by Michael Novelli | March 18 2009 11:37 AM
I will be co-leading a new workshop entitled,
Story, Experience & Interactivity: Exploring New Environments for Learning this weekend at North Park University. I am really excited!
Mark Novelli,
Lilly Lewin and
Kelly Dolan and I collaborated in the design of this workshop and will co-lead it Friday Night and Saturday.
THE SESSIONS INCLUDE:
> Teaching through Story & Dialogue
> Creating Multi-sensory Experiences
> Re-imagining Gatherings
> Creative Response: Connections and Implications
CLICK HERE to find out more.
CLICK HERE for handouts and resources from the workshop (login required).
by Michael Novelli | March 18 2009 11:23 AM
This Thursday, March 19, I will be leading a workshop at the WCA's
CONSPIRE Children's Ministry Conference. I love their website! The workshop will focus on Bible Storying with those in "late childhood" – i.e. approximately ages 9-13. I am excited and a bit nervous! I am doing more workshops these days with groups interested in implementing Storying across all ages. It is a fun an unique challenge to explore how different elements of the Storying learning process need to be adjusted to meet different ages/stages.
My friend,
Amy Dolan, is heading up this conference with a wonderful team of people. Amy heads up
LemonLime Kids, a ministry that inspires creative and effective learning for children. Amy and I have collaborated on a few workshops and I hope to continue that in the future!
Click here to download my handout for the session – near the bottom of the list (login required).
by Michael Novelli | March 17 2009 11:33 AM
A few years ago I developed an activity to help students share some of their story with each other in our youth group. I call this activity a
Life Storyboard, as each student draws, writes and shares snapshots from their life. Most students seem to love this activity, as it gives them a chance to express themselves in a new way.
A few students (and adults!) groan a bit about having to draw, lamenting, "I am not good at drawing!" I always encourage them that this is not an art competition and I will not allow any one to make fun of what they create. I also tell them, "You can write words around your pictures. Just make the pictures simple. The important thing is that you really think about each snapshot and are ready to share what you created." This seems to set them at ease!
I have found that even the quietest students respond well to this activity. I believe this is because we all have a deep desire to be known, and really would like a safe place to share more of who we are. This exercise, in a small way, seems to help create that kind of environment if guided well. Recently, I have used this in my sunday school class and at two retreats. All of the groups connected with this. Let me know how your group responds!
Click here to download my latest version (Login required).
by Michael Novelli | March 11 2009 08:04 PM
We are in the process of planning a Passover Seder for friends from Elgin. I am really excited about it! I will also be a part of a Seder with a youth group in Fort Wayne in a couple of weeks.
This email is to encourage you to
consider hosting a Passover Seder with your friends! Being a part of a Seder is a high light of my year... it provides a unique experience for us to embrace rich Hebrew traditions that point to Jesus as the Messiah.
I developed a Seder Booklet – called a Haggadah – a few years ago. Each Haggadah booklet guides participants through interactive exercises, readings and prayers that tie together the stories of the Exodus and Last Supper. I am by no means an expert on Jewish tradition, but I think this booklet is pretty helpful for those new to the experience.
Download a
sample of the Haggadah of HERE. Detailed instructions, supply lists, recipes and narratives are provided in each booklet.
Purchase a
6 pack of Haggadahs HERE.
OK... this officially ends the promo! Shalom!
by Michael Novelli | March 09 2009 11:07 AM
I came across a post on
Steps to Storytelling on the Creative Youth Ideas Blog. This article has helpful reminders about storyingtelling we should all take to heart. Check it out!!
by Michael Novelli | February 19 2009 12:03 PM
A few months back I was able to help lead a Jr. High group in Bible storying, and then meet to train and debrief with the group leaders. It was a lot of fun. I just got some really encouraging feedback about how that group is responding to Bible storying. This may seem like self-promotion, but I don't think of it that way... Storying is bigger than me... so I am grateful to God and want to celebrate with you!
"My daughter comes home every Sunday after church and tells me every detail about Sunday School, from the story itself to the questions and discussion you had afterward. She is really excited about what you're doing and she loves going." – A parent of Jr. high student
"My daughter said, 'Wow, they really teach the Word in our Sunday School class.'" – A father of Jr. high student and Rector of our church.
