horizon Prison Ministry participants and the Warden to garner further understanding of the Horizon Prison Initiative and to hear what the Horizon men and Warden Jason Bunting see as possibilities for a SBW.
Tom and I have been involved with this project as advocates of biblical storytelling as a structural part of the Seminary Behind Walls initiative.
Others are invited to join this meeting at Marion. Contact me (Amelia) if they want more info.
Horizon Prison Ministries is the program currently in place at Marion and Chillecothe prisons and just starting at London. The SBW project would build on that effective program. SBW group leadership includes Jeff Hunsaker who is the director of Horizon and Joe Sprague who is a retired United Methodist Bishop from Dayton."
For more info on Horizon, visit http://www.horizonprisonministry.org
Story in a Box:
The idea is alive but the execution is still struggling.
My guess it that the problem is 2 sided:
1. it's hard to share the info in text, by email. Over the holiday break I hope I can get some time to find a way to make it graphic and online.
2. not enough contributions. While we're getting started, we need stories that many people have studied or told so we can get the conversation going. It's been asked several times, "What will Story in a Box have that TextWeek doesn't?" We hope Story in a Box will have input from actual storytellers: preparation tips, presentation ideas, and their personal telling experiences.
There are also questions about if/how to connect Story in a Box to the Network of Biblical Storytellers.
Stay tuned. It's still underconstruction.
So, that's it. A recap of our last 2011 CinDay meeting.
We'll break during the busy Christmas season, and our next meeting will be January 26.
(I'll send you a reminder.)
Have a Grateful Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Joyce Orr
CinDay Guild
of the Network of Biblical Storytellers.