The Meaning of Service (MoS) is a reading and discussion program for Americorps volunteers featuring discussions that use short philosophical and literary texts on the nature of justice, service, and related themes. Meaning of Service presents participants with the opportunity to examine, refine, and regenerate the beliefs underlying their work.

Bruno Bettleheim in The Uses of Enchantment, Jane Yolen in Touch Magic, and other acclaimed writers and psychologists have discussed the power of fright in children as a necessary and useful tool. Listening to narrow escapes and horrible demises in ghost stories and gothic tales strengthen human survival instincts. The imagination is primed to act in reality should these dangerous situations arise, thus justifying the enjoyment shared in hearing a good scary story. This program challenges the popular, modern versions of fairy tales by reinstating the original gothic tales long before the stories were edited in the Victorian era. For example, what happened after Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the Prince's kiss? Most people believe they lived happily ever after, but this was far from the truth or intent of the original tale. Find out more through this innovative program.

Join storyteller Judith Heineman and musician Daniel Marcotte in period costume as they present songs and tales of maidens, pirates and dragons, Irish fairy legends, stories of Robin Hood and King Arthur, including the Arthurian Legend of "the Loathly Lady" that asks, "what do women desire most?" This age-old puzzlement is answered in this engaging program, as listeners ultimately get to make new choices while taking the journey into their imagination. Story allows us to reflect on values and customs and to pass on culture. As part of this process, audiences will also explore the baric tradition in early modern Europe as led by this skillful teller and gifted musician.