"Unitarian Universalists As Storytellers" by Sierra-Marie Gerfao

[Memos from Rev. Barbara Merritt and Rev. Tom Schade]

R E L I G I O U S   E D U C A T O R’ S   M E M O

"Unitarian Universalists As Storytellers”


     Storytellers frequently say that we make meaning in our lives in
narrative form. As a religious educator, I’ve found this to be largely true.
It, of course, is not the only form of meaning-making available to us, but
it certainly plays an unsurpassed role. Most of us do a lot more
storytelling than we might realize. This storytelling shapes our
understanding of ourselves and the world around us.



Is it any wonder why blogging (the practice of keeping a “web log”) has
become so popular on the internet? Even in our modern world, we’re still
essentially sitting around the campfire telling stories. It is a different
type of storytelling now in some ways, but it serves a very similar role.



On my own blog, I recently wrote, as I reflected on dreams I’ve had for my
son Marcus’ future:



Motherhood meets us where we lack imagination.



In my case it met me in my own fears about the unknown of "the future," in
my own need to control "outcomes" to feel safe, in the stories I was telling
myself of scarcity. . .that the world is a place where we need to fight to
make sure our needs are met. . . .



Each day, the creative, loving exchanges between myself and my son are the
source of new imaginings. I am braver now, venturing into the future with a
sense of optimism that perhaps only a parent of young children can have. Of
course I worry like a parent of young children now too. I worry and fret and
feel the weight of the world on my shoulders-- on one hand-- but on the
other hand, I have found a new grace.



Marcus does not yet know that the rest of us, the adults in the world, have
lost so much of our ability to imagine. He is not self-limiting. He cannot
be. He is still blessed with the infancy of being in which the greatest
concentration of creativity lies. This gift I have been given is but a
precious and fleeting one, to glimpse the infinite, the ultimate. To feel
God. I cannot explain this creative synergy, this most delicious spark, any
other way.



In my own storytelling, not only am I making meaning, but I am discovering
which stories continue to lead me toward truth and which lead me toward
false idols. I am questioning above, for example, stories of scarcity that I
have carried with me since childhood. For us as Unitarian Universalists,
meaning making is religious work. Our faith calls us to “the free and
responsible search for truth and meaning.”



After children’s chapel this Sunday, I re-read biblical scripture describing
Jesus’ entry back into Jerusalem before he was arrested. Indeed, it is the
story of Palm Sunday. Sometimes, the stories with which we feel the most
familiar are neglected in our consideration. It was good to revisit
something familiar. A part of the story that was taught to me as a child
with a slight dramatic variance from scriptural accounts had been heavily
internalized despite later studies, and I was thankful for the opportunity
to recall what was actually written.



Stories are so important in our lives, that being conscious of how we tell
them is very helpful. Last weekend, I went, along with three folks from our
congregation: Rick Silva, Amy Borg, and Carrie West, to a training on the
Spirit Play model of Religious Education (a Montessori-based model). I
encourage you to talk to Rick, Amy, and Carrie about their experiences with
this model. They may just have some insights into how we equip ourselves and
our children for storytelling that does indeed answer our call as religious
people.



Warmly in Faith,






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