Faith Stories Project

Everything that lives has a story to tell, but not every story has a chance to be told.

Click her to see a video of the 2006 FSP in Guatemala.

2008 Update

LFL's Guatemalan partners share first ever public performance


What is the Faith Stories Project About?
The object of this project is to empower women in the church in Guatemala and in the US by artistically exploring the complexities of how faith affects women's lives. The project will provide a space where women can share their faith stories and participate in the creation of a theatre piece based on their stories. It will provide mutual support and encouragement, build self-esteem, and create a sense of community for women in the church in both countries as we struggle to tear down barriers and explore how we are more alike than different.

Project History
Looking for Lilith's Community Outreach Director, Jennifer Thalman, spent the 2003-2004 season living in a remote village in Guatemala. She worked with women within the Presbyterian Church to help them develop literacy and leadership skills. During her time in this small community, Jennifer was inspired by the women's struggle to find roles of leadership within their churches in a society that values "machismo", and often overlooks the value of the feminine. She began to realize the value that sharing stories had for these women. After returning from Guatemala, Jennifer shared the stories she learned in Guatemala at churches in the US. She was surprised at how many women here identified with the issues facing the Guatemalan women and expressed their own frustrations as women in the church. Looking for Lilith became interested in the common themes among the women from two very different places. They were inspired to create this project, including women from the United States and Guatemala, to facilitate a cross-cultural sharing and a global community of support for all women as they struggle for full participation within their faith communities and within their society.

Progress of Project

In August, 2005 LFL artists made our first trip to Guatemala. We worked with several groups of women conducting workshops. We listened to their stories and using basic theatre skills gave them the opportunity to share their stories with each other.
In summer 2006 we spent 6 weeks in Guatemala expanding the previous years work, giving more women the opportunity to participate. This trip was funded in part by generous grants from Presbyterian Church (USA) Presbyterian Women's Thank Offering and the Fund for Theological Education.
In summer 2007 we spent 2 weeks in Guatemala refining the skills the women had learned in previous workshops. At their request we began to work with them so that they could become facilitators of their own workshops giving the experience of sharing stories to even more women. It was very exciting to see them take ownership of the project and work on their own to expand it in their own communities.

LFL is proud to announce that on July 8th, LFL's Guatemala partners shared their first ever public performance!! On July LFL artists, Jennifer Thalman Kepler and Trina Fisher traveled to Guatemala for 8 days. The trip was scaled back from the planned three weeks due to inadequate funding. Despite this challenge, the trip was a huge success.

LFL hosted a four-day retreat, bringing together two groups of women from different sides of the country. The participants worked together to create a 40-minute play using Bible stories about strong women and stories from their own lives. This play was performed for an attentive audience of 40 people at a local church. These women have been working with LFL for 5 summers, building confidence, a sense of community as well as their storytelling and theatre skills. When the project started, the women never imagined they would perform in public. Through their dedication and courage and LFL's determined and patient guidance, the women were able to accomplish this success.

What is next for the Project?

With the success of the first phase of the project, manifested in this summer's perfomance in Guatemala, we are ready to move to the next phase of the project. The second phase of the project has two parts.

Part One is to meet with groups of women in the United States to share this project and to encourage groups to participate in retreats and workshops here to learn the same skills that the Guatemalan women are learning. An eventual goal of this phase of the project includes a trip to Guatemala to share with the Guatemalan women. These workshops also help to financially support the Guatemalan women's part in the project.

Part Two grows out of an exciting development this summer. Our Guatemalan partners, the Sinodica, have taken even further ownership of the project by taking on project planning responsibilities. The Sinodica has invited LFL to be a part of their long-term plans. They were able to articulate three goals for our partnership.

1. Expanding the number of women impacted by the project through artistic training as well as workshop planning and facilitation training for the organizations regional leaders.
2. Continued artistic training and more public performances through the creation of a theatre company.
3. Exchange with women from the USA who have participated in this project with the eventual dream of coming to the USA to perform.

Our longterm goal is to create a professionally devised and performed bilingual play giving all of these women's stories a chance to be told.

We are anxious to continue the project and work with our Guatemalan partners for another series of workshops. However, we have used all of the money from the earlier grants and both of them were one time only grants. We continue to pursue other grant possiblilites. But grants are not certain and we are seeking donations from other organizations and our generous supporters to help us continue this project.

How can you help?

LFL is committed to working with the Sinodica to accomplish these goals. However, we will need considerable financial support to achieve them. Here are three ways you can help.

1. Attend or host a Faith Stories Project - USA workshop or retreat. (see below)
2. Consider increasing your annual donation.
3. Ask your interested friends, workplace, church or other community organization to consider sponsoring a portion of the project.

FSP-USA

This fall LFL will kick-off the Faith Stories Project USA (FSP-USA), an extension of our on-going project in Guatemala. This project allows women in both countries to share their faith journeys with one another. It also provides and opportunity for women to explore their creative voices by working together to create scenes of each other stories. Participating women may have the opportunity to travel to Guatemala to meet and work with our partners there. Proceeds from the FSP-USA workshops will help fund FPS-Guatemala.

This season LFL will also host several one-day “Taste of the Faith Stories Project” workshops in both Louisville and the Washington DC Metro Area. Dates will be announced on our website. LFL is also offering half day and full day workshops as well as weekend retreats to faith institutions and women's groups. We are excited to work with women of any faith tradition.

If you are interested in hosting a workshop or making a donation, please contact the Faith Stories Project Director, Jennifer Thalman Kepler at 540-664-8779 or jennifer@lookingforlilith.org