The Seed Disperser July 2023
Finding the story
Book of the month
Prison Diary - Inside Stories
Inspiration this month
Finding the story
Storytime in the big chair
A good yarn
Children’s book scene
Two storytellers of our time
Featured this month
From a Friend - Notes to a Friend - Giveaway
New this month
Lectionary Year B
Special offers
Who made God? And other tricky questions.
Stations for Parables of Jesus
Coming up
Stroll for Your Soul
Season of Creation
On a personal note
Jolabokaflod
Book of the month - Prison Diary
This is the inspirational diary of a retired schoolteacher who has found a ministry to those incarcerated in a men’s prison. Olive’s honest account of her interactions with convicted criminals will grip her readers. She challenges us to look for the inherent goodness in every person. She makes us question whether each of us may also have a significant ministry that is only limited by our availability.
Prison Diary - Inside Stories RRP $14.99 (NZD)
Purchase from Kereru Publishing with a 25% discount using code STORY at the checkout.
Inspiration this month - Finding the story
Long before words were written, and before reading became the norm for the masses, stories were spoken, acted or depicted in art. The audience for stories crossed the ages, cultures and all walks of life. Throughout history, storytellers have been revered and honoured. The storyteller didn’t just entertain, they created a framework for people to understand their place in the world and find meaning in the journey of their lives. They offered wisdom and guidance through the stories they told. The stories encouraged a sense of belonging. They helped make sense of big questions. They provided listeners with a sense of purpose.
This role of storyteller has evolved and changed in our contemporary culture and the appreciation of the importance of story in our lives has changed. We don’t name or honour the storytellers in our midst in quite the same way as in times past, yet stories are all around us, and the importance of story in our journey of human life remains. We know storytellers today as; authors, illustrators, editors, actors, scriptwriters, comedians, cartoonists, musicians, songwriters, poets, artists, scupltors, producers, documentary makers, commentators, radio hosts, newsreaders, reporters, journalists, bloggers, politicians, teachers, leaders, lecturers, bosses, friends, colleagues, ministers, group leaders, parents, children, sisters, brothers, cousins, partners and neighbours. There’s so many storytellers in our lives and we’re bombarded with so many versions of stories that finding the story that will provide meaning to us can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
This is not helped by the focus of contemporary society which does not value the stories of people without measuring them against benchmarks of education, employment and income. Concepts bandied about such as productivity, profitability, success, aspiration are all geared towards achieving financial goals and the emphasis is less on story and more about status. The currency of commerce attempts to shape the meaning of daily life. In many quarters the currency of stories is not highly valued or is valued in a much lesser way than in times past.
Our society is driven by the clock and by money and it’s almost impossible to remove ourselves from the noise of these challenges. Our daily lives are guided by bus and train timetables, traffic jams and petrol prices; school curriculums and assignments, bottom lines, targets, deadlines, meetings and appointments; store opening hours, sales, the cost of living, interest rates, and paying bills on time; work, home, church, school, clubs all have time-bound requirements. Even catching up with family and friends requires a co-ordination of committments and calendar appointments. We have places to be and plenty to do. It’s a treadmill. It’s survival.
In this place and time we may not even recognise the value of our own stories and storytelling. Yet without finding our story, we miss out on experiencing meaning. As people of faith our lives are immersed in participating in a great story, the greatest story. Every day we live and breathe our contribution to this story we find ourselves in. The great story shapes our attitudes, actions and words. The great story provides us with a map and a compass so that the complexities of navigating the challenges of 21st Century life occur within a context that provides meaning.
Storytelling helps us make sense of the world around us. Understanding our own personal story helps us navigate our own journey. Sharing our story connects us with others around us who resonate with our shared experiences. Their is joy and comfort in finding our story.
Helping others find their story is part of our faith experience. The pandemic has highlighted the sense of lostness felt by many. We’ve shared a global experience with similar outcomes in countries right across the world. Listening or reading the news, provides a picture of dissatisfaction and disconnect. Crime, truancy, poverty, sickness, apathy, anger, mistrust, hatred, violence, power and powerlessness are symptoms of this disconnect. People are feeling lost and they’re suffering. While it’s too simple to suggest this lostness would be resolved by story alone, this edition of The Seed Disperser invites us to focus on our own story, on the story we share with others, on the great story and on helping others find their story.
Storytime in the big chair
Set up a big cosy armchair in your meeting space. Pre-arrange for someone to sit in the big chair to tell a story each time you gather together. Invite stories about personal experiences, events or happenings in your community; stories about people or things your group is interested in; stories from the past; stories from the present. The purpose of the Storytime in the big chair is to bring meaning to the gathered group and to provide an opportunity for the storyteller to share their story.
Keep the stories short - no more than 10 minutes. Storytellers should rehearse their story so they grab and keep the attention of the group. Encourage storytellers to share stories that are of genuine interest to them. The benefits are then two-ways, for the storyteller who shares their story, and for the listener who hears the story.
