When Jody and I began having conversations about a year-long theme for CBFGA for 2023, “Story” was the first idea that came to my mind. From my time working in the local congregations, serving on the Ministries Council and Discovery Team for CBF, and being a part of the Youth Ministry Network board, storytelling has been a part of each conversation, of visioning, and of dreaming.
In Between the Listening and the Telling…How Stories Can Save Us, Mark Yaconelli discusses the importance of being able to tell your story. He says: I’ve observed how speaking our stories can liberate us individually and collectively — at times transforming residents into neighbors, enemies into friends, and towns into communities. In doing this work, it has become apparent to me that the power of story is the power of relationships. In other words, giving testament to our experience generates meaning when it connects us to people, the earth, the sacred, our pasts, and our own inner gifts and wounds. Through this work I’ve come to believe that all human divisions, both within and between us, can begin to be healed through listening and sharing stories…storytelling is the most intimate form of communication. It’s a way of inviting the listener to enter into what we have suffered, and what we have overcome. When we listen well to another’s story, it blooms within the body, creating an intimate connection between teller and listener —heart races, eyes well with tears, the belly shakes with laughter. And when we share something we have lived, a joy or suffering from in our own lives, the listener is invited into our very being: to see what we have seen, hear what we have heard, and touch what we have known…the story binds us to one another.
In this next year you will hear and experience CBFGA’s story. Our events for the year will be structured around our year-long theme. You will read and listen to our own fellowship’s story and how your story, our story, and God’s story impact each other and our communities.
- Our youth at their recent fall retreat learned what it means to live into their true story by “Being Real” and finding their true authentic selves in who they are, who they are in relationships, and who they are in their authenticity in their faith.
- The children at their January retreat will learn about different “Stories in the Bible” and how they can relate to and live into the story God has called them to be a part of.
- Also in January, young adults will travel to the mountains for a Young Adult Summit to gather with other CBF young adults in hopes of connecting and hearing each other’s stories and how God weaves our stories together.
- College students will travel to Washington, D.C., in March to be a part of Advocacy in Action. These students will have opportunities to learn from others’ stories and discover how to advocate for those who can’t always speak up for themselves in this world.
- Lastly, our youth will come together for a weekend of serving during Mission Madness in Columbus. They will spend a weekend in April in a new community, learning what it means to be the hands and feet of God in this world that needs love, compassion, and a listening ear. I hope that 2023, for you, provides opportunities to reflect on your own story. I hope you allow space to really see the person in front of you, not looking past and missing the opportunity to hear someone else’s story. And my prayer in all of this is that you see God at work in you, in others, and in our CBFGA communities.