I am a story junkie.

 

More of a listener than a talker, I am happiest when my friends and family are telling me a bit of their past or an anecdote from their day.

 

I’m voracious reader of books and articles. The feel of turning pages is yummy! Fiction to Biography. Travelogue to Rhyming Couplets. Anthology to Annotated Version. Give me the details. Paint pictures in my mind. Layer on the backstory – or don’t – I’ll make it up for myself…

 

I gobble up rich television dramas and documentaries. I get pulled into the characters lives as though they are my neighbors. But even more, I love podcasts.

 

I love hearing from the household names and the forgotten folks. Real stories. Tell me what matters to you, what shaped you, what pulls on your heart, and what has given your soul wings. Stop me in my tracks. Make me drive past my exit, cause I am lost in your words.

 

Who’s with me? Snap Judgement, The Moth, 99% Invisible, Story Corps, and Fresh Air. RadioLab, Welcome to Nightvale, and of course, TED Talks! We love us some stories, because stories tell us who we are. Stories let us see ourselves in new ways and let us try on adventures. We are hard wired to make meaning from these stories – to make meaning in our lives.

 

How do we make meaning in our Unitarian Universalist story? How do we make sure everyone gets to add their perspective and memories to the record? All folks have a story to tell, and we want to hear YOUR stories!

 

StoryNet is a story collecting and sharing project from The Fahs Collaborative and Meadville Lombard Theological School that is launching at General Assembly!

Share a powerful story of when your participation in our faith has let you to think, love, or act in new and bold ways.

We have a portable recording studio ready to gather Unitarian Universalist stories of faith and witness. Individual stories will be archived and shared on an interactive online timeline of our collective UU journey. So add your voice!

 

How can you take part?

 

1. Check out more information on our website.
2. Think about the stories you want to tell.

3. Come to the StoryNet at Booth 400 in Exhibit Hall during General Assembly.

4. Sign up for a time and show up for it.

5. Start talking!

 

Special Star Interviewers will be there! We want to hear from all sorts of UU’s – so invite people who you know have a great story to share.

 

Not going to GA this year? No Worries! StoryNet is an ongoing project that will travel. This summer StoryNet will be at Ferry Beach RE Week and Star Island LRE Week. Look for announcements of where StoryNet is traveling in the Fall and beyond.

 

I can’t wait to hear your stories!

 

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Raised on Betsy Tacy, Car Talk, blank journals, and The A Team, Halcyon Westall looks for a story in just about everything. This led to a passion for history and a search for patterns everywhere which have been a perfect fit in her work as a religious educator, most currently as Assistant Director of The Fahs Collaborative. You will find her at Booth 400 during General Assembly – where an iced coffee would be greatly appreciated.