RESOURCES

Creating a Personal Testament can take many forms.  Some people will sit down and write.  Others may begin with a question, an old photograph, a family story, a journal they have kept for years, or a conversation with someone who knows how to listen.  The Testament Society is developing resources to help people reflect on their lives, discover what they want to preserve, and find a way of preserving it that feels natural to them. These resources are not intended to tell anyone what a Testament should contain or what conclusions they should reach.  They are tools for asking questions, recovering memories, exploring experiences more deeply, organizing existing material, and recognizing thoughts or stories that deserve further attention.

If you are ready to begin creating your own Testament, the Testament Starter Guide is the best place to start.  It will help you gather what you already have, create a place to collect the pieces, begin with something that matters to you, and move from remembering what happened to considering what it meant. STARTER GUIDE

If you are not sure what to write about, Writing Prompts can help you find a place to begin.  The questions explore childhood and family, growing up, work and purpose, relationships, and the lessons and reflections that emerge over a lifetime.  Some prompts help bring memories to the surface, while others encourage you to consider what those experiences taught you and what may be worth preserving. EXPLORE WRITING PROMPTS

Additional resources are being developed, including a Testament Journal and Brief Bio.  Future guidance will also explore different ways to create and preserve a Testament through writing, recorded interviews, transcription, audio, video, photographs and documents, as well as editing, printing, binding and digital preservation.

Helping another person create a Testament may involve listening, asking questions, looking through photographs or meaningful objects, recording or transcribing conversations, gathering existing writings, or helping organize what has been collected.  The goal is to help the author discover and preserve what they want to say without taking over their Testament or replacing their voice.

The Society also envisions trained Testament Guides who can help an author develop, organize and preserve their Testament.  Story Circles, Memory Stations and Show & Tell can also be adapted for one-on-one use when someone needs help getting memories and reflections started.

 The Testament Society offers ideas for families that want to begin making reflection and Personal Testaments part of their family tradition.  Families can begin with annual gatherings, conversation prompts, milestone reflections, photographs and keepsakes, or simply encouraging each generation to preserve what it is learning along the way.  EXPLORE FAMILY TESTAMENT TRADITIONS

 Activity coordinators, leisure staff, volunteers, teachers, community leaders, and others who work with groups can play an important role in helping people reflect on their lives and consider what they may want to preserve.  Group activities can provide an approachable introduction to the idea of a Personal Testament without asking someone to begin with a blank page. 

Story Circles

Simple questions and shared conversation help memories surface and encourage participants to consider not only what happened, but what those experiences meant. EXPLORE STORY CIRCLES

Memory Stations

Music, photographs, maps, food, books, toys, keepsakes and other familiar prompts can bring memories to the surface and provide a starting point for deeper reflection. EXPLORE MEMORY STATIONS

Show & Tell

A meaningful object can open the door to a larger story.  Show & Tell helps preserve why an object mattered, what it represents, and the story that should remain with it when it passes to someone else. EXPLORE SHOW & TELL

Virtue Sort

Virtue Sort helps people identify values and character qualities that have mattered in their lives and then explore where those values came from, how they were tested, and how they influenced the way they lived. EXPLORE VIRTUE SORT

 Host a Testament Day

These activities do not have to be offered separately.  A group could bring several of them together for a special Testament Day devoted to remembering, storytelling, and reflection.  The day might include one-on-one interview stations where volunteers ask questions and record participants' responses, Story Circles or other reflection activities, opportunities for family members to participate, and an informal gathering where participants can share stories if they choose.

As the Testament Society develops, additional resources for group leaders could include question banks, facilitation guidance and suggested schedules, sign-up and consent forms, and volunteer training for respectful listening and recording.

Reflection does not need to wait until someone is ready to create a final Testament.  The Society is developing Pre-Testamental Reflection resources for different stages of life, allowing people to record what they believe, value, question and are learning while there is still time to act on what that reflection reveals.

The Society plans to develop age-appropriate writing and reflection activities that teachers can use without asking students to create a final Testament.  These activities can encourage young people to think about their experiences, developing values, important influences, choices and questions, while preserving reflections they may someday return to later in life.

The Testament Society is still being developed, and so is this resource library.  Some resources will help someone create a Testament.  Others will help someone assist an author, establish a family tradition, lead a group, introduce reflection in a classroom, or begin reflecting long before a final Testament is written.

The goal is not to create a formula for a Testament.  It is to provide enough different paths that more people can find a way to begin.