Winter Retreat of the Academy for Biblical Storytelling Master Level Students
ABS Master’s Retreat
Every other year GoTell hosts a retreat for the Master level students of the Academy for Biblical Storytelling. ABS is a program of the Network of Biblical Storytellers, International.
And we were quite the international group, with one student arriving from Canada and another from Ireland. You can see what serious students they were this year!
Actually, they were terrific students, right Dean Radosevic? This dancing followed a 90 minute storytelling presentation that included some ethnic stories and music, if I remember correctly. Whatever the case, the joy of the dance is an apt symbol of the days we spent together during this retreat.
Pictured from left to right: (back row) Ken Quiring, Wendy Johnston, Mike Cantley; (front row) Tracy Radosevic (Dean of ABS), Madelyn Campbell. The four ABS Masters will all graduate at this year’s Festival Gathering in Dayton, Ohio.
Click here for information about the Academy for Biblical Storytelling certificate programs.
Once Upon a Story Told
To see the quality work of these Master ABS students, do yourself a favor and watch Wendy Johnston’s telling of the gift-bearing magi.
Now visit Wendy’s newly revamped blog. She calls it Once Upon a Story Told: A Blog for Big Kids to Inspire Imagination through God’s Story.
Jesus, the Compassionate Exorcist
Master Academy for Biblical Storytelling students complete two years of work. The second year builds on successful completion of the basic one-year program. Graduates of the one-year program, like Phil Ruge-Jones, also grow their skill as storytelling interpreters of the Bible.
The Gospel lection for the last Sunday in January is the story of Jesus’ first acts of ministry after he recruits four disciples: teaching and exorcising. It’s a great story. Phil does it justice in this commentary/telling in which he portrays both the compassion and the power of Jesus casting out an unclean spirit in the synagogue of Capernaum.
A Christmas Tale
The first day of the ABS Master Retreat, a week before Christmas, brought quite a surprise. I realize it is well past the season of Christmas, but here in Dayton in mid-January we still have snow on the ground and lights on the mantel.
In any case, this remembrance about an unlikely occasion to highlight biblical storytelling (AKA “scripture by heart”) is a little like finding a savior in a manger. So I’ve named it “A Christmas Tale.”
Who would have thought that a radio show on “The Divisions in Christianity Over Sex” would be an occasion to discuss biblical storytelling? I sure didn’t, but it was. I’m convinced it happened through the power of prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit, but maybe also because of some strategic interviewing by a seasoned radio show host…
Download a PDF of A Christmas Tale
Click here for the Dec. 18 “On Point” program page with bios about the participants, links to the documents being discussed, and access to the program. The PDF will tell you what is said and where.
Tell the story this month,
Amelia
