African-American Stories, Storytelling Instruction and Seminars, Biblical Stories; Retreats for Deacons and Wives, Parish Retreats and Days of Reflection; Workshops for Lectors and catechumens; Homiletics, Stories in Preaching, Schools.

Introduction:

My early years in South Carolina with my grandmother introduced me to storytelling. I spent many hours listening to her stories. Many of the stories she told were about family members and residents of the small town in which we lived. Some were humorous and usually contained a moral or a lesson of some kind. I tend to tell the same kinds of stories.

I believe strongly in the power of stories. They have a way of putting people at ease. Stories help us to answer three very important questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? and Where Am I Going?

Towards the end of my service as a Federal Civil Service employee, in 1987, I was ordained as a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church. I am now employed by the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta as the Director of Deacon Personnel. That has been my occupation since October, 1990. Prior to that I was an unpaid director for 2½ years.

As a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church I use stories in my ministry of preaching, teaching and reaching out to others. I have been telling stories all my life, though I didn’t become professionally involved in storytelling until after my ordination to the Diaconate. I saw storytelling and storytelling techniques as a way of bringing my homilies alive and making them more meaningful to the congregation.

Diaconate:

Ordained to the Diaconate on May 23, 1987 in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and assigned to the parish of Saints Peter and Paul in Decatur.

Appointed as the first full-time director of the Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in October, 1990. Prior to that time served 2½ years as a volunteer director, beginning in May, 1988.

Served as president-elect, president and past president of the National Diaconate Institute for Continuing Education (NDICE).

Served as president-elect, president and past president of the National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD). Recipient of that organization’s two highest awards: The Bart O’Leary Award for “outstanding service to the Diaconate” and the William Philbin Award “in recognition of his leadership to the quality and growth of the Diaconate.”

Also received a special recognition award from NADD “in gratitude for his leadership and dedicated service on the Executive Board 2002-2005.”

Convention Co-chair of the NADD annual convention held in Atlanta in 1997.

Founding member of the National Association of African-American Catholic Deacons (NAAACD).

Retired from the position of Director of Deacon Personnel for the Archdiocese of Atlanta in December, 2005. Currently holds the title of Director Emeritus.

Retreats:

I regularly lead retreats and days of reflections in the Atlanta area and in other places around the country, particularly for Diaconate Programs. I have given retreats for Diaconate programs in Nashville, Tennessee; Grand Rapids and Lansing, Michigan; Columbus, Ohio; Boise, Idaho and Davenport, Iowa. Storytelling is an integral part of these retreats and days of reflections.

The retreat format generally consists of an opening prayer or hymn for each talk. This is followed by a passage from scripture, a story, short lecture and reflection. Time is allowed for the participants to reflect on what has been said. The number of talks per day is flexible.

Some retreat titles are: “Jesus the Light Giver,” “Praying with the Saints,” “A Walk with Jesus: From the Desert to Emmaus,” “God’s Amazing Grace - It Blooms Everywhere,” “Faith,” and “Hope."

Other professional work includes an article on telling the Saga of Joseph and His Brothers, the biblical story from the book of Genesis. The article appeared in a publication by the School of Sacred Storytelling: The Art of Biblical Storytelling: A Manual of Tools and Stories for the Journey, September 2000, Jemez Springs, NM.

Storytelling:

For five summers I conducted ten-hour seminars in storytelling at the University of Notre Dame in its Retreats International Summer Institute. Seminars ranged in size from five to about twenty persons. This course has also been presented to The Pastoral Ministry Formation program of the Department of Religious Education, Archdiocese of Atlanta.

The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with storytelling. The course is intended for anyone wishing to become acquainted with the storytelling art. It also contains lessons for the beginning and intermediate teller.

Material covered includes telling your own story, telling the family story, characteristics and laws of storytelling, the voice as the primary storytelling tool, sacred and biblical stories.

Another ten-hour seminar in storytelling is entitled “African and African-American Storytelling” presented at the School of Sacred Storytelling’s winter session in 2002 and Retreats International at Notre Dame in the summer of 2003.

This seminar is an overview of African and African-American Storytelling from biblical times to the present. The course is designed for educators of Black children, Black children, presenters of programs for Black History Month, Black storytellers and all others who are interested in African and African-American storytelling.

Subjects covered include Blacks in biblical literature, the African griots and griottes, African storytelling and its characteristics, Afro-Caribbean storytelling and modern day storytelling in the Black community.

I have also conducted seminars in storytelling techniques for preachers, for Dominican priests, and for deacons in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio. Again, during the course of these seminars I tell several stories.

I tell to all age groups, but prefer adults and young children. I am available anywhere in the United States and Canada, particularly on weekends.

FAVORITE STORIES

• Mrs. Pearl’s Dress: A humorous temptation story illustrating what can happen when we place ourselves in those “near occasions of sin.” 7-8 minutes.
• Reds: A childhood story about the love of two young boys for a pet rooster who thought he was a dog. 8-10 minutes.
• Uncle David’s Coat: An adaptation of an old story that has been around for many years. Another childhood story involving a favorite aunt and a very improbable “friend.” 10 -12 minutes.
• From St. Luke’s Gospel:
  “The Good Samaritan” - 5 minutes
  “The Prodigal Son” - 10 minutes.
  “Jesus’ visit to Martha and Mary.” - 3 minutes

Deacon Alfred Mitchell
Email: DcnAlfred875@bellsouth.net

Copyright © 2003-2006 Deacon Alfred Mitchell