As we turn the calendar to a new year, we begin with the practice of story. We all tell stories. Human culture is built on stories. Stories are how we learn and how we make sense of the world. I tell stories about other people all the time. I’m so good at telling stories that I can often convince myself I know why someone did or said whatever they did or said. But of course, it’s just a story I’ve told myself.

We tell stories about ourselves too. Sometimes we retell stories other people have told us about ourselves. Sometimes we tell stories to justify our behavior. Other times we tell stories that keep us stuck. Once in a while, we tell some empowering stories about ourselves, but those seem to take a little more work and effort.

So what does the practice of story have to do with liberating love? One possibility is that if we become more aware and mindful of the stories we tell about others, we can more intentionally embody liberating love in our relationships with them. Even when those relationships are temporary and fleeting. 

Another possibility is that if we become more aware and mindful of the stories we tell about ourselves, we can begin to see whether our stories are empowering or discouraging. We might even start to edit our stories a bit. We might learn how to tell our stories through the filter of our life affirming values rather than whatever other filters we’ve habitually used. 

Our first worship service on the practice of story was with Jared Hammond, who wondered with us about how we identify heroes and villains in our stories. Jared also expressed a fondness for being able to guide a story in a game, rather than being a passive observer of someone’s story.

This Sunday, we’ll explore how we tell stories together and how our individual stories influence one another’s stories. We’ll also have our Second Sunday meal together, with all the delightful side dishes and desserts you all bring to supplement the Kitchen Crew’s main course. You’ll have an opportunity to share how you perceive your piece of the congregation’s story.

Next week, January 19, we consider the story expressed in a poem by Nikki Giovanni, who died just a month ago. And on January 26, we envision what sorts of stories we want future generations to tell about us, and what stories we want to pass on to nourish a hopeful world to come. 

And throughout this month and into February, we’ll also see the light of our Chalica candles grow each week. Perhaps our Chalica practice will encourage us to share stories of light even in the midst of gray days. Or maybe we will receive the holiness of winter a little more easily because we spend a bit of time reminding ourselves of the light we have to share.

What stories are you telling? Are they stories of hope or despair? Freedom or entrapment? Transformation or stagnancy? Connection or protection? 

More importantly: What stories do you want to live? And are you willing to make some edits to live by them?

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