godly play at st. mary’s: an introduction · godly play at st. mary’s: an introduction adult...

Isabel B. Phillips, Ed. D. 2008

Godly Play at St. Mary’s: An Introduction

Adult Forum January 31, 2010

St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Newton Lower Falls, MA

Presented by: Isabel B. Phillips, Ed.D. Interim Director of Christian Education [email protected]


Wisdom begins in Wonder.


Dr. Jerome Berryman’s Godly Play Curriculum Design

•  Child-centered: to draw children into exploring their own relationships with God and making connections to their own lives

•  Story-based: to include both Old and New Testament

•  Beautiful sturdy materials – to spark imagination and inquiry through concrete actions and materials

•  Open-ended wondering questions – to allow children to place themselves in the various stories of God’s people


Wondering Questions

•  I wonder which part of this story is special to you?

•  I wonder which part is most important?

•  I wonder where you might be in this story or what part of the story might be about you?

•  I wonder if there is any part of the story we can leave out and still have the story we need?


A Distinctive Approach to Christian Ministry

Godly Play:

•  is both innovative and grounded in the Episcopal spiritual tradition

•  celebrates the sacred in everyday things: bread, wine, candles, oil, wood, linens and clay

•  integrates language and play

•  engages the whole child – hands, heart, mind, senses, intuition.



Godly Play:

•  Is not a rote method

•  it is an invitation to play with the language of God and God’s people

•  Children “get lost” in the timelessness of play, and they hear the deepest invitation of all: an invitation to come play with God.



Godly Play:

•  Offers a child-accessible version of the ancient practice of holy reading (lectio divina): wondering and responding to the Bible’s sacred stories

•  Instead of analyzing or reciting God’s word, children experience God’s word through engagement in the story.

•  Godly Play helps children know God and understand the Bible instead of simply knowing about God or about the Bible.


How Do Children Benefit from the Godly Play Experience?


Godly Play Teaches…

…reliance upon a gracious God who is real and accessible in both sad and joyful times…rather than dependence on the transient “magic” that comes from the latest videogame or toy.


Godly Play teaches…

…the classic rhythm for spiritual living modeled in the Bible: the alternation of action and reflection, engagement and prayer.



…that everything in God’s creation is charged with the possibility of holiness

This includes each of us, and we are in relationship with everything in creation.

In other words, all ground is holy ground.



…kindness and mutuality for the people with whom we work and play in community.

It also teaches respect for sacred objects, in how it organizes physical space and story materials.



…that there is kairos time, or significant time, as well as chronos time, chronological or clock time.

…that Kairos time is not concerned with what time it is; but the experience of timelessness.

…that the timelessness of God is accessible through silence, prayer, and play.


What is the Content of Godly Play Stories?


Liturgical Actions

Parables

Sacred Stories

Godly Play Stories:


Sacred Stories

Examples •  Creation •  The Exodus •  The Ten Best Ways •  The Exile and Return •  Ark and the Tent •  Ark and the Temple


Sacred Stories

•  Sacred Stories stimulate our sense of Christian unity and develop our sense of Christian identity

•  We tell the story of God’s people to invite children to become a part of that story

•  God calls us into relationship through these sacred stories


Parables

Examples •  The Good Samaritan •  The Great Pearl •  The Mustard Seed •  The Sower


Parables

•  Parables stimulate our sense of creativity

•  Invite us to enter the question

•  Help us question our everyday view of life

•  Invite us to question the status quo imposed by tradition, power and class


Liturgical Actions

Examples:

•  The Circle of the Church Year •  Holy Baptism •  The Mystery of Christmas •  The Mystery of Easter •  The Good Shepherd and the World

Communion


Liturgical Actions

•  Children learn the verbal and visual language of liturgy and the Episcopal liturgical symbols through these stories.

•  Help children integrate identity (explored through sacred stories) creative process (explored in parables) and the unspoken presence of God (given through silence)

•  Help to mark life, time and space so children can know the Holy.


What is the Language of Godly Play Stories Like?


The Language of Godly Play

Example #1:

“When Moses was on top of the mountain, he came so close to God and God came so close to him, that he knew what God wanted him to do. God wanted him to write down the Ten Best Ways to Live on stones and bring them down the mountain to the People.


The Language of Godly Play Example #2:

•  “This box looks like a kind of a present, and this box looks old. Perhaps there is an old parable inside. You know, you were given parables as a present, even before you were born.

•  Parables are so old they are older than you, and they are older than me! They are even older than your grandmother or grandfather. They are almost two thousand years old!

•  Sometimes, even if you are ready, you cannot enter a parable. The lid on the box is like a door, and sometimes it is closed. If that happens, don’t be discouraged. Keep coming back to the parable and one day it will open for you.” Even if you don’t know what a parable is, it is still yours.



Example # 3:

“ There was once someone who did such wonderful things and said such amazing things that people wondered who he was. Finally, they just couldn’t help it. They had to ask him who he was.

When they asked him who he was, he said, “I am the Good Shepherd.”



Example # 4:

“Now is the time for the color purple. It is the time for preparing. Purple is the color of kings. We are preparing for the coming of a king and his going and coming again. We are preparing for the Mystery of Easter.


Liturgical Actions

Parables

Sacred Stories

Godly Play Stories:


Wisdom begins in Wonder.


The children of St. Mary’s want to thank all who have made gifts to help start our Godly Play Classroom.

If you would like to make a contribution, please see our Godly Play wishlist for ideas!

Thank You!

godly play at st. mary’s: an introduction · godly play at st. mary’s: an introduction adult...

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