Boldy Went is a storytelling organization that has been traveling the PNW for the past few years, hosting events where locals can tell their adventure stories. Ordinary people get to share their stories, whether they are life-or-death, or life-changing, or memorable for a mishap or a new courage. Stories are a max of ten minutes, and some are incorporated into Boldly Went’s podcast. They are seriously fun events!! Stories can connect people in powerful ways, which is why organizations like Boldly Went do what they do, and why we focus on stories so much at Echoes.

THIS WEEK, on Thursday, Nov. 14th, from 7-9pm, Boldly Went is hosting their second storytelling event in Bellingham! Tickets are $5-$15, and the sales go toward producing the podcast. Any additional contributions during their tour will go toward the Youth Experiential Training Institute, the recipient of the Great Outdoors Youth Advocacy Award from Bellingham’s own Recreation Northwest! Location is the ever-popular Boundary Bay Brewery, specifically in the Mountain Room. Get your tickets and either work on a story to tell, or support others who will share boldly.

In May, 2018, Boldly Went hosted their first-ever Bellingham-based storytelling event. It turned out to be a monumental occasion for Charis, the person who started Echoes (the funky, experimental church that hosts the blog you’re reading right now).

Charis’ side of things: (You can read Emma’s perspective here)

I’ve been an avid follower of the Moth and of other storytelling podcasts, so I was super pumped to come across the Facebook post for the Boldly Went event. Maybe I’d get to tell a story! Although I’m fairly reserved by nature, I do actually like to tell stories and observe the reactions of people listening. But would my name get chosen? I didn’t know, but I put it on my calendar, and prepared a story anyway.

The venue was the Honey Moon Cider House. A sizeable group had shown up for this inaugural event, which was super encouraging in terms of supporting storytelling, but also reduced the chances of one’s name being selected to tell a story. All of the storytellers names are put into a bag and drawn randomly. Because names are drawn on a rolling basis – a new name is drawn right after a story is told – if your name is drawn there isn’t much time to collect your nerves before you’re on.

It already takes a bit of hutzpah to add one’s name to the bag, but to be the first name drawn? That’s always more than a bit intimidating as that person will be the one to set the stage for the whole evening.

I missed the name of the first speaker. She walked to the microphone with quite a lot of poise, I thought, for someone who was just super surprised to have her name called first from of a pile of paper slips. Bellingham had never witnessed a Boldly Went event, and this person was the first-ever to share a story!

She told of a solo hike to a beautiful lake. I can’t recall many of the details, but I do remember my head snapping back when she mentioned that she was a pastor, and during this hike she was wondering about her future as a pastor. I won’t ruin the remarkable, beautiful story with spoilers (here’s the link to listen), but I will say that I sat there, supremely impressed by her storytelling skills, her courage to share her vocation with a non-churchy crowd, and dumbfounded that I didn’t know her! Who was this female pastor? Bellingham is not that big, and there aren’t that many women pastors, especially younger women pastors, so Who? Was? She? I needed to know. Meeting her became my biggest priority.

First, though, was waiting through the rest of the event to see if my name was called. It came down to the last story. I so, so wanted to share the misadventure of my friend Karyn and I canoeing on the Chattooga River, and my heart almost stopped as the LAST…name…was drawn...and…it…was….me! This particular story (listen with this link) is ridiculously funny, and it was satisfying to watch and hear the enjoyment of the crowd as they paddled along with me in this story of poor decisions, inadequate skill, and awkward professions of love from a smitten canoe seller.

The crowd was generous with their laughs, and I sat down, jittery with post-story excitement, but also aware that the event was ending, and I HAD to find that first story-teller! But where was she? I couldn’t see her, and the venue is not that big. All of a sudden it felt a little Cinderella-like – where could she have gone? I didn’t even have her name!

It turned out that someone I knew at the event was good friends with her, who I now knew was named Emma. Emma. I had to meet Emma. I wasn’t exactly sure why it felt so important other than she seemed super cool and I wanted to be friends. And then, a few months later, Echoes had a new vision of creating a collaborative structure and we needed three other pastors to help lead this church plant. Emma was the first one I thought about, and she was the first one to say yes.

So I can say without reservation that Boldly Went increases and deepens community. This is what storytelling does, and it’s why we major in stories at Echoes. From the incredibly meaningful stories we hear each month at ‘Hamster Church, to stories shared at Pub Church, to story exploration at Creative Church, to indwelling the stories of our spiritual connection with God, the created world, and each other at Indoor and Wild Church, there can’t be enough emphasis placed on the value of telling stories.

Echoes has been imminently blessed with Emma’s presence, as have I. Who would’ve known that a storytelling event could do so much? Boldly Went is hosting another one in a few weeks. Echoes even gets to be a co-host! I wonder might happen at that one? Want to put your name in the hat to share a story and see what unfolds?

Emma’s: https://www.boldlywentadventures.com/93-on-love-and-landscape.html

Charis’: https://www.boldlywentadventures.com/86-canoe-stories.html