July 29, 2020
Every life is comprised of stories—memories, events, reflections—that tell us who we are. StorySharing is a spiritual practice in which stories are shared rather than told. It calls on the speaker to tell their personal truth and the listeners to reflect on it in a mode of deep, intentional listening. StorySharing is transformational—it is about deepening relationships with one another and God.
Throughout Fall 2020, the Adult Faith Formation Team (AFFT) will begin facilitating pre-scheduled StorySharing circles online via Zoom around the topics of race, identity, difference, and discrimination.
StorySharing is about community and connection. We hope this will be a Calvary-wide experience. The goal is for circles to be intergenerational, last an hour, and consist of 6 to 8 participants plus a facilitator and observer. All interested Calvary youth and adults are welcome to sign up.
StorySharing has a process. A StorySharing prompt, in the form of a question, will be sent to each group ahead of time; stories will be limited to 5 minutes each. Prompts will be the same across groups. Sharing a story is always optional; but deep listening is expected by all participants.
StorySharing is welcoming and safe. Each circle will have a facilitator to start things off and monitor time and adherence to the community guidelines for respectful StorySharing. Unlike conversation, there is no crosstalk, commenting, interpreting, evaluation or questioning what is being shared. As a spiritual practice, participants are encouraged to consider through deep listening and sharing one’s own heart and experience where the face of God appears in each story.
To sign up, please email the Adult Faith Formation Team at faithformation@calvaryrochester.org or call the church at (507) 282-9429. Please state days of the week and times (morning, afternoon, evening) that are best for you. StorySharing will be via Zoom at least twice a month and you’ll be sent a link to attend.
StorySharing facilitators:
Doyt Conn, Julie Roenigk, the Rev. Ben Scott, Barbara Toman
In this five-minute video, Calvary member Dan Speckhard Pasque describes an experience from his time in college that he related at a recent StorySharing session on race.