Stories should be suitable for all ages and appropriate for the gathered group. If you have children as part of your group they may like to sit on the floor around the big chair. Encourage Storytellers to bring one or two props as a visual aid to help others understanding of the story. If a photo is included in the props, ask the storyteller to provide it ahead of time so copies can be made for others to see, or a file that can be projected.
Hold a storytelling workshop and invite a speaker to demonstrate how to tell stories effectively. Hold storytelling evenings using the big chair, and sharing several stories in a row. Hold a storytelling event especially for families with children, where all the stories are read from picture books. Come up with other ways to use Storytime in the big chair to bring your people together.
A good yarn
Jesus told stories to his followers. These parables often had a sting in their tail. The listeners were left scratching their heads to understand the meaning of the story. In summer host an evening around a campfire or brazier, in winter gather around a fireplace.
Create a cosy atmosphere, inviting the sharing of stories. Serve warm drinks, toast marshmallows, provide cushions and blankets for people to make themselves comfortable. Prepare in advance to retell some of the parables Jesus told.
Use different ways of retelling a few selected parables;
dramatic readings with different voices
puppet plays
reinactments
visual props
read from picture books
Resist the urge to explain the parables but let them sit in people’s minds so they can ponder the stories themselves. Provide a list of the stories you’ve shared with Bible references so people can look up the stories themselves again later.
When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. He answered:
I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. The reason is,
“These people will look
and look, but never see.
They will listen and listen,
but never understand.
If they did,
they would turn to God
and be forgiven.”
Mark 4:10-12 (CEV)
Children’s book scene
There are many wonderful books currently being published with stories that celebrate inclusivity and diversity. This article from the BBC written by children’s author Katherine Rundell, encourages adults to read children’s books.
Here’s an excerpt …
Children's books are specifically written to be read by a section of society without political or economic power. People who have no money, no vote, no control over capital or labour or the institutions of state; who navigate the world in their knowledge of their vulnerability. And, by the same measure, by people who are not yet preoccupied by the obligations of labour, not yet skilled in forcing their own prejudices on to other people and chewing at their own hearts. And because at so many times in life, despite what we tell ourselves, adults are powerless too, we as adults must hasten to children's books to be reminded of what we have left to us, whenever we need to start out all over again.
Children's fiction does something else too: it offers to help us refind things we may not even know we have lost.
While I (Caroline) write about Christian spirituality, my preferred writing genre is to write fiction for children. Many years ago, a wise mentor told me to remember the two rules of writing; “Read, read, read” and “Write, write, write.”
Here’s a few of my favourite reads in the last few months. These are stories of love, acceptance, tolerance, understanding, grace, forgiveness, justice and belonging. With all of these stories, readers come alongside characters who are confronting adversity. The stories are empowering and inspiring.
Ajay and the Mumbai Sun written by Varsha Shah is a story of courage and standing up for justice. Watch Tolá Okogwu, the author talk about Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun. Andy Sagar’s Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup, celebrates being different and finding belonging. Here’s a review of Lizard’s Tale by Weng Wai Chan winner of the 2020 NZ Junior Fiction Award. A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus, is a cosy read with an extremely satisfying ending. The Ogress and the Orphans is a lengthy fairy tale about the power of kindness. Leeva at Last tries to answer the puzzling question, “What are people for?” The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks by Emily Kenny endeared me to the main character who is autistic. Lauren Child’s Think Like an Elf! made me laugh out loud. The Last Bear by Hannah Gold is a poignant story about climate change.
Two storytellers of our time
U2
The band U2 have been telling us stories through their music for decades. As well as being one of the most successful bands to cross multiple generations of fans, they’ve also been keen to promote social justice. There are many songs that carry powerful themes reflecting their Christian faith and offering a voice of storytelling wisdom.
In 2000, U2 released their album, “All that you can’t leave behind”. The songs on the album are rich in story and meaning. The words from their song, “Walk On” talk about packing a suitcase for a place that has to be believed to be seen. The final refrain list all the things that we leave behind. It’s a powerful reminder of the story we find ourselves in and what really matters.
And love is not the easy thing
The only baggage that you can bring
Love is not the easy thing
The only baggage you can bring
Is all that you can't leave behind
from Walk On by U2
As an interesting aside there’s a further story to the song. When it was first released the song was dedicated to democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi and her struggle to fight for a democratic Burma. In 2020, the band re-released the song with a new dedication. “This song is dedicated to the Rohingya People whose human rights have been so persistently and brutally denied.” U2 had made the statement in 2017, “Who could have predicted that if more than 600,000 people were fleeing from a brutal army for fear of their lives, the woman who many of us believed would have the clearest and loudest voice on the crisis would go quiet. For these atrocities against the Rohingya people to be happening on her watch blows our minds and breaks our hearts.”
Brian MacLaren
It’s been a few years since Kereru Publishing was privileged to be able to host Brian MacLaren here in New Zealand. Andrew and I were impressed by Brian’s humility and grace. His influence as a storyteller for our time extends beyond those who are inside the church and reaches out to those on the fringes.
