Abstract

DE BEER, Sanrie  and  MULLER, Julian. Using stories to assist storytelling in a pastoral setting: four female pastors in dialogue with Mary Magdalene. Herv. teol. stud. [online]. 2009, vol.65, n.1. ISSN 2072-8050.

Sometimes we need a source of encouragement for restoring our own lives, to help us re-create ourselves. Using text as narrative texts opens up a multitude of possibilities in the work with clients in therapy. The story of Mary Magdalene told in John 20:11-18 is considered to be a healing story. This article aims to retell the story of her encounter with the resurrected Jesus, using the Gospel of Mary as an enlightening intertext. Because the story of Mary Magdalene's encounter with Jesus is used as a healing story, the basic principles of transformative narrative theory are considered to be useful in the analysis of this text. Mary Magdalene's story is then discussed with three female pastors of the Netherdutch Reformed Church of Africa. The research opened up a discussion about spirituality. This article would be incomplete without reflecting on the spirituality stories of the group of co-researchers.

Keywords : Mary Magdalene; female pastors; pastoral storytelling; Gospel of Mary; textual analysis.

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