Dean, NBSI Academy for Biblical Storytelling
Keynote Theme:
Patterns, Pathways, and Play: the primacy of story for life, growth, and community
Theme Stories:
The Anointing of David (1 Samuel 16:1-13a)
Shiprah and Puah (Exodus 1:8-21)
The Law & Sin (Romans 7:15-25a)
Dr. Tracy Radosevic is an educator at heart and once she discovered biblical storytelling and NBSI in 1990 she realized that was the best approach to faithful formation. She began her career as a Director of Christian Education in a local church and has since expanded her target audience to the global Church, having traveled around the US and on to various other countries since 1997 when she hung out her freelance shingle. In that time, she has offered workshops, pulpit supply, performances (the entire Gospel of Mark being one of her favorites), seminars, keynotes, retreats, and spiritual pilgrimages to the Holy Land, Greece/Turkey, and Italy. Educated at Grove City College (BA in Christian Ministries and Elementary Education), Duke Divinity School (MRE), East Tennessee State University (MA in Storytelling) and Wesley Theological Seminary (DMin) she is now returning the favor by teaching as an adjunct professor at Wesley as well as St. Mary’s Ecumenical Institute and is the dean of the Academy for Biblical Storytelling. She loves spending time at the beach, watching movies (she has been cohosting a podcast on movies people of faith should see — FaithinFocus — for ten years), visiting with friends, playing her accordion, and exercising her right brain.
Tom Boomershine
Shelley Gnade & Mary-beth Howard
Mary-beth and Shelley have been involved with NBSI for dog years, so should be well known to anyone who has ever attended a Festival Gathering in the past 20+ years. Between them, they have held almost every position possible in the NBSI organization and have been regular workshop presenters. They both live in Wilmington, DE with wonderful husbands and attend Westminster Presbyterian Church—but they DO live in separate dwellings! At their home church they have founded and currently lead a group of lay storytellers, Westminster by Heart, who present regularly in worship services. Mary-beth is retired from teaching. Shelley is also mostly retired although she still works part-time for WW. Both are enjoying being grandmothers.
Barbara Tucker
Philip Ruge-Jones (Facilitator)
Workshop Leader
Amelia Boomershine
Cynthia Pollard
Cliff Barbarick
Janice Kim
Lisa Larsen Hill
Marti Steussy Richard Swanson Jim and Janet Stahl Ruth Elsbree#MeToo in the Bible: Working with Painful Stories
Tamar in 2 S 13, Tamar in Gen 38, and Dinah in Gen 34: what links these stories and who might be telling them? While our expecations about “scripture” often intensify the painfulness of these stories, a bigger concept of “Bible” might help us engage them more productively. Participants will not hear these interloced stories but explore how it feels to tell a chosen portion.
Marti Steussy’s love for stories, especially ones about distance times and places, has led to two science fiction novels and a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible. She keynoted the 1996 and 2016 Festival Gatherings and is a long-time member of the NBS Seminar. She considers learning and telling biblical stories worthwhile, whether or not one has advanced storytelling skills or even an audience. Marti also likes to teach, cook, walk, and train cats.
Parables are Provocations!
Jesus’ parables look like illustrations: The reign of God is LIKE…. This works (sort of) for some, not for others… (Dishonest Steward, I am looking at you!) The sheep parable works best as an illustration if you don’t know much about sheep, and anything with mustard will puzzle farm kids. We will explore provocative ways to tell parables, just in case they are meant to poke us and provoke us. Just in case.
The messy insides of stories are more interesting than their polished outsides. Inside, we encounter the hope and tension of real faithfulness. Richard Swanson teaches at Augustana University (Sioux Falls, SD). His next play, This Is My Body, will mix stories out of the #MeToo movement with stories of Incarnation and the Sacrament. He is the author of five books, all with the word “Provoking” in their titles. To read Richard’s blog, go to ProvokingTheGospel.wordpress.com.
Identifying Rhetorical Devices in Jesus’ Transfiguration: Exploring the Author’s Intended Impact
The Mark 9: 2-13 story of the Jesus’ Transfiguration has symbolism, echoes from OT, contrasts, figures of speech, movement, and vivid imagery. After hearing a performance of the story, we’ll share the intuitive impact of story in terms of imagery, intersections with our own lives and provoked senses. We’ll identify Mark’s rhetorial devices to focus our attention and create an impact. And we’ll use these devices to shape the way we choose to perform the story.
Since 2007, Jim and Janet worked with the Seed Company, partnering with organizations training people to tell Bible stories in their own languages, especially those languages without a Bible. Bible storytelling creates community ownership and builds capacity within the community in local ministries, and sparks interest to translate the Bible. They have trained people in the S Pacific, SE Asia, E Asia, S Asia, Africa, and the Americas in vernacular Bible storytelling.
Using Voice Characteristics to Enhance Biblical Dialogue
Explore how to vary your voice through pitch, rhythm, pace, tone and volume to give speakers in biblical dialogue distinctive voices. While biblical storytelling avoids acting, this workshop will guide participants to try out different voice characteristics so that speakers in a dialogue come alive during a telling, aiding audience comprehension. The workshop will focus on dialogue from this year’s Festival Gathering theme stories.
Ruth Elsbree is a published voice talent on Audible.com. In narrating The Seeds of Christianity historical fiction series, she used her voice to create numerous characters. Having completed the Academy for Biblical Storytelling Master Certification in 2021, Ruth continues to give biblical storytelling presenations and reflections at her church. She has written curriculum for establishing Biblical Storytelling Clubs. Join Ruth for an informative and interactive workshop that will enhance your storytelling skills.