New ways of sharing the age-old stories

In a church on the edge of downtown Houston a group of thirteen 4-6 year olds eagerly jostle to enter a room that has been turned into a special place to be with God. The adult ‘welcomer’ welcomes the children at the door and when their feet have stopped running and their noisy chatter quietens she asks them if ‘They are ready?’ They nod and quietly enter the room and take up their place on the floor in a circle with the storyteller.

Around them, neatly ordered on low wooden shelves, are baskets of smooth wooden figures and intriguing gold boxes. Along the back wall are shelves with crayons and paints, pens, clay, scissors and paper of all sizes and colours.  Everything about the room is beautiful, and everything has it’s own special place.

As the children gather with the storyteller they are beginning to move from ordinary time and place to the special time and place of worship and being close to God. Then the storyteller slowly stands and says to the children, ‘Watch to see where I go to get today’s story.’ The children, eyes fixed on the storyteller, watch as a gold box is brought into the centre of the circle – ‘I wonder what this could be… ?’ asks the storyteller as she runs her finger around the edge of the gold box which contains the materials for telling the parable of the Lost Sheep to the children.

This alternative approach to religious education in Christian settings is called Godly Play and has a long history of research and development.

While many of the ideas and practices may be new, challenging and inspiring to us, we can take heart from the fact that this is not an untested novelty way of telling bible stories.

The work of Rev. Dr Jerome Berryman, and Dr Sophia Caveletti before him, represents years of experience with countless different children, teachers and situations from which we can but learn and respond for our own children.

Jerome Berryman was present at the last Diocesan conference, so it was a great joy for me to be invited early in May to an International conference in Houston Texas, and then to be able to spend time in downtown Houston with Jerome, meeting and sharing with some of those using Godly Play in the States. The scene I paint at the beginning of this article was my experience in the church I visited on the Sunday morning.

But you don’t have to go all the way to Houston to see Godly Play in action or to find out more about it, as since the Diocesan conference Godly Play has been an important part of the training I’ve offered in this Diocese to those looking for fresh ways of engaging children with God’s story. A small number of churches will be replicating the scene I painted at the beginning as they use the Godly Play method of introducing children to the language and stories of our Christian faith in this exciting and often challenging way.

‘But what age of children is Godly Play for?’ I am often asked. One of the exciting discoveries of leading adult training sessions on the use of Godly Play has been the way that adults too have been challenged and met with God in new and surprising ways when they see these smooth wooden figures come to life in the ‘Desert Box’ or simply on an underlay of coloured felt cloth.

Godly Play isn’t just about sharing God’s story with children but is also about inviting them to ‘wonder’ about the story and their place in it.

Then using the available art and story materials the children are invited to respond to the story in their own particular way to what they have thought or experienced.

A green piece of felt is carefully taken from the gold box and laid out on the floor, ‘I wonder what this could be?’ asks the storyteller. ‘A field,’ ‘A football pitch’ the children respond excitedly. Then the mood changes as to the felt is added little wooden sheep and the wooden figure of the Good Shepherd. And so the story begins, and the little wooden figures come to life in the hands of the story teller, the eyes of every child is held fixedly on the unfolding story before them and when the story is over they begin to wonder again only this time in a deeper more profound way, ‘I wonder what this place could really be? I wonder if you have ever had to go through dark and dangerous places? I wonder if you have ever been lost? I wonder if you have ever been found? I wonder if you have ever heard the Good Shepherd call you by name.... I wonder!

If you would like to find out more about Godly Play or would like to book onto one of the two Godly Play days (details below) in July then contact Jenny Hyson on 01865 208255 or email childofficer@ oxford.anglican.org Jenny Hyson is children’s officer for the Diocese of Oxford

Workshop 1: Introduction to Godly Play Saturday 17th July, venue to be confirmed in Ascot 10.00am – 4.00pm
Godly Play Quiet Day for Adults A day of quiet and led reflections using the Godly Play method of story telling
Tuesday 6 July, The Thomley Centre
Worminghall Oxon 10.00am – 3.00pm