Why Story Feast?

One of my favorite parts about the Living Story Bible study series is the story feast; one of my biggest concerns about story feast is that people will skip it because they think it is somehow unimportant or not a ‘real’ study week since we don’t have a passage of Scripture to engage. It is true, story feasting is not work — it’s play. It’s God’s play. It’s a set-aside time — a ritual — to remember the goodness of what he’s done.

Story Feasts are what people have done for centuries — gathering together in community over good food to tell good stories. But they are different — because few of us take the time anymore to feast intentionally. Listen to what Dan Allender says, and try it yourself. For more on story feasting, check out Learning God’s Story of Grace.

Stories are food for friends to feast on together. We are called to write, and then rewrite. But we also are called to tell our stories to people who love us, people who will celebrate our lives. We need people who will ponder our stories and help us write with more integrity and depth, but we need more than feedback; we need celebration.

I need my friends to laugh and also to weep with me. I will never write the stories that reveal my name, let alone transform my name, unless I am in a community that loves, celebrates, and feasts in the midst of our shared stories.” Dan Allender, To Be Told