“Stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize.”
— Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian author
Throughout human history, people have told stories to make meaning of the world around them, to create and nurture bonds with one another, and to shape the ways in which they engage with the natural world.
At a time when the crises we face are myriad and the structures we once thought stable are crumbling, storytelling offers us a powerful practice for slowing down, for paying deep attention, and for recognizing and honoring the dignity and wisdom held within each of us. In times such as these, imagination is a superpower and a lifeline to a world of healing, wholeness, and kinship.
So it is precisely in these moments of rupture that we must summon the courage to tell our stories and to find inspiration and strengthen solidarity in receiving the stories of others.
We invite you to join us for Convocation 2025 — Flipping the Script: Claiming Our Voices, Telling Our Stories, where we will gather for two days of deep practice, listening, sharing, and storytelling. While we have valued the amazing contributions of past keynote speakers, we know everyone has profound wisdom to share, and we are choosing to amplify your voices and stories this year. Convocation 2025 will be filled with opportunities for each of us to deepen our connection with one another by sharing meaningful personal stories — casually during sessions and more formally as presenters.
Although our story submission deadline has passed, we hope you will join us as an attendee at Convocation 2025 to be part of the collective conversation. As Bayo Akomolafe, philosopher, poet, and the Executive Director for The Emergence Network says: “Storytelling and story listening are not two different things.” We are all part of the ecology of stories that shape us!
Register now to join us for Convocation 2025. Over the course of two days — Thursday and Friday, October 16 and 17 — we will gather to deepen our wisdom through listening and sharing, to celebrate the gifts of community, and to find respite and renewal. Gathering in the spirit of friendship, seeking nourishment in spiritual practice, and committed to paths of honesty and vulnerability, together we will explore what it means to live, love, and lead in a climate-changed world.
As always, Convocation 2025 will include music, poetry, and ritual; plenary sessions and small-group conversation; opportunities to engage with nature; and contemplative practice. We hope you will join us!
We are also pleased to offer our Online Companions Track, with exclusive online content and community, for those unable to travel to Maine.
Held annually, continuously since 1905, Convocation is a legacy program of Bangor Theological Seminary, predecessor to The BTS Center. We are delighted to carry on this tradition, 120 years in the making, drawing upon the enduring wisdom of the generations of leaders who have come before us while honestly engaging the challenges of the present day and courageously orienting ourselves to the future.
Find more information and register at thebtscenter.org
Also check out other Arts events in Hallowell, Literary Art events in Hallowell, Workshops in Hallowell.
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