“She Gave All” by Cortney L. Haley for GoTell
Circle of the Word
Teaching “The Widow’s Offering” in Jail (or anywhere)
by Amelia Boomershine
Incarcerated people often live out of destructive stories that weaken and stunt their spirits. A healing way forward opens up when they learn a nurturing story in which to grow and develop a spiritual relationship they can trust. Creative internalization of biblical stories in a safe, small group context presents the possibility of healthy change in how individuals think of themselves, others, and the world. This is true for everyone; it’s just more obviously true for those who spend time behind bars.
“Circle of the Word” is the name for biblical storytelling workshops I propose to lead this Fall with women in a jail and with men in a prison. Circle of the Word integrates methods used in restorative justice circles with processes distinctive to biblical storytelling workshops. I tested the approach recently with a group of women in jail. The story of ” “The Widow’s Offering” (Mark 12:41-44) was received with both thoughtfulness and enthusiasm. Most of the women could easily identify with the poverty of the widow; many told touching stories of generosity they had witnessed or experienced.
I will be teaching this story as an “NBS 101” workshop at the Festival Gathering of the Network of Biblical Storytellers next month. I hope the folks there will be as attentive and energetic in their participation as were the women in the jail!
Coming up next month: A posting of the workshop outline for this story.
Teaching Mark as Performance Literature
Early Literate and Post-Literate Pedagogies
by Tom Boomershine
“If our goal is to learn and teach about the meaning of Mark in its original historical context, we need to develop pedagogical methods that are congruent with the original character of Mark as performance literature. The first dimension of pedagogical reassessment is, therefore, the development of teaching methods that will give students an experience of Mark in its original context as an epic story that was performed for audiences in one evening.
Furthermore, 21st century students of the performance literature of the Bible live in a post-literate world in which digital communication technology rather than mass printing is the dominant means of mass communication. In this culture, the pedagogical methods of the 18th-20th century are increasingly archaic. The underlying cultural hermeneutic in digital culture is the priority of experience rather than concepts. To enable students to have a vital experience of Mark as a performance event is more likely to be meaningful for them than an exposition of the theological doctrine implicit in the document.
Therefore, a combination of the pedagogical approaches of early literate culture and the pedagogies of post-literate, digital culture will open new possibilities for the teaching of Mark in the future. The goal of this paper is to outline the pedagogical methods that I have found to be effective in teaching Mark as performance literature.”
Tom Boomershine will be presenting this paper at the International Society of Biblical Literature meeting in St. Andrew’s, Scotland this month. Download the paper in PDF format here: “Teaching Mark as Performance Literature” You can also access it from the Writings section of the site. You are welcome to copy and distribute this paper; please credit GoTell and encourage your contacts to visit www.gotell.org
Thursday Morning at Summer Camp
“The Story Keepers” Video, Song, Story and Craft
One of our favorite ways to introduce the Gospel stories to school age children is with “The Story Keepers” video series. GoTell spent the Thursday mornings of June with children entering grades K-3 at a local Y day camp engaged in various activities inspired by the stories of Zacchaeus, Calming the Sea, The Sower, and The Lost Sheep. The 25-minute episodes of “The Story Keepers” always capture the children’s attention and imagination while discreetly teaching them church history and biblical stories. What more could you ask for?!
GoTell has been partnering with Coad Media for over a decade to promote “The Story Keepers” for use in churches and homes. We still think it is the best audio/visual resource available for children to teach the Gospel stories and Christian history. Our trip to the U.K. this month will include time with Coad Media and the development of Story Keepers online. For previews of “The Story Keepers” episodes visit www.storykeepers.com. To purchase, go to www.storykeepersedu.com and click on Order Resources.
Coming up next month: An outline of activities for episodes 1-4.
