Churches...

The sun streamed through century-old stained glass to give a majestic aura to the nave of St. Peter's Church. Jane Cunningham sat on the steps leading through the choir to the altar and gathered the children around her for the Easter story.

The kids all new "Miss Jane" well, from their weekly visit in children's church, but this was a first for the adults. As she told the story of Easter, the audience was spellbound. The children's rapt faces looked up, as then Rector Bob Beeland watched from his seat above in the glow of the multicolored light.  Nobody knows how scary a peaceful scene like that can be.

"It was the scariest thing I had ever done" Jane recalls. "I was accustomed to telling stories to children, but I had never been in front of such a big crowd of adults."

Nervous as she was, Jane was energized by the experience. "There was magic in it. I had done theater and other things, but nothing compared with telling the Easter story on that morning."

Jane began first assisting and then leading the children's church service at St Peter's when her children were young. It became her training ground as a storyteller as week after week she shared Bible stories with the children. That experience lead to the Easter morning epiphany as she felt the magic of storytelling take hold.

"Jane guides her audience along with inflection and gestures both subtle and grand into a world of stories where the written world cannot tread."—Father Frank Logue, King of Peace Church, Kingsland, GA

Leading Children's Church and telling Bible stories weekly at St. Peter's Episcopal Church proved to be a "training ground" for Miss Jane's work as a professional Storyteller in churches.

Miss Jane has broadened her education in Church Ministry by

• Completing a two year Spiritual Foundation Program sponsored by Omega Point and the Episcopal Dioceses of Atlanta
• Succeeding in the completion of the program of Theological Education by Extension Education for Ministry as provided and administered by the School of Theology, the University of the South, Sewanee, TN
• Training to be a mentor for Education for Ministry groups sponsored by the University of the South's School of Theology,
• Attending a weekly Bible study
• Mentoring a weekly prayer group
• Participating in retreats for spiritual formation

Stories most asked for by church groups

• Getting Saved
• A Baptizing
• Walking Across the Street from the Baptist Church to the Episcopal Church
• Hear God Call Your Name

Stories just for the young ones

• The Christmas Story
• The Easter Story
• A variety of Bible stories, folktales and legends

Workshops can be tailored for

• Learning to tell stories
• Collecting ones own stories
• Building community between different generations in a church family.