“Finding Ourselves in the Story” – Growing Faith & Play for Friends

Finding Ourselves in the Story Project Update: May 2025

• It’s a delight to share blog posts about the experience of meetings where trainings have happened and stories are being used; thanks to First Friends Meeting and Richmond Friends Meeting! Their stories emphasize intergenerational community and creativity!
• New and revised resources for practitioners were shared in the May e-newsletter: Getting Started with a Circle and A Story Session Outline for Friends.
• Packets of materials about Faith & Play Stories are being mailed to Friends who are attending their yearly meeting’s summer gathering, along with FGC’s “YAY!”, and FUM’s Stoking the Fire events. Thanks to these volunteers for setting up displays and sharing stories! 
• A new online series will begin in June, Faith & Play Community Circles will be offered online every month, at different times to accommodate diverse schedules. These are opportunities for ongoing support, check-ins, and sharing our experiences! There will be a resource shared each time, but the focus of the conversation will be what you bring to share, ask, and discuss. This series follows a Summer Dreaming Shareshop at the end of May. 
• New Trustees! Three new and one returning trustee joined the governance leadership group in May. Read more about all these Friends here. The new trustees bring additional skills, gifts, and regional representation to our work together. 

Finding Ourselves in the Story Project Update: April 2025

• Thanks to the 16 Friends who attended the Doorperson Workshop on April 30. Participants came with great questions and we had an excellent discussion together. Based on feedback, there’s a need for this workshop offering, so watch for it again this summer! 
• Subscriptions to the website have increased 27% in the first six months of the project (our goal is a 50% increase in the first year). Great progress!
• Plans for the 20th Anniversary of Faith & Play Stories are taking shape. Watch the e-newsletters for updates.
• The first-ever Playing in the Light training in Alaska was amazing! Thank you, Chena Ridge Meeting for hosting.

Finding Ourselves in the Story Project Update: March 2025

• Surveys for practitioners, families, and about story materials are now available.
• Trainings: Between September 2024 and March 2025, we’ve hosted four Playing in the Light trainings attended by Friends from 25 monthly meetings in four yearly meetings (PhYM, OVYM, NYYM, BYM), and two Learning in the Light trainings for teachers in Friends schools. New trainings continue to be scheduled for the rest of 2025! 
• Storytelling events in Friends schools have reached new schools.

• Workshops in early 2025 have offered spaces for conversation and sharing on: exploring prayer practices with children, nurturing the nurturers (stories and spirituality at home), and Easter stories and resources. Another in April will explore the role of the doorperson.

• Blog posts focused on: a review of 2025, ways that Friends use the “Gifts” story, and “play” in Faith & Play have been published and shared.

• Advertising to share about Faith & Play Stories will be in upcoming issues of Friends Journal, Western Friend, and Quaker Life (FUM).

With gratitude, Faith & Play Stories is delighted to announce a project to expand our work, having received a generous grant from the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund. 

This two-year project, beginning in September 2024, “Finding Ourselves in the Story: Growing Faith & Play for Friends,” will be directed by current Director of Communication & Training, Melinda Wenner Bradley. The project supports administration and communication that will expand training, publications, and the exploration of how Faith & Play can nurture spiritual community and revitalization for Friends in meetings and churches.

Thank you to Friends who shared these testimonials for the proposal to the Shoemaker Fund!

“Faith & Play Stories are one of the highest expressions and hallmarks of Quaker religious education in this generation. In many places in the US where Quakerism is fresh and thriving, we find Faith & Play Stories in use. The power and clarity of the stories and the effectiveness of the method, which combines narrative and wondering, can be a key to revitalization.”

“My journey with Faith & Play Stories began during a Young Adult Friends (YAF) retreat, where I found my first worship experience that went beyond traditional Quaker, “waiting worship.” Despite my years within the Quaker community, this encounter was a revelation, demonstrating the depth and diversity of ways in which Quakers may practice, but at the time I did not realize just how unique and precious this experience was.”

“F&P stories are for everyone, and their accessible language sets them apart from other ways newcomers typically learn about Quakerism. I see the potential of the growing collection of F&P stories as a tool for meetings to use to provide a standard, unified introduction and orientation to Quaker faith, practice, and witness. The stories seem to enliven the community regardless of age, and it has been my experience that semi-programmed, intergenerational worship using stories is especially welcomed by families.”