In Schools: Click for more In Churches: Click for more Programs: Click for more Programs for  elementary - high school Classroom instruction and Residencies Creating, structuring and telling stories Workshops for teachers exploring the powers of Storytelling in Education Great  retreats and workshops, and a powerful worship experience; explore the power of storytelling in faith development,  community- building, and  personal healing. At festivals, libraries, theatres, coffee houses and after-dinner programs... create good feelings, evoke memories, and make connections with strangers, friends, and family Storytelling for Schools Bill grew up in Talladega, Alabama, where he was just about the smallest boy in the Junior High School.         His tales of his own childhood and school adventures have been popular with audiences of all ages.        In addition to the tales of his adventures in and out of school, he has tales of canoe and camping trips taken as a youth. Several of his stories  of wilderness adventures  in the  Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario  have been published in  "Boundary Waters Journal".        Bill is married to Lida Wylie Jones.  They have three sons, Geoff, Christopher and  David and a granddaughter, Shannon. Bill and Lida currently live in Memphis, Tennessee and travel wherever storytelling takes them. Bill  takes his storytelling into schools to help students discover the structure of narrative, the power of words and imagination, and the importance of paying attention to their own lives.       His tales of his own life explore such universal themes as dealing with the  bully, meeting your hero, discovering the world is a lot bigger than you thought it was and facing the mystery of the difference between boys and girls.       Along the way, he talks about going to a new school,  campaigning for student council, joining the glee club, the struggles of being small in a sports culture, his love of reading and libraries, and every child's experience with doctors and shots. Stories especially for Schools: Among schools where Bill has worked recently are: "Bears and Beavers": How does a kid who doesn't like camping end up on an nineteen day canoe trip in Canada? "Winning is Everything": Riding the Hopalong Cassidy bike to an important life lesson. "The Library":  Dandelions, Dr. Seuss, and Willie Welch. "Facing the Bully": Can the smallest boy in Junior High survive the bully? "We love you ... But": Being small and unathletic in a world where boys dreamed of being football heroes . "The Trip to California": Discovering your parents aren't perfect...and neither is your hero. Bruce Elementary School, Memphis, TN South Park Elementary School, Memphis, TN Bragg Elementary, West Memphis, AR Coleman Elementary, Memphis, TN Germantown Middle School, Germantown, TN Memphis Campus School,  Memphis, TN Pleasantdale Middle School,  Burr Ridge, Ill Signal Mountain Middle School,  Signal Mountain, TN McDowell County Title I Parent Conference, Welch, WV The Hutchison School, Memphis, TN Grahamwood Elementary, Memphis, TN Storytelling for Churches, Church Camps, Retreats... Bill Jones served as a Presbyterian Minister for 31  years in three churches (Waverly Road  Presbyterian Church in Kingsport, TN -  1970-77, Covenant Presbyterian Church in  Johnson City, TN - 1977-87, and Balmoral Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN - 1988-2001. He retired from the pastoral ministry at the end of 2001 to devote full time to storytelling.      Bill has published a series of articles on the Ten  Commandments in "Presbyterians Today", the  official magazine of the Presbyterian Church USA.        Experience and explore the power of storytelling in faith development, community building, and personal healing. • Stories for worship. • Dinners and intergenerational programs. • Retreats, Bible School, Church School. • Workshops and leadership training.    Bill has led retreats on - The Powers of Storytelling in faith communities - Exploring Our Difficult Stories: When We don't get what we pray for - "Giants, Fox-furs and No. 2 Pencils" - connecting our stories with biblical stories     Stories especially for Churches: Among churches where Bill has worked recently are: "Fox-furs and #2 Pencils": Celebrating the people who help us become people of faith. "Leaving Home":  When we leave our "comfort zone" we may discover some things more valuable than Comfort. "Mother's Gift":  Discovering the real power of gift we took for granted. "Going Home For The Last Time": The journey home to a dying father (my own personal ghost story). "Crossing Chaffee Street":  My own personal Easter Story. "What Will People Think?":  Learning to look beneath the surface and see more than the obvious. First Presbyterian, Americus, GA First Presbyterian, Fort Walton Beach, FL Presbyterian Church of Lake Travis, Austin, TX Farmington Presbyterian, Germantown, TN First Presbyterian, Albuquerque, NM Neshoba Unitarian Universalist, Cordova, TN First Presbyterian, Helena, AR First Presbyterian, Waco, TX The Presbytery of Western North Carolina Bill has led church retreats in Tennessee, Arkansas and Virginia and Texas. Bill has done leadership training workshops in New Mexico, Tennessee and North Carolina. Storytelling Programs... Many years as a parent, a minister and as a storyteller have prepared Bill Jones to deal with a variety of needs and audiences.  Do you want to entertain your audience? Inspire them? Motivate them?  Bill has a collection of stories for each of these needs and more.      Whether tales of his parents' roles in his childhood, or his own adventures over many years in small towns, big cities, and following the call of the loon in the Canadian wilderness, he can select stories to delight your group.       His published works range from a series of articles on the Ten  Commandments in "Presbyterians Today", the  official magazine of the Presbyterian Church USA, to stories  of wilderness adventures  in the Quetico Provincial Park in Ontario which have been published in  "Boundary Waters Journal" Enjoy the simple pleasure of listening to stories that evoke good feelings. Experience the power of stories to:  • awaken memories  • make connections with strangers,        friends, and family. Stories of adventures: • in school • in church • in town • in the wilderness Bill's stories have the power to evoke the memories and stories that we all need to share with each other, with our children, our grandchildren, and our friends. Among the programs that Bill has performed recently: Cave Run Storytelling Festival, Morehead, KY Teller-In-Residence, International Storytelling Center, Jonesborough, TN Uncommon Grounds Coffee House, Chicago, IL Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, TN Otherlands Coffee House, Memphis, TN Winter Festival, Atlanta, GA Deepwater Theatre, Ocracoke Island, NC Annual Dinner, Kiwanis Clubs of Kingsport TN