District News

For several years now I have reworked the parables of Jesus for all age worship in local Methodist churches and the schools in which I have led assemblies. My intention in this book is to record for you some of the stories I have used. I almost always tell the stories (rather than reading them) adapting the names and some of the events to suit the context in which I find myself. I have 'road tested' these written accounts with a variety of audiences, and I trust that you will feel they get the point across if you choose to read them out loud. However, I do urge you to throw caution to the winds and tell them wherever you can. The details, after all, are not so very important - it's that central, lifestyle challenging idea that's vital.

As a Methodist preacher and primary school teacher I have become increasingly convinced that the very essence of these powerful and authentic stories of Jesus is being lost to generations of listeners. I feel this is partly due to our tendency to read rather than tell them in acts of worship or assemblies. More significantly however, I believe that the obscure contexts in which the parables are set makes them almost impossible for many listeners to engage with. I vividly remember from my childhood a dramatised version of the Good Samaritan set in a railway carriage. Suddenly the story came alive for me, because I could relate to the characters and events as being real rather than biblical. This was a story about life as I knew it, rather than life in some distant time and country. This was connected to my own experiences, my own hopes and fears, rather than being the stuff of slides of the Holy Land and Sunday School photocopies.

When I have finished reading or telling one of these stories I invariably ask "Who told this story first?" When someone replies "Jesus", I explain that I have changed the setting, but that hopefully the meaning stays the same. It's amazing how rapidly heads start bobbing, fingers fiddling and eyes wandering as soon as any attempt at interpretation starts. Following the example of Jesus, the master storyteller, I have found that it is far better just to let the parable speak for itself. I suggest therefore that the follow-up work included in this book would be best used at a later time, perhaps in another place, although I am currently experimenting with short periods of paired talk in my services and assemblies, to enable immediate responses from the listeners.

Some of the stories are not immediately or easily recognisable to those who know the originals. I have located them all either in a primary school setting, or one readily recognisable to children of four to eleven years of age. They are intended to be contemporary, although such is the pace of change in education (and society in general) that I am sure they will soon appear dated. I have used them in a multi-faith context as part of acts of worship of a 'broadly Christian' nature at school. At the end of each story I have given a biblical text explaining where my inspiration came from, although it is not my intention that readers or listeners would go straight to their bibles in order to look up the original. This would defeat the purpose of using a contemporary setting to challenge children in a new way. I recommend that the preparation and follow-up activities are completed without reference to the bible, although of course I would encourage children to look up the texts in an appropriate translation later if they are interested. My main intention, of course, has been to provide a resource which will open up the parables to a new audience, whilst remaining faithful to the vision of their originator, whose words have proved life-changing to so many for so long.

TECHNOLOGY IN WORSHIP AND MISSION

May we recommend the publication from the Methodist Church Technology in Worship & Mission . Why ? Well Lincoln & Grimsby district is cited (among others ) as users of Good Practice in this field. Please follow the Links on the article from E News October 2005 and get your own copy.

Using Technology in Worship and Mission

This new guide is updated and expanded from the original 'Using Technology in Worship' that came out in 2004. The guide:

• Considers why it's helpful to incorporate the visual and
  creative arts in worship through new media
• Gives an overview of the latest developments in
  technology that are relevant to worship
• Looks at some of the practicalities of using technology in
  worship and the life of the Church
• Tells inspiring ICT stories from around the Connexion

Using Technology in Worship and Mission is available to download at:
www.me thodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=pandw.content&cmid=549

Print copies are available free from:

ICT Booklet
Communication Office
Methodist Church House
25 Marylebone Road
London NW1 5JR
(please enclose a 47p A5 SAE)