The necessity of narrative is one that runs deep for me.
My grandma is a storyteller. Her words shape experiences in a way that is unlike anything I can describe adequately. The power of story, exists in her soul, it is part of her.
From a young age I have heard over and over again the value of story, and yet sitting with the Book Of Esther for the last nine weeks has reinvigorated my passion for testimony, my understanding of story, and the value that this practice can give to the world.
When people are given the space to be able to fully and completely share their story, it is empowering. When we gather in spaces of worship and the fullness of each persons life experiences, struggles, heartaches, joys, passions, come together in the call of community, it leads to hope. When we are able to move past the things that tear us apart, that separate us, and instead hear the narrative that rests of each of our hearts, the world changes.
That is why we have been asking ourselves for the last nine weeks what are the ways that we are able to Testify To Love; because when we open our hearts to the stories of those around us there is a unity that happens, a grace that happens that moves us beyond spaces of judgment and hurt.
This world is a difficult place to exist in sometimes, we have all been in spaces at one time or another where we have felt out of place, how would that feeling have changed if someone had asked you, “what is your story, what brought you here?” Narratives have the power to transform; my hope is that we as faith communities are brave enough to start asking.
My hope is that we are brave enough to open our hearts and minds to experience testimony. Where we can experience the necessity of narrative in our own lives.
This week is our last week in the Book Of Esther; we will be spending time with the spaces that we let ignorance and judgment navigate our interactions. We will wrestle with the end of this narrative, when destruction and violence consistently show up, and we will hear the hope present in the Gospel.
It all comes back to story friends, how will you share your testimony? How will you invite others to share theirs?
Melissa Hurley is Pastor at Kelseyville United Methodist Church and Middletown Community United Methodist Church. Please join us in Kelseyville at 9 a.m. or Middletown at 11:30 a.m. as we explore the story of Esther and its relevance in our own narrative. All are welcome.
