Fabric Podcast

What an explanation can’t accomplish a story sometimes can. We’re working on those stories this Christmas season. Imagine what the Christmas story would be if it were told by, perhaps, the stable? What if the animal shed that Mary is remembered for birthing Jesus in, because there was no room in the inn, could talk? Would it’s story be about being perfectly imperfect for the job? Does your life’s story have some perfectly imperfect in it? Let’s listen.
This midrash from 12/2/2018 was written by Jeanette Mayo and features Beth Studdiford and Melissa Lock.

Reporters know to talk to more than the headliners. They go back in the kitchen, talk to the concierge and the guy on the street. People who may not know all that was going on, but they know something. Sometimes what they don’t know makes them better observers. Who were the extras that first Christmas? The guy in the shop next to the stable, the servants of the wise men? We’ve all been the extra, standing in the wings, witnessing what others missed. What was it?
This midrash from 12/16/2018 was written by Mark Trelstad and features Mark, Kris Meyer, and Julie Windholz. 

Joseph told the story about that first Christmas night differently than anyone else. He didn’t hear, see or experience the same thing anyone else did and I imagine the turning point of his story to be in the words “I took a risk.” We all take risks. The Christmas story of God being born into this world is about more than Jesus’ birth (a significant risk!) it is about the risks we all take for life. Life, change, growth are born of risk.
This midrash is from 11/25/18 and features Ed and Jen Hamilton.

Sometimes those who know the least know the most. Let me clarify… Insiders often overthink or have decided what was happening before it did. The outsider, the casual observer, can notice things no one else does. Ever wonder about those characters who were just around that night of Jesus’ birth? What would their stories tell? You’ve been the ‘in the wings’ person when things were happening, what do you know? What do your stories tell?
Find the outline and related resources at https://www.fabricmpls.com/scraps. Also watch for our regular "scraps" podcasts where we talk through other ideas and parts of the message that ended up on the cutting room floor.
You can support Fabric as a community and help to bring messages and experiences like this to more people at https://www.fabricmpls.com/give. Thank you!

The star figures prominently in the Christmas story even though it is only mentioned briefly in one version of the story. Positioned high above it sees things we don’t;  the bigger picture that tells us the fuller story. What if we heard the Christmas story from the perspective of, well, perspective? The star’s “see more” and “know more” perspective? You’ve stepped back, gone to the balcony, so to speak, to see things better. What’s your story of gaining perspective?
Find the outline and related resources at https://www.fabricmpls.com/scraps. Also watch for our regular "scraps" podcasts where we talk through other ideas and parts of the message that ended up on the cutting room floor.
You can support Fabric as a community and help to bring messages and experiences like this to more people at https://www.fabricmpls.com/give. Thank you!

Amanda Moon shares a midrash she wrote from the point of view of the star in the Christmas story for your reflection and wonder.
This midrash is from week 3 of our 2018 pre-Christmas series Do You Hear What I Hear.

Nick Theisen shared a midrash he wrote from the perspective of the Christmas star. May it offer some perspective for you this holiday season.  
This midrash is from week 3 of our 2018 pre-Christmas series Do You Hear What I Hear.

“Were you born in a barn?” is a classic insult for a person’s foibles. Jesus was born in a barn, a stable anyway, or so the story goes. The point? A stable is hardly the place for anyone’s birth, certainly not someone of Jesus’ importance. Yet, could it have been any different? Maybe the stable was a statement to the world of what it really takes for us to do what we have to do.
Find the outline and related resources at https://www.fabricmpls.com/scraps. Also watch for our regular "scraps" podcasts where we talk through other ideas and parts of the message that ended up on the cutting room floor.
You can support Fabric as a community and help to bring messages and experiences like this to more people at https://www.fabricmpls.com/give. Thank you!