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STEWARDING THE STORY:. A Spirituality for Archivists. Spirituality: anything that reminds us that we are always in the presence of God. God is here…. God is here…. A way of perceiving the gift of God’s love amidst the mundane, the ordinary, the routine.
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STEWARDING THE STORY: A Spirituality for Archivists
Spirituality: anything that reminds us that we are always in the presence of God.
God is here…. God is here….
A way of perceiving the gift of God’s love amidst the mundane, the ordinary, the routine • A way of recognizing that all is gift to be received
IMAGES of your ministry as archivists • The deep STORY that you serve • Some PRACTICES to remind you that “God is here”
I. WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? • Custodian? • Keeper, collector, guardian? • Cataloguer, organizer?
Steward Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings out of the storehouse both the new and the old. (Matt. 13:52)
Bridge …between past and present …a taste for memory …an appetite for connections
…a taste for memory …an appetite for connections
2. THE WIDER STORY • God’s dream for the world • Told in the stories of Jesus’ parables
Mirror reflecting what God has done in & through you
Your story – God’s story • not static but growing • not hidden and secret, but meant to be seen and heard • not great in the eyes of the world, but far-reaching • not limited and uniform, but multifaceted • with a value that is worth digging for
Keep the fire – the story – burning
Your story as part of God’s unfolding story of creation….
How do you tell the story -- • for purposes of power? • or in a spirit of reverence, respect, honor, gratitude?
The story calls for… • …a continual re-imagining of the future and re-interpretation of the past to give meaning to the present. (Mary Catherine Bateson) • INTERPRETATION is key.
Reinterpreting the past to give meaning to the present… St. Paul’s Chapel, NYC
Saint John’s Bible www.saintjohnsbible.org
How might you… • bring forth treasures new and old to uncover the meaning of the present? • draw from the Spirit-energies that gave birth to your congregation? • set a context that “reminds us that we are always in the presence of God”?
“These forty years your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.” (Deut. 2:7) • “I have been with you wherever you went.” (2 Sam. 7:9).
To whom do we tell the story? • To those who seek to “integrate the history of women religious into the larger contexts of Catholic history, religious history, women’s history, and American history.” (Carol Coburn)
…into the larger contexts…
Life opens to more possibilities through new patterns of connection. (Margaret Wheatley)
Stewardly Practices • Keep the bridge open
Stewardly Practices • Stay in touch with yourself. • Support or teach others as often as you can. • Nurture your ties to your tribe. - Dr. Andrew Weil
Stewardly Practices • Keep the mirror clean
Days pass when I forget the mystery. Problems insoluble and problems offering their own ignored solutions jostle for my attention; they crowd its antechamber, along with a host of diversions, my courtiers, wearing their colored clothes; cap and bells… - Denise Levertov, “Primary Wonder”
Stewardly Practices • Know your place
Stewardly Practices • Be open to surprise
You have a MESSAGE to tell in COMMUNITY with others in SERVICE of a larger story, a larger mission – the mission of Jesus and the ever-surprising Spirit
Spirituality: a web of relationships
There is no greater error than to imagine that the very employments God gives us shall force us to forget Him while we are engaged in them!….He is more within us than we are ourselves. (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)
Lose the lists!
…All lists start where they halt, in intention.Only the love that is work completes them. (Marge Piercy,“The Listmaker”)
“The love that is work” -- reminds you that God is always present.