Sunday - storytelling

I really never would have predicted that I would end up with "storyteller" as part of my job description. Sure, I did theater as a child and youth, but I thought of myself as dancer first, singer second, actress a very distant third. And storytelling is really it's own beast, not exactly acting.

When I was getting my Masters in Teaching, we did a very short look at the teaching methods of other cultures, and I remember reading a book of "teaching stories" of Native Americans. It stands out in my mind from the whirlwind of "stuff" we did and read, partly because they were stories.

The human brain is wired for story. If you can make your message into a story, folks will have a much easier time remembering it. In all the years I have attended churches, there is only one sermon that I remember vividly, but there are many stories that have stuck with me.

Today I told "Pandora's Box" at the church service. It's a simple story, but one of my favorites. I chose the story to go with a message from a guest speaker who conducts interfaith "blessings" at places where violent crime has been committed. The end bit of "Pandora", where she catches and holds on to Hope, after all the bad things have gone out into the world, was the part that made me think of this story to go with that message. And after the service many people came up to say that they had loved that story, or that they still remembered reading it as a child.

I think we need stories, and I am very lucky to have a job where I seek them out and pass them on.