Art by Hannah Gerig Meyer
The Gratitude Letters, a storytelling project launching at MC USA’s Follow Jesus ‘25 convention, begins with a simple question: Who has shown you courageous love, memorable kindness, or a way of peace?
This Goshen College project invites people of all ages to share stories of gratitude and faith through a letter writing campaign.
Participants will write personal letters to someone who has inspired them — expressing thanks for their influence on the writer’s faith journey. The recipient could be a parent, grandparent, teacher, pastor, friend, or mentor or mentee.
Once the letter is ready, participants are invited to share it with The Gratitude Letters by emailing the letter to communication@goshen.edu and/or scheduling a time to be recorded while reading the letter aloud.
If the recipient of the letter is also in attendance at convention, Goshen College students will schedule a time to bring the writer and recipient into the same space to be filmed, as the writer reads the letter aloud. A brief conversation will follow in which the letter writer and the recipient can share more about themselves and their relationship.
Letters should be about three minutes in length when read aloud, grounded in a personal story and told in a natural, conversational tone.
Inspired by acclaimed storytelling initiatives like StoryCorps and This I Believe, The Gratitude Letters blends personal narrative with public sharing.
With the consent of the letter writers and recipients, the recordings will be shared via social media and archived on The Gratitude Letters website.
If you’re interested in participating or simply curious to know more, please stop by the Goshen College booth, 97P. The Gratitude Letters project also has a reserved room for recording and filming.
Led by GC associate professor of communication Anna Groff and communication majors Kate Bodiker and Mackenzie Miller, The Gratitude Letters invites all individuals to participate — whether at the MC USA 2025 convention or not.
While the original concept focused on youth writing to adults, GC students Bodiker and Miller suggested expanding the model to allow for letters to flow in both directions. They recalled specific times in their lives when adults offered affirmation of their gifts in meaningful ways.
“Kate and Mackenzie are well positioned as college students to bridge youth and older adults through this storytelling project,” Groff said. “They not only bring the communication and technical skills, but also a passion for sharing hopeful, personal messages.”
The Gratitude Letters is produced by the Communication Department as part of the More Than Just Stories initiative at Goshen College, supported by the Lilly Endowment.
Visit booth 97P or email communication@goshen.edu for copies or links to branded stationary, to submit your letter to the project, to schedule a recording, or simply to learn more about The Gratitude Letters.
Flyer | Email: communication@goshen.edu | Instagram: @MoreThanJustStories_GC
Written by Goshen College staff.