Back to Iran after summer storytelling
Autumn has arrived here in southern Virginia; the calendar clearly says so. Last night David and I took a long walk - down the steep incline of our street to Lake Lanier, where dozens of geese and swans were sleeping for the night. A deep mist lay over the earth-- humidity nestling in the low places after a day of heat, with cooler weather promised soon. Ever present deer munched in neighborhood gardens. Crickets kept up their warm weather chorus.
We walked and reflected together. This summer we have spoken 35 times in a variety of contexts: grade schools and churches, colleges and retirement communities. Christians, Jews and Muslims attended. We enjoyed fellowship with the Assembly of God, Baptists, Church of the Brethren, Disciples of Christ, Friends (Quakers), Independent Christians, Mennonites, Roman Catholics, United Methodists. Our "storytelling" included descriptions of our days studying in Qom, the joy of being a guest in an Iranian home, building friendships and trust via MCC/Imam Khomeini Institute's Muslim-Christian Exchange, prayers for dialogue and detante. Discussion was richer than we could have guessed.
One twelve year old boy had read "The Bookseller of Kabul" and wanted to talk about good books. An elderly woman wanted to know how to encourage interfaith dialogue in her own town. People asked endless questions about Iranian cuisine and poetry, the beauty of the countryside, friendships and studies. I tallied up our speaking occasions and realized that we have spoken to nearly 2000 people in July, August and early September.
This week-end we catch our flight back to Tehran, with great anticipation. We are eager to resume our studies and our friendships in Qom, worship with our Armenian friends in Tehran, and our Farsi language skills (modest though they are).
Our thanks to so many of you who hosted us this summer, prayed with us and for us, and continue to support the work of peace and reconcilation. Stay tuned! Autumn is beginning
We walked and reflected together. This summer we have spoken 35 times in a variety of contexts: grade schools and churches, colleges and retirement communities. Christians, Jews and Muslims attended. We enjoyed fellowship with the Assembly of God, Baptists, Church of the Brethren, Disciples of Christ, Friends (Quakers), Independent Christians, Mennonites, Roman Catholics, United Methodists. Our "storytelling" included descriptions of our days studying in Qom, the joy of being a guest in an Iranian home, building friendships and trust via MCC/Imam Khomeini Institute's Muslim-Christian Exchange, prayers for dialogue and detante. Discussion was richer than we could have guessed.
One twelve year old boy had read "The Bookseller of Kabul" and wanted to talk about good books. An elderly woman wanted to know how to encourage interfaith dialogue in her own town. People asked endless questions about Iranian cuisine and poetry, the beauty of the countryside, friendships and studies. I tallied up our speaking occasions and realized that we have spoken to nearly 2000 people in July, August and early September.
This week-end we catch our flight back to Tehran, with great anticipation. We are eager to resume our studies and our friendships in Qom, worship with our Armenian friends in Tehran, and our Farsi language skills (modest though they are).
Our thanks to so many of you who hosted us this summer, prayed with us and for us, and continue to support the work of peace and reconcilation. Stay tuned! Autumn is beginning
posted by Quakers in Qom at 10:06 AM
1 Comments:
Dear Linda and David,
Bill and I are looking forward to your first blog entry of your second year in Qom. Both of us loved so much having a chance to listen to your stories about last year. Oh, but that there were more opportunities like the MCC program for the people of our two nations to connect so deeply on a personal level.
Linda, I'm kicking myself for not having brought this subject up when we were together, but here you are summing up your visit back in the States with the very word: Storytelling. Sooooo, would you maybe consider writing a first-person essay of about 1,000 words about the role storytelling is playing in peacemaking in your Iranian experience for my storytelling blog,
The Storyteller and the Listener Online ? You could take it in any direction you wanted. The only criteria are to write an essay that provides at least anecdotal evidence that storytelling (including personal storytelling such as yours) contributed to peacemaking. I think an essay from you about your growing understanding of the Iranian people would be great to circulate among people in the storytelling field.
With love from the Piedmont,
Holly Stevens
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