I spent the day in Indianapolis at a seminar on 'Engaging Young Adults.' Apparently our church qualified for this grant program through the Center for Congregations (via Eli Lilly). We gathered with church teams from all over Indiana at the Sheridan City Centre hotel and learned about the EYA program, as well as storytelling tools and insights from Mark Yaconelli. It was good.
Awhile back I'd been asked to be part of this endeavor at our church, along with the pastor and two or three others. The others are all young (20-ish) females, and only two of them were able to make it today. I'm not completely sure about anything, but I believe this is a two-year project with the CFC. I know we are to receive a nice hunk of change (grant), but I'm still unclear about our/my involvement. I know I was interested once "young adult" was defined as "late teens to forties" though. Plus this fits into our Beer Study and Bible Tasting endeavor. So I'm in!
The event today was from 9 am to 4 pm, and let me just say that the CFC knows how to do things. The food and accomodations were fantastic! I was really surprised to find out Mark Y was the speaker though! Several of his father's books had a huge influence on me - particularly 'Messy Spirituality.' So even though I was tired, it was an inspiring day learning about the importance of and practical ways to tell and engage people through the use of story.
I've not had a chance to process things yet but wanted to get something down before I let this slip away like everything else seems to be doing lately. So here is a brief sampling of high points from my several pages of notes and mulititude of handouts...
"Every human being is waiting for a good question and a safe place to talk." ~Mark Y.
Main points:
- Storytelling is a form of communion
- Storytelling is a form of identity
- Stories reveal the sacred
- Stories invite transformation
Elements within stories:
- Setting
- Character(s)
- Struggle/conflict
- Rising action
- Climax
- Resolution or insight
"A human life is a story told by God and in the best of stories told by humans, we come closer to God." ~Hans Christian Anderson
"God comes to you disguised as your life." ~Paula D'Arcy
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