Storytelling session at Southwell Minster showcases OutoftheBox movement's impact on all ages
A lunchtime story-telling session in the grounds of Southwell Minster showed the impact being made among people of all ages by a growing movement called OutoftheBox. Nottingham Hospital chaplain Monika Doering and director Kate Caroe gathered some children and adults from the Steel City Choristers to share the story “Being With” in the Bishop’s Palace gardens.
Monika said: “The story is about a person who builds something they are proud of which then collapses and how their friend tries to help them with their responses. We wondered about how the story made us feel and what that might mean for us: what we liked and didn’t like, what we felt drawn to and where we felt some resistance, and what the story reminded us of.”
OutoftheBox was developed by spiritual accompanier, Kathryn Lord and Kate Caroe in collaboration with other storytellers compelled by a desire to make reflective storytelling and play more widely available as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The stories are now in use in a range of settings including schools, care homes, workplaces, community groups, families, therapeutic settings and faith communities.
Kate Canoe says: “OutoftheBox is a way of using stories and play to facilitate a search for wisdom and wellbeing for people of all ages. It helps people not just to express, but also to work through their thoughts and feelings and explore new perspectives.”
OutoftheBox Training and Consultancy was registered as a not-for-profit company in 2021 to support what quickly became a growing movement of OutoftheBox storytellers.
Training courses in the art of OutoftheBox are being held in Cambridge in October, as well as in Durham and Oxford later in the year.