Storytelling Demystified

Yesterday was our first day of the "Storytelling Skills in Ministry" Intensive.  This manual for intensives offers this course description:

This course offers a chance to develop your natural way of storytelling. You will learn to use different kinds of story, particularly Biblical, personal, and traditional stories. The course will help you to create and hone stories which are suitable for preaching, schools, small groups, fringe events and more. Story

is simply the best way to communicate, and especially when communicating the matters of faith. The

aim of this time is to build your confidence and enjoyment of story.  

Simon Airey is a half time Vicar and professional storyteller. He learned the art through using story in

parish ministry and later honed his skills by being mentored by master storytellers within the oral

tradition. He has performed and taught storytelling for over 10 years and believes storytelling skills are essential to enliven and enable everyone’s communication in ministry.

And because I am a semi-awful person and sometimes don't feel very excited to try things that will potentially make me feel uncomfortable (laughable, I know, I'm in seminary....), this is what I imagined I was getting myself into:

This would be our Master Storyteller

It would be kind of like The Princess Bride....

Basically it would follow the likes of a Jim Henson film.

And I would be doing this...all day.

Awful, I know, for me to assume all these things about this class.  But I did.
And, as you can probably guess...

I WAS WRONG.*

(*Like how I made that big and bold?!?!!?)

Yup....100% wrong.

I kind of love this course.

 I love that I get to listen to stories.

I love that I get to be creative and imaginative in thinking of stories.

I love that I get to listen to other people be creative and imaginative in telling stories.

I love that we are valuing the words we speak, treating them with care and paying attention to each and every one.

I love that I get to listen to stories in a variety of  voices: male, female, British, American, South African, German, old, young, timid and shy, bold and strong, quick and full of breath, slow and meditative.

I love how scripture seems to come alive with our storytelling.

I love this course.   I love stories.

I will be honest that it hasn't been exactly easy.

  It's been challenging to stay engaged and really be listening.

 It's been a challenge to not be so verbose (go ahead and guffaw here).

I've felt challenged in trying to not read the words I've actually written and just SPEAK, not read.

But it has also been very empowering.  By no means did I get a degree in Creative Writing, but as an inquisitive type, I love the wondering (and wandering!) that can come in storytelling, especially in looking at scripture.  There have been words spoken I've heard over and over again and yet in these new voices, reimagined but with no less integrity, the words truly come to life.

And I don't think it is just the British accents.

We've practiced techniques which didn't feel near as silly as I imagined them to be.  We've laughed together. We've sat in silence and have been completely captivated by what might seem like simple children's stories.  

Tomorrow class participants will share our final story, one we've labored over the most and done some partner work.  I'm a bit nervous about my story and yes, will probably write it all out.

But then, I will leave it in my room, and guess what...

I'll tell a story.

(I had to use this one.  I just had to.)