People tell stories. We tell stories about the day ahead of us as we wake in the morning; we tell stories about our lives, what they mean, and how we relate to and meet the ups and downs of our days. We tell stories as groups, too—things like mission statements of organizations we support and belong to, stories about meaning and purpose in our lives. Sometimes, these shared stories become culture. They tell us what’s good or bad, right or wrong, what it means to be human, how to love, what’s “inside the box” and what’s beyond the pale. In a very real way, we live inside these stories, and as these stories change, so do our lives.

This summer, our theme invites us into the stories we tell about ourselves, about each other, and about the wider world, asking us if the stories we tell are “big enough” to hold us? Does our story of gender make room for what’s true in our minds, bodies, and spirits? Does our story of the land have space for the earth to love us? Does our story of courage have room for our truth? And if and when they’re not big enough, what happens when we tell bigger stories together?