The Old and New Testaments begin with storytelling. In Genesis, after the world is created, and then destroyed, we embark on the story of some of the earliest ancestors of our faith – Sarah and Abraham, and the generations that follow. In the New Testament, we read extended stories about Jesus. In this workshop, Rev. Dr. Mary Donovan Turner, a retired professor of preaching, will explore questions such as: What makes story such a powerful vehicle for relating the sacred? Are all stories sacred – either because of their content or because of where and when we tell them? How are the stories important in our pastoral care and missional/ prophetic ministries? What are some of the dangers of storytelling in the church and in our preaching?  Rev. Dr. Mary Donovan Turner is a retired Professor of Preaching and Dean of the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA. She is the author of Saved From Silence: Finding Women’s Voice in Preaching; Old Testament Words; and The God We Seek. She also has lived and worked in Georgia, receiving her PhD in Old Testament Studies from Emory University, and serving as pastor in Brooks, GA and interim pastor in Warner Robins. Learn more about this workshop, which is part of Upgrade Thursdays, and get ZOOM link here.