Ministry Overview
StoryTalk—A Ministry
Remembrance, Gratitude and Celebration
Ministry: an act of serving (Webster’s New College Dictionary II, 1995)
Rev. Deborah Simon, an interfaith minister, offers inspirational messages, guest and interim ministry services, sacred services including weddings, child and family blessings, and memorials and workshops that support individual spiritual practices. Rev. Simon honors and respects all faith traditions steeped in the Truth of One God and that are grounded in love and compassion. In partnership with family and community, Rev. Simon creates individualized services steeped in remembrance, gratitude, and celebration.
Rev. Simon weaves the art of story into her ministry, into her sermons which she calls sacred conversations with the community, and in all workshops and seminars.
Myths/stories communicate directly from one inward world to another,
in such a way that an actual shock of experience will have been rendered:
not a mere statement for the information or persuasion of a brain,
but an effective communication across the void of space and time
from one center of consciousness to another.
—Joseph Campbell, Creative Mythology
All faith traditions have stories: stories of good and evil; redemption and hope; death and resurrection; journeys of faith. It is the story that lays the foundation for our faith; it is through the story that we learn of the strength, commitment and love of our faith leaders. Our sacred stories shape our values and remind us that liberation from pain, fear, and suffering is possible.
These stories are the foundation on which we build our lives. Stories guide our choices and stories
connect us to each other. It is through our collective stories that we find that our hopes and
dreams are the same; it is though these stories that we can bridge the chasms created between
people and faith traditions.