Learning and telling biblical stories that connect with creative art forms. Digital presentations and workshops centered on movement, sacred symbols, and music.

Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, IN - Sat. April 5, 2008, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 | 10:00-10:30 a.m.

GATHERING & OPENING

Shelley Gnade is the Program Director of the Network of Biblical Storytellers, and is a seasoned biblical storyteller known for her entertaining stories and as the other half of the storytelling duo, ByHeart. With her telling partner, Mary-beth Howard, she has conducted numerous workshops, lead worship services, adult education, women's retreats, and camps. ByHeart was featured at the 2004 NOBS Festival Gathering. Shelley has served as emcee at several Festival Gatherings.

PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS

Storytelling and Sacred Symbols

"You shall make sacred vestments for the glorious adornment of your brother Aaron." The story of Aaron's priestly garments in Exodus 28 describes the artistic splendor of these sacred symbols. The presentation will give the contextual background about the ephod and breastplate, awakening the imagination of hearers as they visualize the setting, characters, and action of the story. During the telling of the story, listeners will translate what they hear into visualized images of the glory and beauty of these priestly vestments.

"These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt!" Another story from Aaron's life involves fashioning what he believed to be a sacred symbol,"The Golden Calf" (Exodus 32:1-6). Using this story from an incident in Aaron's life, participants in the workshop will experience aspects of the biblical story-learning process: listening to the contextual background; using the imagination to analyze the setting, characters, and action; learning the story; practicing the story; and telling the story like it is; and making personal and contemporary life connections.

Joyce Johnson was a featured Biblical Storyteller at the Hoosier Storytelling Festival in Indianapolis. She completed the second-year Master's Certification from the NOBS Academy for Biblical Storytelling. She has a Master of Arts in Christian Education from CTS and is an active leader and teacher in the educational and storytelling ministries at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Indianapolis.

Storytelling and Music

During the plenary session Dan will present two ways to use music with biblical storytelling. Using the Genesis stories about Abram and Sarai, Dan will first sing an original song about Abram's call from God, a whimsical piece that has a sing-a-long refrain. Using the song as a launching pad he will tell the biblical stories of the promises to Abraham and Sarah of a son (using texts from Genesis chapters 15, 18, and 21). The second presentation will deal with looking for cues in scripture as to where to add music, using texts from Acts 16 about Paul and Silas in prison.

"About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them." Acts 16:25 In the afternoon workshop, you will learn that you don't have to be a composer or play a musical instrument in order to add music to your presentation. Music can do a lot to enhance your storytelling, and there are many simple ways to add music and participation to your telling of a biblical story. We will look at folk songs, show tunes, familiar melodies, rhythm instruments and even an iPod as ways to pull you listeners into the story with a little music. "When we sing, we pray twice!"

Dan LeMonnier performs nationwide, delighting audiences of all ages with his renditions of biblical stories, world folktales, and personal stories. He has performed at the 53rd Presidential Inaugural Celebration, the Smithsonian Institute (three times), as well as at festivals, community art centers, and schools throughout the country. He is a recipient of the Frank L. Basile Emerging Stories Fellowship for his performance based on the life of Clarence Jordan (spiritual father of Habitat for Humanity), and was a finalist for the Brimstone Award in Applied Storytelling for his program on hospice.

Storytelling and Movement

Creative movement in the biblical tradition is present from the start, when the storyteller conveys how "a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). The presentation will explore the ways in which creative movement is present in biblical narratives, including the telling of sample stories. We will also demonstrate various ways in which the creative movement of both teller and audience may enhance the performance of biblical stories. Thirdly, we will explain how to take advantage of kinesthetic intelligence in the process of internalizing biblical narratives: using movement to learn stories by heart.

Inspired by the confidence that in God "we live and move and have our being," the workshop will give participants a chance to try out the ideas presented in the morning plenary and will introduce further topics related to biblical storytelling and creative movement. Activities include: "moving through the story" as a storylearning process, identifying the creative movement aspects of biblical stories, choreography for individual and group tellings, demonstrating movement in the text by movement in the storytelling space, encouraging audience participation through movement.

Dr. Thomas E. Boomershine is founder of the Network of Biblical Storytellers and long-time professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary in Dayton. He is author of Story Journey: An Invitation to the Gospel as Storytelling.

Rev. Amelia Cooper Boomershine is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and Director of GoTell Communications. She was the NOBS Coordinator from 1993 - 1997 and first editor of the NOBS newsletter, The Biblical Storyteller.

The CinDay Guild of the Network of Biblical Storytellers meets monthly (except November & December) in Dayton, Ohio.

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