Storytelling heals

I went back to the article "Breakfast with Tom" in the May 19 Sentinel as I was reading the second installment in the June 2 issue. While reading how Tom Boomershine discovered the storytelling aspect of the Gospels, my foot began to itch. This has been an ongoing problem. The irritation has been exceedingly painful, and sometimes I feel like crying inside. But I had been praying for some time to hear God's "angel" thoughts.

I took ideas from this article to tell myself the story of the leper who came to Jesus asking to be healed. I thought of this man wrapped in a blanket, feeling the pain and disease of his affliction. Trembling with the agitation of his discomfort, he sees Jesus approaching. There is a light coming from him. Not a blinding light, but a warm, comforting light.

How can I explain it? I think of a snowy night and a log cabin in the valley with all the windows lit. There is smoke coming from the chimney. The glow is one of warmth, comfort, and home. This is the kind of light I see coming from the man on the road. I know I have entered this circle of warm light when I fall to my face and ask for healing. I know I have come home.

Then I felt completely relaxed and the pain stopped. What an exciting way to approach the Bible stories! I want to do more of this.

Dorothy John Davis
Pahrump, Nevada

'A breakfast feast'

I am having a lovely Saturday morning made even lovelier and richer for the reading of the June 2 Sentinel ["Lives changed for the better"]. Every single article has reached a caliber of excellence that has moved me and enlightened me. I am so inspired by the discussions and ideas. It is a hearty spiritual breakfast feast to have with my morning tea.

On reading "A Gospel storyteller on a digital stage," by Warren Bolon, I am reminded that the churches in preliterate European societies used the images of stained glass and sculptures to tell the Bible stories and to reach people before the advent of print or at least the wide dissemination of printed materials. It makes perfect sense to use digital media today. I never thought I would be saying such a thing!

And the articles "Where does change come from?" by Annette Kreutziger-Herr and "Striving to know God better" by Jeremy Carper bring me to the point of extreme gratitude to the writers who have shared so generously of their "thought work." I find myself, while reading, saying, "Yes!" and "Oh, yes, I love this!"

Thank you for your work. It is indeed life-sustaining and enriching.

Katherine M. Ivy Ellis
Wiarton, Ontario, Canada

More on communicating in a digital age

Warren Bolon's article, "A Gospel storyteller on a digital stage" in the June 2 issue, sent sympathetic vibrations through my thought. As a church pianist, I have grown to appreciate the role of music in communicating spiritual ideas. Like the subject of the article, Tom Boomershine, I find spiritual liberation in African American music. The fresh style of jazz-gospel music stimulates me to find new messages in familiar words. When I have sprinkled this style among more traditional church music, others in the congregation have responded with enthusiastic appreciation.

David A. Cornell
Elsah, Illinois

Gifts

Imagine a mother's delight when a daughter and a son request gift subscriptions to the Sentinel. Feel the overwhelming thankfulness filling her heart as she obliges, knowing that should a light burn in their homes late in the night or before dawn, indicating that someone needs help, the Sentinel is there.

For every word, thanks a million.

Patricia Drysdale
Bourals, New South Wales
Australia

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