Workshops that are done well can be the best part of continuing education events. Last year I was only able to attend one day of the Festival Gathering and the workshops were one of the things that drew me back for the second year. Workshop options were sent out earlier in the year and I chose the following:
Introduction to Biblical Storytelling with Amelia Boomershine, Parts 1 & 2
This workshop introduces the practice of biblical storytelling. We will learn, explore, connect, and tell the story of "a disciple whose name was Tabitha" from Acts 9:36-43. Our goal is to tell the story to at least one other person from start to finish without omitting something of major significance and without adding something of major significance. Through a variety of activities, you will learn this particular biblical story as well as strategies for internalizing any biblical story. We will also consider basics of performance and dealing with stage fright.
Amelia Boomershine has been active in NSB for 25 years. She is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and Director of GoTell Communications. She has taught and told biblical stories to children, youth, and adults around the world, most recently in Guatemala. Her doctoral research was on biblical storytelling with men and women who are incarcerated. She leads a weekly "Circle of the Word" with women in jail and is author of A Breath of Fresh Air: Biblical Storytelling with Prisoners.
Amelia Boomershine's workshops were excellent. She began by telling the story of Tabitha. I thought to myself, there is no way I can learn a story this long. But by the end of the second day, I was able to tell it "without omitting something of major significance and without adding something of major significance." These workshops were considered "NBS 101," or an introduction to biblical storytelling. There were two other sets of NBS 101 workshops that focused on the other theme passages for the Gathering. Even though I "graduated," I would consider taking another NBS 101 workshop next year. I feel like I could also take a lot of this workshop and use it to introduce others to biblical storytelling.
Hearing the Psalms in Many Voices with Cliff Barbarick
The Psalms are complex compositions that resist easy interpretation. As a result, hearing and seeing the Psalms refracted through multiple performances can be an essential tool to exploring their meaning. In this session, we will explore selected Psalms by hearing multiple performances in order to see what layers of meaning emerge. We will also share suggestions for how this approach might be used in classroom settings to welcome multiple voices into the interpretive process.
Cliff Barbarick is a professor of Biblical Studies at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. He regularly uses biblical storytelling in his classes to help students explore the riches of scripture and share it with others. For this workshop, he will be joined by some of his undergraduate students who have distinguished themselves with their thoughtful performances.
This workshop was cancelled and Cliff Barbarick offered another offering in its place, so I chose not to attend. He is hoping to offer it next year, so this is my "note to self" to sign up for it again.
Sound Matters: Sound Mapping the New Testament with Tom Boomershine
Historical study of the ancient Greek rhetoricians and grammarians has revealed that they thought in breath units called "the colon" and "the period." In this workshop, we will study the cola and periods of Mark's Passion-Resurrection Narrative. Sound mapping involves a graphic representation of the story in cola and periods, analogous to a musical manuscript in which sound is graphically presented for performance. We will listen to the cola of representative stories and learn Mark's story of the anointing at Bethany in the original cola.
Tom Boomershine is the founder of the Network of Biblical Storytellers. He is an ordained United Methodist elder and professor of New Testament Emeritus. He has developed methods for teaching people to become witnesses to the power of the stories of God. He has lectured and led workshops on biblical storytelling in digital culture around the world. Tom is the author of The Messiah of Peace, Story Journey, and a series of scholarly and pastoral articles on the Bible as performance literature.
This workshop was a bit on the technical side. I understand the concepts of "colon' and "period," but it is a little difficult to tell where the divisions would be looking at an English translation with modern punctuation.
With Hearts, Hands, and Voices: Using Sign Language in Storytelling with Liz Bidgood Enders
American Sign Language (ASL) is the most commonly used form of communication for deaf people in the U.S. More than an exact sign for each word, it has its own grammar and syntax. However, techniques in ASL storytelling, including repetition and use of the whole body to tell a story, are similar to oral storytelling. In this workshop, we'll learn connections between these art forms and some signs to help in learning and telling biblical stories.
Liz Bidgood Enders is a pastor and certified biblical storyteller. In elementary school, she had schoolmates who were deaf, and her desire to communicate with them sparked a life-long interest in sign language. Incorporating signs into telling stories can help in creating muscle memory and broadening understanding of a story's meaning.
This workshop was very good. The presenter did a good job of presenting ways to incorporate ASL into storytelling and offered things to avoid. For example, if you don't sign "God" precisely, you can unintentionally sign an impolite word. My only critique is that I would have liked this workshop to be more than one session!
