Storycatcher Sermon Series at First Parish June 14 Sept. 13. Using the book Storycatcher

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1 Storycatcher Sermon Series at First Parish June 14 Sept. 13 Using the book Storycatcher By Christina Baldwin Over the next year, First Parish plans to continue to explore our theme, What Matters Most through storytelling. This summer you are encouraged to begin this process by following our summer sermon series prompts. Whether you are able to be with us for Sunday worship or not, this is a chance for you to continue to participate with the First Parish community. Please watch our Facebook page ( and website for postings of individual reflections and add your voice to the discussion. We hope that you ll find this to be an enriching exercise and look forward to hearing your thoughts, experiences and responses throughout the summer and this fall. This booklet includes a prompt from the book Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin for each week of the sermon series over the summer. It also includes the scripture passages for that week. We hope you enjoy. June 14 Psalm 92:1-4, Mark 4:26-34 Storycatcher Chapter 1 How Story Connects Us Each of us has someone who put honey in our heart. That person is often an ordinary person who becomes extraordinary through the power to touch another life. (p.25) Tell a story about one of those people from your life.

2 June 21 Psalm 107:1-3, Mark 4:35-41 Storycatcher Chapter 2 The Art of Storycatching Learning to listen with the ear in the heart enhance our ability to become a storycatcher. By making agreements about sharing conversation and the responsibility for listening, we help to hold the story space. Recognizing the need for deliberate conversation in place of speaking merely to hear the sound of one s voice increases the power of story for all participants. And writing take the power of story onto the page, where we can practice the narrative of our lives, looking for what has heart and meaning. (p. 51) When did you claim the right to speak or write your own life? (p. 50) June 28 Psalm 30 Mark 5:21-43 Storycatcher Chapter 3 Why We Make Story Tending the story is priviliege bestowed on Storycatchers by their willingness to receive, report, and protet the world s stories. Storycatchers become the librarians, taking care of the stories that are already there, adding stories to the shelves, and ensuring that the stories remain available for the future. (p.71) What is the story you re tending, the one you ll never let be put out? (p.70)

3 July 5 Mark 6: Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10 Storycatcher Chapter 4 Story Wakes Us Up Significant events become woven into our ongoing stories as we decide how to gauge their impact on our lives. We remember where we were, what we felt like, how it sounded, how it smelled, and what our reactions were. (p. 94) Describe a world event that changed you. How did the world look to you before it happened? How did the world look to you after it happened? (p.94) July 26 Psalm 14 John 6:1-21 Storycatcher Chapter 5 The Map of a Story-Based Life We all have moments in our lives when we find our depth. Reflection on those times helps to create a story that defines how we live our lives. The responsibility of a Storycatcher is to use the spiral of story and experience to add insight and meaning to our life events. The more deeply we carry the story, the more we can recognize wisdom in our lives and the lives of those around us. (p. 115) Describe a sacrifice you ve made. How did it change you? Would you make the same sacrifice now, knowing what you know? (p.115)

4 August 2 Kent The Whole (Real) Story Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 John 6:24-35 Storycatcher Chapter 6 Creating a Story of the Self We create a story of the self that begins with our birth story and then continues with what we remember, speak, and write about our own lives. We decide throughout this process what we want our lives to include and what kind of legacy we want to leave behind, and then we are challenged to act on this story to become who we say we are. (p. 141) Who are your real-life mentors? What have you learned from them? (p. 141) August 23 1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 Ephesians 5:15-20 Storycatcher Chapter 7 How Story Heals Family Heritage Story can help us understand, forgive, and heal family heritage. Storycatchers have a responsibility to make family stories conscious, creating a space in which family truth can be spoken and heard with compassion and a commitment to preservation. (p. 165) What decisions made in the last three generations are you grateful for? What decisions are you making now that you hope your grandchildren will be grateful for? (p. 165)

5 August 30 Psalm 84 John 6:59-69 Storycatcher Chapter 8 The Power of Story in Organizations Storycatchers can be valuable assets to any organization trying to move forward in a thoughtful and ethical way. The Storycatcher can help to preserve the original purpose of the organization while helping to shape the current environment. (p. 190) Describe First Parish. What makes you proud of it? (p. 190) September 6 Isaiah 35:4-7 Mark 7:24-37 Storycatcher Chapter 9 How Story Shapes the Spiritual Dimensions of our Lives Religion is a story. Not just one story, but many stories brought forth to explain the world and our place in it. Throughout our history, the political the structure that governs human society and the religious the structure that governs the creation story have often been in an uneasy dialogue and struggle for power. Every human life and every human society is commissioned to create a workable story between the secular and the spiritual. Storycatchers accept a responsibility to preserve all of the stories, to ensure that generations to come can choose their own religious story. (p.216) What one gift would you take from the universe? What one gift would you give in return? (p.217)

6 September 13 Genesis 18:1-15; 21:1-7 Storycatcher Chapter 10 Taking Our Place in the Order of Things Story is a search for community that allows us to share, build, and learn from each other. Intentional storycatching is a movement in the making, ensuring survival of the stories through oral and written traditions. Recognizing story as an act of citizenship, we know the world can change on a word. Story can save us. We choose whether we want to live in hopefulness or despair. Storycatchers choose hopefulness, knowing that story has the power to change our lives. (p. 236) What is a story of hope that you can share with others?