The concept of Tikkum Olam – Repair of the World – is core to Jewish spirituality and justice, and it has been adopted as an aspiration by people of many other spiritual paths. It seeks to repair our souls, our relationships, our earth, and our world. It tells us to be careful of all that is broken, all the lacks and holes in our lives, all that needs to be repaired, the harm that needs to be undone, healed and made whole, even holy, once again.
In a sense, repair of the world is how we recreate all that is with grace, spirit, and imagination. And an important and time-tested way to do this is through the stories we tell — stories of life, of hope, of tender regard for one another and all the universe, of restoration and resurrection. Stories are food for our souls, our hearts and imagination, the stuff of recreation.
From centuries ago, we hear: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God and the Word was made flesh and dwells among us.” We are all words. There is a saying among storytellers: There is only one story — how do you tell it? Stories bind us together and help us universally to communicate and recreate our lives. Stories cross boundaries, borders, languages, time, and space. They share knowledge and wisdom. They often speak about hard issues: life, death, loss, grief, suffering, violence, trauma, hate, love, tenderness and cruelty. We need to hear and tell such stories. As Maya Angelou has written: “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.”
This new e-course “Stories to Repair Our Souls and the World” will be an opportunity to engage with stories through 12 emails sent on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning September 9. In each Megan McKenna will share stories and comment on their themes. You can go to the online Practice Circle to react to the stories and add what you personally have learned from them. Then on September 20, 12 – 1 pm PT / 3 – 4 pm ET, we will gather on Zoom for a one-hour conversation with Megan.
Megan McKenna is a renowned storyteller, theologian, and writer with 50+ books in print, all containing stories and scripture references. Her latest book, A Bowl of Perfect Light: Stories of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Repairing the World will be published in late September, 2024.
McKenna’s story repertoire has been collected through travel to all sorts of places, including in the last five years to the indigenous communities in Northwestern Canada, Alaska, the Dakotas, and other western states and provinces. She has also worked in the United States, Ireland/England, and elsewhere with those struggling with PTSD, prisoners, immigrants, refugees and many dealing with violence and trauma, both personally and in communities. She teaches forgiveness, reconciliation, restorative justice, repair, and resurrection. Her storytelling derives from the oral traditions of many religions and traditions and the Jewish/Christian scriptures.
For this new e-course, her first for Spirituality & Practice, she offers this invitation:
“Come. Listen. Become. Tell and retell. Come true. Come together, gift one another with stories that repair, heal and recreate, resource, restore, and even raise the dead. Come, let us begin again, as it is said: Once upon a time. . . . In the end, we are all just stories for others to tell.”
Register by clicking on the button below.
