From the Dean
“Where are you from?” The ‘seasoned’ woman from Jackson asked me this question shortly after we had moved there. I answered, “We moved from Atlanta.” “But Father Donatelli, where are you from?” I suddenly realized this was an anthropological question. She wanted to know my roots. She wanted to know who my people were. She wanted to know my story. In reply to her second query, I decided to go ‘deep roots’ and bypass Chicago. “My Italian ancestors are from the Abruzzi region of Italy. My German ancestors are from Hamburg.” She did not flinch but engaged me about them.
If I have learned anything living in the south it is the importance of knowing our stories, knowing from where we have come, knowing who are those who for better and for whatever else have formed and shaped us. There are those who believe our DNA does not simply pass on eye color, but may also pass on story memory. I find it a very reasonable theory.
Personal Stories
In February and March we will be looking at our stories both personal and communal. In February the Adult Forum will be looking at the importance of story and the telling of story. There is an old Jewish saying that God loves stories and so created human beings. The Bible is nothing if not a collection of people’s stories. Stories are the foundation of our spiritual heritage. Stories are the means by which we have received our faith. They are the food given to us by which we know who we are, and from where we came. They are the food which gives sustenance for our continued life.
In the Forum there will be time to practice both telling of our stories and listening to others stories (please see the information included in this Connection). We will reflect on the meaning of these stories and the importance of telling our stories in a church community.
Episcopal Stories
In March we will look at parish, diocesan and national church stories around racial relations. In part of the Diocesan work entitled “Repairing the Breach” we will look at both the difficult and courageous stories of our past as a way of knowing and marking those stories. In doing so we will reflect on how we learn from and move into a future not haunted by the past but redeemed, repaired by the knowing of these stories.
In preparation for our delegation’s trip to our companion diocese of Durgapur I have been reading not simply history books, but literature—books, poems, and stories by Indian writers. I am finding the narratives every bit as enlightening as the histories. The narratives which are passed on tell us what transcends any limitation of time or context of history. These narratives bespeak the collective hungers and yearnings of the people.
When the gospel writers wished to tell us of Jesus, they did so through stories. When Jesus spoke of God he said things like, “The kingdom of God is like a woman who…” “God is like the farmer who…” As we tell our stories we continue this tradition.
Blessed Epiphany,
Todd
Editor’s Note: Nancy Marlowe, who regularly tells parishioners’ stories through her Profile series, is out of town. Profiles will resume in the spring.