In November 2020, we began a journey of StorySharing around our Diocese. You can watch some of our collected stories using the embedded YouTube player below, or view the playlist on YouTube. You can also watch our Youth Leaders Share Stories of “Why Black Lives Matter: Becoming Beloved Community”.
Join us for our Proclaiming the Dream StorySharing Event at the Procter Center October 8-9, 2021! Sign up here!
We will practice contemplative listening and sharing as we tell the story of Me, the story of We, and the story of Us and Now.
We desire to witness and share stories during a time of racial reckoning as a way to bring healing to this moment, restore our collective identity with the scriptures, and preserve hope in future generations.
We are creating a community where people are free to be messy, where we show up with relatable courage, becoming one, and living out God’s dream right now.
We are creating a community where everyone is beloved, where it is a safe space to inhale, with a campfire feel.
We are creating a community with fierce trust, where everyone is welcome and worthy, as we heal the sin of racism.
We are creating a community where people are listened into wholeness, living beyond fear, experiencing the precious joy of community as we follow Jesus.
We hope YOU will be in community with us.
Every people has a story to tell, something to say to themselves, their children, and to the world about how they think and live, as they determine and affirm their reason for being.
– James Cone, God of the Oppressed
What:
Becoming Beloved Community is launching a StorySharing project at Convention in November 2020. We want to hear stories from all people, all around our Diocese. We will work towards StorySharing circles in the spring of 2021, and we’ll have regional revivals later on in the year.
Our diocese’s StorySharing project will focus on the Way of Love practice Bless.
Our stories reflect how we practice generosity and compassion through blessing those whom we meet and with whom we live, work, and worship. Our stories demonstrate how we represent the loving, liberating, and life-giving spirit of God, going out into the neighborhood. Sharing our “God stories” brings hope to us and to the world.
We have beautiful stories of God’s grace, which calls us to be agents of transformation. Our hope is to be bearers of God’s love to a divided world, offering our lives as witnesses. Our stories of faith, racial healing, and difference will proclaim the Good News of God in Christ as they shine light on people blessing others with generosity and compassion. This campaign will strengthen our movement toward Beloved Community.
Who:
We’re looking for four groups of people to help us create our StorySharing project:
Story Seekers – people who have the gifts of invitation, connecting people, and hospitality. Our Story Seekers will find people who are willing to share a story.
Story Keepers – people who have gifts of creating space holding space, and bearing witness to the stories that people share. These people will also help us document the stories, so we can share them across our circles.
Amplifiers – people who have the gift of event planning, creating experiences, and spreading the word to host the StorySharing circles and revivals.
Story Tellers – We’d love to hear your story. We hope you will join us.
Click here to let us know you’re interested!
If you have questions, email Amy at ahowton@diosohio.org.
Timeline:
Phase I: (Oct-Dec 2020) Activate Design Team
Phase II: (Nov-Jan 2021) Invite StorySeekers + StoryKeepers
Phase III: (Jan-March 2021) Train StorySeekers + StoryKeepers
Phase IV: (March-May 2021) Create and Offer StorySharing Circles
Phase V: (May-Aug 2021) Host Regional Revivals
Phase VI: (Aug-Nov 2021) Amplify (through virtual pilgrimage, Convention, ReVive)
Resources:
Covenant
StorySharing Intro Booklet
Beloved Community StorySharing Guidebook
StorySharing Project Design Team:
Rev. Michelle Dayton, Nicole A. Hershey, Amy Howton, Rev. Elizabeth Hoster, Miriam McKenney, Ariel Miller, Rev. Jason Oden, Rev. John Paddock, Debby Stokes