"I just love the whole "storying" and "narrative" concept. It's been so fun to have a try at writing some of the narratives and allowing myself to approach Scripture with wonder and curiosity. Every Sunday without fail I come away with some new insight." – Rachel, Jr. High Sunday School teacher
"Really the best thing about teaching Sunday School this year has been getting into "The Story" aspect of Scripture. I think that story is a powerful communication tool, and I have seen kids repeat stories we've told almost verbatim. It's pretty incredible." – Dan, Jr. High Sunday School teacher
"What we have done this year has really challenged my traditional concept of a Bible study for the better." -- Kristi, Jr. High Sunday school teacher
"The program and ethos that Michael has developed needs to be wholly embraced in order for this to truly work. It is the belief that "story" really is the most powerful way to communicate God's truth, and everything about what we do revolves around getting into that story and letting the Holy Spirit speak through it. Michael's framework/structure and the activities he places around the storytelling time are also important in releasing the creative and imaginative nature of engaging the story in the way God's people orignally experienced it. I have felt a renewed child-like wonder and child-like faith growing in me as I enter into the new narratives for each week." – Brett Crull, youth pastor at Church of the Resurrection
by Michael Novelli | February 03 2009 04:04 PM
A long-awaited federal study finds that an estimated 32 million adults in the USA — about one in seven — are saddled with such low literacy skills that it would be tough for them to read anything more challenging than a children's picture book or to understand a medication's side effects listed on a pill bottle.
Read entire article from Jan. 8, 2009 USA Today by clicking
HERE.
I have noticed when discussing literacy issues many youth workers have reacted with,
"Not my students – they all can read well – our schools make sure of it. Your statistics are skewed by immigrants and the poor." My response is,
"Don't be so sure..." Concluding that low literacy is just confined to a demographic is an oversimplification of the issue.
About 6 or 7 years ago I began to pay careful attention my youth group's reading and comprehension. The group I was leading at the time was mostly from a very high-rated school system with upper middle class families. Parents moved into this community in order for their children to attend these schools, and bragged about it! When we began using
inductive Bible study methods, it became glaringly obvious to me that our students –
the rich kids from the highly touted schools – struggled with reading and comprehension. And we were studying some of the "easier" portions of the Bible!
I think some of the struggle with literacy in our culture has a lot to do with a shift in the way people handle information, communicate and learn.
What do you think? What have you noticed?
by Michael Novelli | January 12 2009 10:52 AM
This Henri Nouwen quote, from his book
The Only Necessary Thing, was published in my churches' bulletin this week and used in the sermon:
"Prayer is listening to that voice – the One who calls you the Beloved. It is to constantly go back to the truth of who we are and claim it for ourselves. I am not what I do. I'm not what people say about me. I'm not what I have... My life is rooted in my spiritual identity. Whatever we do, we have to go back regularly to that place of core identity."
This is a huge encouragement and challenge to me during a time of "wilderness" in my own life. I often struggle with my identity being wrapped up in what I do, and this is a particularly difficult time for me with this as I am struggling to find work. I am comforted in the fact that I have been created uniquely with great love, and formed to reflect the very image of God. In prayer I can rediscover the core of my true identity and let go of all of the fear and insecurity I battle with each day.
by Michael Novelli | January 02 2009 08:06 PM
I just spotted this video on the
DRAWN blog. At first glance it's mesmerizing and has great music... but this is so much more impressive when you realize how it was created.
They used a process called
pixilation,
“a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames."
The original link (
HERE) has a making-of video in French with Dutch subtitles that is worth watching. This stunning video took...
- 4 weeks of prep
- 4 days of shooting
- 20 “animators”
- 288,000 tea lights!
Rather than linking a low-res Youtube version, I found a larger quicktime link below.
Happy New Year!
>> Don't forget to subscribe to my blog so you will know when I update next >
click here!
by Michael Novelli | December 16 2008 11:03 AM
This weekend, I had a great time meeting with the junior high group from
Church of the Resurrection in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Bret Crull and a great team of volunteers lead this group.
Their church is Anglican, and I though they did a wonderful job of incorporating some of their distinctives into this junior high learning session. As the students and leaders entered the room, they were given a small wooden cross necklace to wear during the duration of the class. This is to signify our time together as being set apart. A small altar was set-up with a special chair for the storyteller, plus some colorful rugs added around the room to provide some esthetic vibe to the space. (see image) I really appreciated the thought and creativity put into this, especially since these items had to be set-up and torn down right away (they meet in a public high school).
Our review time was guided by hand-made collages created for each of the stories they’d covered thus far. The students loved this! Before the storytelling began, a candle was lit and placed in the center of the room and we were led in a breathing prayer to help us slow down and focus. Brett did a great job telling the story of the Judges. Then Christie, a volunteer, led us in a review exercise called Pows and Wows. This was a great activity, and led very well. In fact, I liked it so much I’ve put it on my
Ideas list!
Following the review, I guided the students through a dialogue time. I had to make some quick adjustments, as I was amazed at the amount of detail these students remembered. It almost seemed like they did not miss a detail in the story. One of the guys even mentioned the Judge whose name sounds like Oatmeal! (Othniel)! So I skipped a lot of the
“remembering” questions I was going to ask, and went right to wondering and observing questions. They responded well. It is a very thoughtful group of students who seem to want to learn. As with most all junior high groups, they girls were way more engaged and insightful than the boys in the discussion.
This storying experience encouraged me to incorporate more time to “create” for the students during review and retelling. It also challenged me to not skim over the review times, and allow more time for my groups to see the connecting threads in the stories.
