An Interview with Miriam Therese Winter
2000 FG Keynote and Upcoming 2008 FG Keynote

When it comes to Miriam Therese (M.T.) Winter, I cannot be objective. I'm a fan. The worst thing I could ever say about her is she's not the easiest person in the world to get in touch with. But once you do, is it ever worth it!!

I began trying to contact her in November 2006. Then in mid-January, I tried again. The message on her office machine said, "I am out of the country until around January 15." Gulp! It was January 16. There were more calls, voice messages back and forth, still no actual voice-to-voice. Not to be deterred, I kept trying, and on Friday, Feb. 2, HOORAY!

Just hearing her voice -- so full of enthusiasm, warmth, and energy -- lifted my spirits. We talked for about 45 minutes, the way women talk, in interconnected circles on a multitude of subjects. It's a real challenge to convert our conversation to a printed form that will make some sense (sort of like writing a screenplay from a book for a movie) but here goes.

When I asked M.T. if being our FG Keynoter in 2000 had had any lasting impact on her and her work she replied with a smile in her voice, "I always get into things before I'm ready." And keynoting at NOBS was an experience that she describes as a significant turning point.

Though she had been immersed in the Bible and had seen the natural fit between biblical storytelling and her own work before coming, it was the actual experience of being with a group of storytellers and hearing them tell that produced an "Aha!" experience for her, one that she has been expanding on since then. In the telling of sacred texts, M.T. found something that resonated with her teaching in music and in spirituality and "everything clicked on a different level." So this experience became like the proverbial stone thrown into a pond creating ripples that continue to this day (and beyond).

In very concrete terms, after keynoting in 2000 she immediately returned to Hartford Seminary and introduced and taught a course entitled Biblical Storytelling. Enrollment in courses at the seminary averages about fifteen students per class, but this one had 42 signed up right away.

Story Journey by NOBS co-founder Tom Boomershine was required reading. When students realized that they were actually going to be memorizing texts, however, there was quite a bit of resistance. After her NOBS experience, M.T. had come to trust so much in the power of the stories to transform from within that she begged her students to trust her and, of course, we all can guess what happened. She taught the course again, later, because of the popular demand spread by the original attendees.

M.T. was also invited to keynote at the Australian NOBS FG, two years after being with us in Atlanta. That experience confirmed all that she already knew about the power of story, its foundation in the human experience, its intercultural nature, and its ability to bring us closer to the divine.

Even the publication of her most recent book, Eucharist with a Small "E" reflects the influence storytelling continues to have on her work. She began by gathering all the meal texts in the New Testament, those of the historical and resurrected Jesus as well as the parables having to do with meals. The story texts included in her book are intended to be particularly helpful for tellers.

M.T. recently spoke at a Call to Action Conference attended by about 600 people, primarily Catholic. She began by telling the story of Moses and the burning bush. In so doing, a whole new level of the story was opened up and, despite the size of the group, strong connections were made. This experience led her to conclude that the method of telling biblical stories out loud is revelatory of new meanings in the story.

Finally, and perhaps most exciting of all, M.T. recently traveled to Singapore in Indonesia, a place she describes as fast becoming a hub for interfaith work. There she and two others taught courses to a predominantly Muslim group through a cooperative effort of Hartford Seminary and the Islamic Council of Singapore. M.T spoke of how exciting it was to be in the New Harmony Mosque and to discover with a group of Muslim women that, despite the differences in our religions and cultures, we still all worship the same God. M.T. spoke of this Singapore initiative as "the next step in everything I believe.”"

When I made reference, almost offhandedly, to the limited nature of NOBS resources, M.T. said that she is continually amazed at how far-reaching the work of NOBS is. She feels there are many people caught up in the energy released through the telling of the story, more than we know.

She spoke again of the deep element of truthfulness in the method of telling the stories. She also said that the original energy and meaning of a biblical story is missed when it is only read and not told. Talk about preaching to the choir! But how encouraging to be affirmed.

One last anecdote to illustrate her point about how far-reaching NOBS' influence has been: M.T. told me about a recent lunch she had with a colleague. In conversation, M.T. mentioned NOBS and the colleague stopped her. "What did you just say? How do you know NOBS?" asked the colleague.

"Well, I was a keynote speaker there several years ago," M.T. replied.

"No way! I was their keynoter last summer!" said her colleague, who is none other than 2006 FG keynoter Judy Fentress-Williams!

In saying good-bye, I asked M.T. if she had any special message for the NOBS folks. "I would just like to say thank you for the gift of another dimension."