StoryCorps has for ten years been producing an oral history of America, recording the voices of everyday people telling about their families, jobs, trials and relationships. The project records the powerful stories that people have to tell, and it shows what can be evoked by asking a simple question like “How did you meet your wife?” or “What was your father like?”

The title StoryCorps gave to one of its book collections, and now to a series of animated videos, is Listening Is an Act of Love—which sounds like a basic lesson in pastoral care. Here’s one of the recent videos, which evokes the biblical stories of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son:

David Heim

David Heim is interim pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, Illinois.

All articles »