The Mentorship
The mentorship in sacred storytelling is a non-literalist metaphorical approach to the art and ministry of sacred storytelling. It combines one-to-one tutorial work with Dr. Robert Bela Wilhelm as mentor, and options for small-group learning online or at a residential site.
There are four areas of concentration: (1) Biblical Storytelling, (2) Liturgical Storytelling, and (3) Spiritual Storytelling Disciplines, and (4) Ethnic & Geographic Storytelling Traditions (for details, see below.)
Requirements are completion of 7 seminars of your choice from a mix of residential seminars, online seminars, and one-to-one tutorials. Each seminar involves between 15 and 30 hours -- direct instruction or background preparation. No seminar has prerequisites and can be taken in any order over any period of time.
Some Learning Options
"Storytelling as Sacred Art" is a five-day residential seminar focusing on the essence of sacred storytelling in its spirituality and technique. It can also be conducted as a one-to-one online tutorial.
"Master Class" is a five-day small-group residential seminar in which participants bring stories they would like to master, in both their understanding and in crafting the tales for telling. It can also be conducted as a one-to-one online tutorial.
"Tutorial" is a one-to-one tutorial with Robert Bela Wilhelm scheduled over a period of months that includes background work of recording your storytellings in your ministerial or educational settings. Format is either Skype or Face-Time, plus you must be able to make audio or video recordings of your on-site work to share with your mentor.
All Seminars can be conducted as onsite residencies, online seminars, or online tutorials. Here they are grouped according to concentration. Two seminars in a concentration area certify you in that area. It is possible to be certified in one, two, three or four areas. (However, to be certified in all three or four areas, you will need to take one additional elective seminars.)
Biblical Storytelling
The Four Gospels (in General), A Specific Gospel, The Epistles and the Acts, Revelations, Hebrew Scripture (in General), Book of Genesis, Book of Exodus. Kings and Prophets of Israel, Wisdom Literature, The Apocrypha, & Special Studies in Biblical Storytelling*
Liturgical Storytelling
Advent, Christmas to Twelfth Night, Lent, Holy Week & Easter, Eastertide to Pentecost, Specific Feasts in the Eastern and Western Churches, & Special Studies in Liturgical Storytelling*
Spiritual Storytelling Disciplines
Franciscan stories and spirituality, Celtic stories and spirituality, Byzantine stories, icons and spirituality, Abrahamic stories and spirituality (includes Sufi Muslim, Hassidic Jewish, and Christian desert and forest abbas and ammas stories and spirituality) & Special Studies in Spiritual Storytelling Disciplines*
Ethnic & Geographic Storytelling Traditions
A focus on sacred storytelling traditions in ethnic communities in America, and geographic areas around the world. (Some examples: Hispanic, African-American, Asian, Arabic, Native American) And, Special Studies in [specific] Storytelling Traditions*
*Special Studies are topics chosen and defined by the student.