Needless to say I was inspired by Brett and the youth leaders from Church of the Rez. After the class I had lunch with them – some yummy bean soup and grilled cheese Brett’s wife made! We had a great conversation about the nuances of storying, and how it needs to be adjusted and tinkered with to reach junior highers who are just emerging into abstract thought. Their passion for the story, and initiative to try new ideas is contagious! Thanks Brett!
by Michael Novelli | December 11 2008 12:27 PM
A few years ago I stitched together this narrative about the Birth of Jesus. Click on the links to download a pdf with dialogue questions or an mp3 audio. Peace to you during this season of hope and anticipation.
JesusBirth.pdf
JesusBirth.mp3
by Michael Novelli | December 09 2008 11:49 AM
I am really excited about the new
YS Oneday focused youth ministry training (formerly called Core). Not just because I really like the people that lead Youth Specialties, but because I think the workshop is really good. And they are being led by gifted presenters who care about youth workers.
Ok... I need to come clean... I wrote one of the sessions for this! ! Yeah, this is a bit of self-promotion. Here is the basic schedule: (can you guess which session I wrote?!)
SCHEDULE ( typcally 8:45am-2:30pm on Saturdays)
Session 1: The Word is More than Words
The bible is the living and active word of God. It has authority, power and value in the lives of youth workers and students
Session 2: Digging Deeper: Uncovering the Riches of Scripture
Digging deep into the word doesn’t have to be daunting or overwhelming. There are tools and techniques that anyone can use to understand the bible, apply it to their own lives and teach it to the students in their ministry.
Break
Session 3: Chronological Bible Storying: Leading Students into a Fresh Encounter with God’s Word
For thousands of years, stories were the key means for Jewish and Christian people to learn and experience God. Help students to enter into the entire panorama of God’s story
Lunch/Dinner
Session 4: Ideas, Ideas, Ideas: More Ways for your Students to Experience Scripture
The bible is not simply a school book, a text book, or an encyclopedia. The bible is a life book, with deep implications for our lives. We desire to help students experience the Word, not just hear it and we’ve collected hundreds of practical tools and ideas to help you do just that.
Check
HERE to find a location near you this spring!
by Michael Novelli | November 30 2008 09:09 PM
In the last year my family and I have begun to explore the rich traditions of the christian calendar. We are grateful to be a part of a congregation whose worship and celebration connect to the historical practices of the Church.
This is a first for us... we both were not a part of homes or congregations in the past that honored the christian calendar. So we feel a bit like we have just opened a door to a entirely new world of possibility in our faith, and we are learning and soaking in the beauty and mystery of these practices.
Today we began our celebration of Advent. Our pastor, Joel Kline from the
Highland Avenue Church of the Brethren, did a wonderful job of leading us toward thoughtful reflection this morning. I loved how he lit the first Advent candle with children from the congregation, and took time to explain to them the true meaning of this season.
For years I have struggled with getting caught up in the business of the season... in the gift buying, party planning, and travel plans. I have desperately needed a structure or rhythm to help me slow down and focus on the significance of Jesus’ birth.
Advent is a word that means "coming" or "visit”. At certain times each day my family will be taking a few minutes to slow down, share, pray, read and reflect. Each week we will light a candle symbolizing an aspect of Jesus incarnation: hope, peace, joy, and love. These special activities will remind us of how Jesus’ entered our world, showed us a new way of living, and continues to indwell our lives.
Here are some of the resources that are helping us in our journey:
TOGETHER WITH MY FAMILY (MY WIFE AND 3-YEAR-OLD)
Advent Guide from author Mark Roberts
Advent Nativity Book from Usborne Publishing
WITH MY WIFE AND ON MY OWN:
Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri J.M. Nouwen
Daily Readings from Mars Hill Church
Lily Lewin’s Blog
Please share how your family and faith community celebrate Advent!
by Michael Novelli | November 21 2008 10:37 AM
I am in Nashville for Youth Specialties'
National Youth Workers Convention. Above is a picture from my hotel room – not a great photo, but you get the idea.
On Saturday I will be leading a session for youth leaders called
Shaped by the Story that will be an interactive workshop exploring Bible storying and interactive learning.
It should be fun!
Here is a link to download the handout for the workshop (requires login):
Nashville Workshop. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the resource list to find it. This handout is somewhat different than the one I used at the convention in Pittsburgh.
If you are able to attend this workshop, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!
by Michael Novelli | November 18 2008 09:16 PM
At a recent conference in Dallas I met Bryan Thompson, a great guy who runs a ministry called
Story4All. Bryan and I immediately connected because of similar interests – using story to reach younger generations – and a similar sense of humor! Story4all is based in Ireland and is part of a growing network of believers throughout the world who are committed to bringing the Story of God to all peoples through oral and visual mediums. This amazing ministry connects people from every continent to Bible Storying through resources and a stellar weekly podcast!
Bryan just posted part of an interview I did with him
HERE.
I don't know if I will ever like the sound of my own voice, but hopefully it encourages you!
