ABSTRACT
Religious and mental health organizations share a number of common goals, including an interest in prevention of future problems in living. Community narratives —the telling of stories—is one method used by religious communities to accomplish some of their goals, including public education, healing and empowerment. Narratives are increasingly recognized by cognitive psychologists, mental health professionals and theologians as powerful tools for both learning and self-understanding. Many of the assumptions of preventive psychology and empowerment, including beliefs concerning the competence of individuals, the utility of self help groups and the power of community healing, are consistent with beliefs about the healing power of communities prominent in Judeo-Christian religious narratives. These narratives, when believed, incorporated into personal stories, and acted upon, serve as a counter to the tendency of medical and mental health stories to isolate people and force reliance on scarce resources and inaccessible expertise. Several of these narratives, concerned with the value of every individual, the power of people in a community to care for one another, attributes of self, of God, of hope and of history are described, 216and their functions illustrated in the context of a particular congregational community.
