Story and photos by Beth Farias

You can learn a lot about a person in just three to five minutes. Our words, when spoken in our own voice, are incredibly demonstrative of who we are. They reveal our personality, what is important to us, and what we believe. They unveil our essence. They share our story.

When many individual stories are layered on top of one another and woven into worship, they combine to tell the story of a church community. They reveal the church’s personality, what is important to it, and what it believes. They unveil its essence. They share its story. And furthermore, they demonstrate specifically how God moves within that particular community.

This summer, Friendship Presbyterian Church in Chicago has written and recorded our individual faith stories in the style of a “This I Believe” essay in order to tell our collective faith story in worship. All 60 members have been invited to participate, and almost half of us have completed essays. It’s been a sacred, and illuminating, process.

A draft of church member's essay — A draft of church member’s essay

“This I Believe” is a public dialogue about individual belief that was started in the 1950s by journalist Edward R. Murrow. It was created to help America move from superficial sound bites into real, meaningful conversation about belief. Its format is short, three- to five-minute audio essays, which are aired on various shows on NPR.

Friendship’s essays were completed more or less communally. We started with writing workshops, where we listened to the seeds of our stories. We shared drafts, edited them, and shared them again. A few weeks later, we held audio recording sessions at a local library to get the stories on record. They were then edited, curated and presented, one at a time, over several months in worship.

Audio as a creative medium
Audio is a unique medium for creative expression. It’s different than simply reading words on a page, or hearing a sermon performed live in worship. Because audio is not visual, it allows the listener to enter into a quiet moment, to go inside, and meditate on the world that the essayist has created. When you remove visual distractions such as appearance, mannerisms and dress, you pare down to just two illuminating aspects of the essay: the author’s words and the author’s voice.

First, you have the author’s voice. Each person’s voice is as individual as a thumbprint. It is surprisingly full and revealing. Each voice has a unique cadence, tenor and sound. You can even tell approximately how old a person is by his or her voice. Does she sound like a 1940s movie star? Or does his voice vibrate with the distinctive vocal fry of the current generation?

Each voice is emotive and informs the listener of key aspects of the author’s personality. Is the author speaking softly, or projecting loudly? Is the essay rapid and full of information, or slow and meditative? Does he or she have an accent that announces a particular geographical history?

When a person addresses a situation that is meaningful to them, the voice changes accordingly. When discussing an issue of some seriousness, the voice dips or gets caught in the throat. It can shake, or get very quiet. When relating a joyful story, the voice gets louder and more full. Laughter bubbles to the surface. You can hear a smile. This is partially why some people do not like to listen to their own voices. We betray more about ourselves than we realize simply by the sound of our voice.

Secondly, in an audio essay, you have the author’s words. As previously mentioned, you can learn a great deal about a person in only three to five minutes. What belief did this person choose, and what does it say about their faith? Is the person more religious, or more spiritual? What story did they select to tell to illustrate this belief? Is it about a traumatic event in his or her life, or a simple moment that stuck with them and informed their future decisions? What precise words did the author choose, and how do they color the essay?

Audio is the perfect creative medium to use to weave the faith stories of church members into worship. It is quiet, and meditative, and full of information. Through it, you can better understand God’s existence within your community in clear and profound ways.

Emily Sutton prepares to record her essay

Why do it?
Why should a church consider doing an audio project in the style of “This I Believe”?

To hear our stories — Our stories are messy, joyful, painful and beautiful. They offer us the chance to listen to one another, to connect as individuals and to enter into sacred space with one another. They allow us to be vulnerable, and to be present to one another in our vulnerability. They permit us to go beyond the simple niceties of small talk, and discuss what is elemental to ourselves and our faith. They cut to the chase, get to the good stuff, help us know and love one another.
To hear from members from whom we would have not otherwise heard — We become familiar with a certain set of voices each week in service. This doesn’t mean that there are not important thoughts happening under the surface within members who are less likely to share them. This project reveals beauty beyond what is evident on a regular Sunday morning. What weight are our members carrying around on their shoulders, and weighing them down? What theological content is important to them? How does their faith hold them up amidst the heaviness of the human experience? Why are they in church? This project shows us why in ways that we might not have had access to otherwise.
To build community — This project isn’t about a single person’s process or performance. It is about the collection of voices that make up our community. It is about the information that we learn about one another that lets us into each other’s lives, and ultimately builds us up in new ways. We turn the spotlight on each member and see them. Listen to them. Learn from them. Take a moment to hold them up and appreciate them for who they are. It gives us the chance to appreciate each of us in all of our fullness, in all of our complexity, through our struggles and triumphs, grief and joy.
To grow in our faith — This process helps us look at our individual beliefs, and over the course of the few months that we’ve done this in worship, bring them into sharper focus. With each encounter with the divine told, we learn a little bit about God and God’s real work in our lives.

God isn’t some abstract collection of words on a page, or a complicated philosophical concept. God is specific; living in specific people, at a specific time, in a specific space. God is present in our specific stories, and we’ve heard about God’s presence in our community in a whole new way through this project. It’s unendingly valuable. It’s like having a time capsule of this congregation, at this place, in this time. It’s what we believe.

BETH FARIAS is a recent convert to the PC(USA). She worships at Friendship Presbyterian Church in Chicago.