Brian has been a prolific writer on the changing church, social justice and environmental issues. His books are thoughtful and creative. Brian’s 2014 book The Road We Make By Walking provides a year long guide for spiritual formation, re-orientation and activation. It inspires us to participate in the great story of our God.
Featured this month
From a Friend - Notes to a Friend - Giveaway
Last month in Seed Disperser we featured Joy Cowley’s book “Notes to a Friend”. Through a generous donation from a friend of Kereru Publishing, we are making a limited number of physical copies of the book, which retails at $15, available to some our subscribers for free.
This lovely little book is supremely relevant to our time. There is a widespread interest in, and hunger for spirituality that is not being met by the church. The truth is that for many people the church is not seen as a spiritual place. Kiwi author, Joy Cowley, has produced a book to meet this need. It contains the wisdom of centuries of Christian spirituality, made accessible by being stripped bare of any Christian jargon. Each page contains a small easy to understand gem covering topics such as simplicity, service, trials, forgiveness and healing.
We are offering copies of this book to groups interacting with those who are interested in Christian spirituality but are on, or outside, the fringe of the church. This is a ‘pass-it-on’ giveaway. Contact Caroline caroline@kererupublishing.com to request copies. Tell us about your group, how many copies you’d like and how you plan to pass on the books. You are only obliged to pay the courier delivery fee. However, each copy will come with a slip showing our bank details and suggesting $5 per book, if your group wants to hang on to a copy, or make a donation to aid the publication and distribution of further Christian resources.
New this month
Lectionary
The new 2023-24 lectionary and calendar as prepared for the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches of Aotearoa/ New Zealand is available for free download from our website. If you need a printed booklet, and don’t have the facility to print these yourself, we can now provide printed copies at $5 per copy plus postage. Contact Caroline caroline@kererupublishing.com to request copies.
Special offers
Fitting nicely in with our Finding the Story theme are two of our titles. Who made God? And other tricky questions and Stations for Parables of Jesus. Both are offered with a 10% discount using the discount code FINDINGSTORY.
Coming up
Season of Creation
With the urgency of the climate crisis upon us, in September Taking Flight will follow the themes provided for the Season of Creation. The observance of a Season of Creation began in the Lutheran Church in Australia in 2000 as a response to the environmental crisis. Since then this opportunity for the church to examine creation-based themes has spread to many different denominations and around the world. This year’s theme is “The Spirit in Creation”. The whole series looks like this:
3 September - 1st Sunday in Creation – Forest Sunday
10 September - 2nd Sunday in Creation – Land Sunday
17 September - 3rd Sunday in Creation – Wilderness/Outback Sunday
24 September - 4th Sunday in Creation – River Sunday
1 October - St Francis of Assisi – Blessing of the Animals.
Subscribers to Taking Flight will automatically receive this resource. Those who are not subscribers, can purchase a Seasonal Package for $25.00 (NZD) from our website. This includes the resources for the five Sundays beginning 3rd September to first Sunday in October. It will arrive via email two weeks prior to the date of each worship date.
A new website for Season of Creation produced by the Lutheran Church in USA is under construction. This will include further up-to-date resources.
Stroll for Your Soul
We are offering Stroll for Your Soul again this year. It begins on Saturday 2nd September and lasts 21 days. Each day you’ll receive an email. The idea is to head outdoors and enjoy the spring season, but this is not always possible, and if you have limited mobility or the weather is terrible, there’s plenty to ponder looking out the window.
Stroll for Your Soul is a collaboration between Janice from The Prayer Bench and Caroline from Kereru Publishing. This is our fifth year of collaboration. We repeat Stroll twice a year when it’s spring in each hemisphere. This Stroll was already offered in May in the northern hemisphere.
Our 2023 theme is ‘Returning to Our Senses’ invites us to intentionally use our senses to make sense of the world around us, to invite our Great Creator into our daily lives through sensory actions, and to enjoy and appreciate this Spring season with a sensory lens.
Registrations are now open and you can sign up using this online form. Payment can be made via our website or we will send you an invoice.
Download a promotion pack for your group here.
If you have any questions or problems signing up please contact Caroline caroline@kererupublishing.com
On a personal note
Jolabokaflod
Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic Christmas tradition. The word literally means flood of books. I wrote about how our family celebrates in our winter in the August 2022 edition of The Seed Disperser. Our Christmas is a summer affair, and Jolabokaflod seems very much a wintery event. This year we decided the winter solstice was the perfect date.
Our rules are that we must only buy from secondhand bookshops. Red Beach Methodist Parish runs a secondhand bookstore which is where most of our books come from, but as Andrew volunteers there one afternoon a week, whoever is buying for him, sometimes has to go further afield to deliver a surprise factor. We wrapped our books in pillowcases, tied with ribbons. We lit the room with candles and lamps so we had just enough light to read.
We purchased our chocolate from small bean to bar NZ based craft chocolate makers like Hogarth Chocolates, Baron Hasselhoff and Shirl and Moss. Hogarth’s Anzac Biscuit Chocolate was a big favourite this Jolabokaflod.
On the journey
Caroline & Andrew