692 Maritime Blvd Linthicum Heights, MD
near Baltimore, MD ~ minutes away from BWI airport
Keynote Speaker
Tracy Radosevic
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.
Workshops (No registration needed)
Jesus in Luke
Tom Boomershine
Each of the four evangelists gives Jesus a distinctive character that connects with a distinctive audience. In this workshop, we will learn and tell some of the unique stories of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, as they were heard by the cosmopolitan communities of Judeans and Gentiles in the great cities of the late first century Roman empire. Re-imagining these storytelling events will help us bring greater vitality to the character of Jesus in our storytelling now.
Tom Boomershine founded the Network of Biblical Storytellers in 1977 and has lectured and led biblical storytelling workshops around the world. He recently published a collection of essays entitled Ancient Gospel Storytellers and Audiences: The Gospels as Performance Literature. Tom founded the Network of Biblical Storytellers, International in 1977 and has lectured and led biblical storytelling workshops around the world. He previously published Story Journey and The Messiah of Peace.
Telling Stories in the Service of Spiritual Growth, Inclusivity and Love
Shelley Gnade & Mary-beth Howard
The central question we will address is “How do we tell this story of David’s anointing for life, growth and community?” What are some of the unspoken assumptions embedded in this narrative and how do these limit our understanding of how God is working through this story in our lives today? Shelley & Mary-beth will present a side-by-side telling of the 1 Samuel 16 passage, along with a secular holy story. We are counting on a high-energy discussion and exchange. If past experience is an indication, we will leave excited, motivated, mentally challenged, and perhaps provoked, with more questions than answers, but with our creativity ignited and our faith expanded.
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.
Learning Biblical Stories and Encouraging Others to Do So
Barbara Tucker
Do you want to know how to learn biblical stories in a way that fits your learning style? Do you want to teach members of your congregation to learn biblical stories in ways that are not intimidating? Whether you want to learn how to tell biblical stories or encourage others to do so, join us as we explore Gardiner’s Multiple Intelligences to find ways that make learning biblical stories achievable for all kinds of people.
Barbara Tucker is a retired teacher-librarian with over 40 years experience teaching people of all ages in church and public schools. She holds masters degrees in education from the University of North Texas and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Currently Ms. Tucker is an active member of University Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas and the Network of Biblical Storytellers, International. Ever the lifelong learner, she holds a basic level certificate from the Academy for Biblical Storytelling.
Story Theater: Telling Hagar’s Story Again and Again
Philip Ruge-Jones (Facilitator)
A fine way to grow as a teller is to observe the choices (translation, tone, gestures, posture, emphasis) that talented tellers make. We will explore the complicated story of Hagar (Genesis 16) by hearing six tellings and then discussing the impact each had on the audience. Provisional slate of tellers: Jason Chesnut, Kathy Culmer, Simone Rollings, Danette Rosenberg & Jim Sterner, Lori Ruge-Jones, Sarah Weisiger). Phil Ruge-Jones, presiding.
Phil Ruge-Jones is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Eau Claire WI and the coordinator of the NBSI Seminar. More importantly, he has assembled an impressive group of tellers to lead us through this engaging process.
Workshop coming soon
Workshop Leader
Savoring the Story of Shiphrah and Puah: An Intro to Biblical Storytelling
Amelia Boomershine
Savor: enjoy or appreciate to the full. This workshop will introduce you to the art of biblical storytelling as we learn, explore, connect, and tell the amazing story of Shiphrah and Puah from Exodus 1. Through savoring this particular story, you will leave with the ability to learn, tell, and appreciate to the full, any biblical story. Bonus info includes tips on the performance basics of movement, eye contact, and dealing with stage fright.
Amelia Boomershine is retired clergy in the United Methodist Church. She has told and taught biblical stories to adults, youth, and children in the U.S. and around the world – in churces, retreat centers, prisons, and the local jail. She has written three biblical storytelling curricula to accompay “The Story Keepers” video series and is author of a A Breath of Fresh Air: Biblical Storytelling for Prisoners. She and her husband Tom live in Dayton, Ohio.
BIBLIODRAMA: Connections, Chaos & Care in the Story of Shiphrah & Puah
Cynthia Pollard
Through the interactive play of the BIBLIODRAMA, we will enter the story of Shiphrah and Puah, the ensuing chaos and their courageous actions. As we journey through this story we will draw connections to the characters, see ourselves in the story and consider its relevance to our lives and ministry.
Cynthia L. Pollard is an inspirational storyteller who embraces the sacred texts with all of her being, sharing the Good News in a lively, dramatic and expressive manner. She is an Adjunct Professor at Palmer Theological Seminary where she earned her MTS Degree. Cynthia has lectured and conducted Biblical Storytelling workshops/retreats at various settings across racial, cultural and denominational lines. Cynthia is an ordained Elder at The Resurrection Center in Wilmington, DE.
An Overlooked Character in New Testament Letters: The Audience
Cliff Barbarick
Letters aren’t stories, and so they present a unique set of challenges for biblical storytellers. For example, they lack the typical storytelling cues that characters, settings, dialogue, and plot provide—or, do they? In this session, we will hear and learn passages from different New Testament letters as we explore, specifically, how the audience of the letter functions as a character. This exploration will also help us imagine ways that we might creatively engage modern audiences when we tell New Testament letters.
Cliff Barbarick is an Associate Professor in the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry at Abilene Christian University. In his New Testament classes, he regularly performs biblical stories with his students as a way to help them explore the biblical compositions more deeply. Recent class performances included several New Testament letters, such as 2 Corinthians, Philippians, and 1 Peter.
Making Meaning of the Story Sentence by Sentence
Janice Kim
As a storyteller, we tell every sentence of a biblical story. Sometimes, there are soe sentences that look unimportant at the performance, but still we have to tell them. To find the most appropriate expression insuch sentences, we need to dig deeper into the story. During our digging, we may find soe hidden secret, and that sentence eventually becomes an important one. The workshop will lead the participabts to experience this type of journey, using stories from the Gospel of John.
Janice Kim currently lives in Korea and is leader of th team “StellS,” which stands for Storytellers of the Scriptures. She also serves in local churches as a storyteller and as a Sunday school teacher. Janice completed a translation of Dr. Thomas E. Boomershine’s “Story Journey” into Korean, which is still awaiting publication in Korea. In 2020, Janice became an ABS Master level certified Biblical Storyteller.
Women in the Bible: The Story Behind the Story
Lisa Larsen Hill
Learn an effective way to bring understanding and discussion to your stories by exploring the culture, history, mores and setting. We’ll focus on the biblical story of the daughters of Zelophehad, five sisters who change God’s mind and the course of history for women, along with Ruth and Rahab. Placing you in the story helps to effectively set up the scene and convey its meaning, a powerful tool for Biblical story tellers.
Lisa Larsen Hill founded Seeds of Faith, a 501 c (3), and is co-founder of Daughters of Abraham, bringing women of different faiths together. A Christian Seminar leader/Certified Lay Speaker for over 20+ years, she serves various churches. She has been a member of NBS since 1997 and member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers). Lisa is a contributing author of Courage to Write and author of soon to be published, Voices in the Wilderness, The Daughters of Zelophehad. Her website is seedsoffaith4women.org.
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.
