Prophets Stories
A resource which enables groups of “every day” Muslim and Christian people to talk about what we understand about God, through the listening of and telling of the same prophet's story from both the Qur'an and the Bible.
A resource which enables groups of “every day” Muslim and Christian people to talk about what we understand about God, through the listening of and telling of the same prophet's story from both the Qur'an and the Bible.
‘Women are ‘burdened’ with the responsibility of the preservation of tradition, (and, by implication, faith in the community)’
Gathering a group of local women, from the Muslim and Christian communities, who would value the opportunity to listen to stories from their own faith traditions. Recognizing and valuing each other as women of faith and finding encouragement in their endeavour to seek God’s ways for themselves and for their families.
This method of dialoguing at grass-roots level was first developed and delivered in 2012 in the context of a group of local women living side by side in the community in a multi-ethnic area of a city in the Uk where there is a strong Muslim presence. It builds on relationships forged through interaction with each other as neighbours and at community events and venues. Faith is often spoken of in these contexts but there is lack of time and space for this to be explored together in any depth. We liked being together, we had a lot of fun together but there was a lot of ignorance and many misconceptions regarding the other’s faith belief and practice.
“Do Christians pray, then?”
“I didn’t know Muslims knew anything about Jesus!”
“I wish we had time to talk about these things together” following a conversation on the value of prayer in one’s life.
“What do Christians believe happens after death?” following the news that the mother of one of our group had died.
“I have no idea what’s in the Bible/Qur’an.”
This dialogue activity involves making our way together through a series of the Prophet’s Stories over a period of 12 sessions. As the group is led through an exploration of themes presented by the accounts of selected prophets, common to both Bible and Qur’an, information is shared and understanding of the other is deepened. Together we learn how these stories teach us about God and what they have to say to us today.
Commonalities are discovered and differences revealed. These differences are not overlooked; rather, their presence helps to explain what is distinctive in our different faiths, and serve to both challenge and encourage us in our individual and collective faith journeys. Myths about ‘the other’ are dismantled, fear and suspicion turn to love and respect, deep things are shared, new insights gained and strong bonds are developed.
The training is in the form of a day workshop in the UK or for those in countries beyond the UK it is possible to attend a condensed training in webinar form.
We look at the ethos of the ‘hospitality of God’ around which the resource is based - hospitality of listening to each other’s story. We also consider ways in which to model and encourage this ethos within a group or community setting by exploring and suggesting ways in which trust can be built. There are plenty of practical opportunities to look at the resources themselves and to consider both questions which might be posed and how the Stories can be conveyed within a group setting.
This manual sets out session outlines with suggested ‘starters’ and ‘finishers’ appropriate to each week’s story; a session plan which gives a suggested running order and a story outline with a range of visuals and prompts to be used. Recognizing that group dynamics vary in different contexts it is not meant to be prescriptive, but is offered as a possible way of delivery
Jan has a long experience of cross-cultural living and interaction both overseas and in the UK with nearly 20 years’ experience of teaching English amongst refugees in the Uk . She is interested in the whole area of how ‘conversational spaces’ can be convened with those in culturally and socially diverse situations. How do we ensure accessibility? Can intentional conversational spaces be transformative for all involved? And to what extent can we see conversation as a deeply contextual and radically hospitable approach to mission?