The story of this guide

Many times at St Ethelburga’s we have witnessed the profound impact that a well-communicated personal story can have on others.We noticed that stories have the power to build bridges  between people where discussion and dialogue sometimes fail. So a couple of years ago we set out to explore how stories are being used in community building and peace work. We heard stories of conflict and struggle, stories of migration and home, stories of collective memory and inner journeys of faith.  We made connections in N. Ireland, Israel and S. Africa where stories transform lives. We brought storytellers, academics and community workers together  in conferences. We experimented with our own ideas in workshops. We invited traditional storytellers to perform here and created “A Sea of Stories”, a rogramme of stories from different faiths which went on tour. Stories have changed the way we think about the world and its divisions. We hope this guide twill inspire you with the power of stories.

The structure of this resource

This resource is one of the results of our exploration into the world of story. So much has been written and developed around story and narrative,
this is by no means a comprehensive overview of the field. Nor is it a work of in-depth academic research. Rather is an eclectic scrapbook of practical methodologies, tested in the real world, that we have come across in our work. We hope it can serve as a source of ideas and inspiration. The resource aims to:

· illustrate the value and range of narrative and story-based tools

· encourage those working in community cohesion, interfaith or peace work to become familiar with the potential of these methods

· offer pointers towards best practice.

The central section of the guide is a series of fourteen different approaches to working with narrative or story, organized into three sections:

A. Community building
B. Conflict and healing
C. Arts-based approaches

There is much overlap between the sections. Many of the methods could appear in more than one section; their location is only an indication of emphasis.
Each approach is accompanied by case studies, points to consider and web resources.