WHAT: Story Exchange on Faith
WHO: Anyone willing to share their story
WHEN: Saturday, January 21, 2023
TIME: 1 to 3 p.m.
WHERE: Opelousas Museum, 315 N Main St., Opelousas, LA 70570
CONTACT: Patrice Melnick 337-948-2589; museum@cityofopelousas.com
On Saturday, January 21, you are invited to participate in a Story Exchange that centers on faith. The purpose of this story exchange is to promote interfaith relationships and build connections between community members of different faiths. It is a great opportunity to meet new people who live in your own community.
The program takes place at the Opelousas Museum from 1 to 3 p.m. and will be facilitated by Jahi Mackey of Narrative 4. The process entails sharing stories in pairs, and then retelling each other’s stories to the group. There is room for twelve participants. Sign up by sending your request to museum@cityofopelousas.com or 337-948-2589. Everyone is welcome from mature pre-teens to adults of all ages.
The session is a follow up to “An Imam, a Priest and a Rabbi,” that takes place two days earlier.
Narrative 4 is a global nonprofit organization that envisions a world where community and civic engagement replace loneliness and isolation, and where people meet each other with curiosity, not animosity. The organization’s core methodology, the story exchange, is designed to help people understand that their voices, stories, actions, and lives matter, and that they have the power to change, rebuild and revolutionize systems.
STORY EXCHANGE: The process is simple but profound: people partner up, tell one another a true story from their life, listen deeply to each other, and then retell the other’s story using first-person (“I”) pronouns as if their partner’s story were actually their own. Here’s a video of what a story exchange looks like in real-time.
To learn more about Narrative 4 and our work, visit www.narrative4.com!
Jahi Mackey is the Southeast Regional Manager for Narrative 4, a global nonprofit organization that envisions a world where community and civic engagement replace loneliness and isolation, and where people meet each other with curiosity, not animosity. The organization’s core methodology, the story exchange, is designed to help people understand that their voices, stories, actions, and lives matter, and that they have the power to change, rebuild and revolutionize systems. He is a native and resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He graduated from the University of New Orleans with a BA in International Studies and from the School of International Training Graduate Institute with a Master of Arts in Intercultural Service Leadership and Management. In addition to Narrative 4, he is the Founder and Director of The 821 Project, a southeast Louisiana-based organization promoting global citizenship in the region and beyond.
FMI: Patrice Melnick 337-948-2589; museum@cityofopelousas.com
