Biblical Storytelling

Rosemary Alice Orwig Rodgers, an Episcopalian from Oklahoma and the daughter of Mother Dana Orwig, is receiving her certification from the Network of Biblical Storytellers International (NBSI). Through this accomplishment, Rosemary hopes to inspire others by bringing the stories of the Bible to life. The earliest faith communities experienced the Bible not as silent print on a page but as lively stories performed in the community. The mission statement of NBSI is to encourage everyone to learn and share biblical stories. This network primarily builds on the work of Tom Boomershine, particularly his book, "Story Journey."

The Academy for Biblical Storytellers is a branch of NBSI that trains and certifies individuals to teach and tell biblical stories. The academy focuses on a model known as Biblical Performance Criticism, which views the practice and performance of stories as a form of biblical scholarship.

Rosemary shared with us why Biblical Storytelling is important, “The stories in the Bible, that we know primarily in their written form, were passed on as oral tradition in their earliest iterations. For many of the stories, for example the Torah or much of the gospels, we believe that they were shaped by this oral tradition before they were committed to the page. Even the epistles in the New Testament, which were obviously letters first, were not written in silence, nor were they intended to be read silently. In this sense, biblical storytelling can be seen as recapturing the early embodied and personal way of sharing these stories.”

She also shared why Episcopalians would be intrested in Biblical Storytelling, “I think Biblical Storytelling can be a rich addition to liturgy, and I think many people can benefit from trying out some biblical performance criticism. And I think Episcopalians love learning and liturgy!”

Rosemary recently performed an hour long concert at St. John’s in Oklahoma City. Check out her concert HERE. She will be leading various workshops and concerts in the Diocese in the coming year, stay tuned!