Grace Church of Martha's Vineyard
  • WELCOME
    • Contact Us
  • Leadership
  • Annual Report 2023
  • Online Sunday Services at Grace
    • The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany February 5, 2023
    • Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany January 29, 2023
    • Sung Compline
    • Third Sunday after the Epiphany January 22, 2023
    • The Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 15, 2023
  • Church and Faith
    • Our Three-Year Plan
    • Weddings
    • Mission of Grace and Who We Are
    • History of Grace Church
  • Climate Change
  • Photographs
  • Liturgies to Say at Home
    • Spiritual Communion
    • Morning Prayer
    • Daily Devotions
    • Noonday Prayer
    • Evening Prayer
    • Compline for nightly use
    • The Angelus
    • BCP Services
  • Community Suppers and More
    • Community Suppers
    • Summer Lobster Rolls
  • Playground
  • The Tisbury Connection

Stakes

2/15/2020

0 Comments

 
A colleague of mine told me about a story-telling website.  "It's called the Moth" he said.  "People get up and tell their own stories, and its become very popular.  Maybe we can do something similar here."   After a while, I finally checked it out (https://themoth.org) and now I listen whenever I can.   
What further caught my attention was the sentence in the sign-off at the end of the broadcast: "The Moth Radio Hour is co-produced by Jay Allison at Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and presented by PRX."  
This is close to home!  
I went to the website and found the section that offers Storytelling Tips & Tricks.  Perfect, I thought, maybe this will help my preaching.
There, in their guidelines, is the reason that I keep listening to the stories of so many different people:  Stakes.  "What do you stand to gain or lose? Why is what happens in the story important to you? If you can’t answer this, then think of a different story."
I don't know what I stand to gain or lose when I preach - I haven't thought much about it until now, although I have told some vulnerable stories from the pulpit.   Just asking the question is to inject a sermon with  immediacy and urgency, as does 'why is what happens in the story important to me'. 
Now, as I listen to other peoples' stories, I listen to the content.   And I listen for the why.   So that when I tell our story from the pulpit, you will know that something is at stake and hear the why as well. 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    The Reverend Stephen Harding

    is the Rector
    ​of Grace Church.  

    Archives

    August 2021
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • WELCOME
    • Contact Us
  • Leadership
  • Annual Report 2023
  • Online Sunday Services at Grace
    • The Fifth Sunday After the Epiphany February 5, 2023
    • Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany January 29, 2023
    • Sung Compline
    • Third Sunday after the Epiphany January 22, 2023
    • The Second Sunday after the Epiphany, January 15, 2023
  • Church and Faith
    • Our Three-Year Plan
    • Weddings
    • Mission of Grace and Who We Are
    • History of Grace Church
  • Climate Change
  • Photographs
  • Liturgies to Say at Home
    • Spiritual Communion
    • Morning Prayer
    • Daily Devotions
    • Noonday Prayer
    • Evening Prayer
    • Compline for nightly use
    • The Angelus
    • BCP Services
  • Community Suppers and More
    • Community Suppers
    • Summer Lobster Rolls
  • Playground
  • The Tisbury Connection