Virginia - Stories

Since June 20, I've been at the Summer Collegium in support of small churches at Virginia Theological Seminary in VA.

Stories - For the past two days we've been talking about stories - our own personal stories of faith and the stories of our congregations. And last night we went to see an incredible presentation of the play Peter Pan - more stories.

Last week at coffee hour we put our stories on a great timeline of our congregation. Stories of confirmations, baptisms, weddings, funerals. Stories of pain and victory as a congregation. Stories of personal moments. Stories of faith regained. Put together these stories are, in part, our congregation's story.

"People become part of the congregation," Carl Dudley, our keynote speaker this week, said, "when they share and become part of our congregational story" - when they can tell some of our shared stories, when they contribute to our ongoing story. "Remember your story of faith," Karl, our collegium co-pastor, said," when you are facing difficult times. Your faith story sustains you."

When we live in faith, whether as individuals or as a congregation, we are living in our story. This does not mean that we live in the past. Rather our story is a wave and we are a surfer. We are on the front, breaking edge, moving with the water; but the wave is made up of the millions of memories, millions of experiences of our history and the history of faith. Just as millions of drops of water power a wave, our experience, our story powers our lives.

As I type this, the small congregation arts festival is continuing here on campus. The Hosanna banner from the sanctuary is on the wall, art from our children and Mary Hallam is on the table, all attracting many admirers.