Godly Play Continued

About Godly Play

Children’s Ministry at Holy Spirit.  Helping our children experience and grow in God’s love is a priority for us.  In addition to Sunday School, nursery care is available for our youngest members during the church service and youth are encouraged to participate in the church service by serving as acolytes, readers, or musicians.

A Unique Approach

Our Sunday School program offers Godly Play, a nationally-recognized program that teaches children the art of using Christian language – parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action – to become more fully aware of the mystery of God’s presence.  Through Godly Play, children work with carefully prepared materials and experience the stories of God’s people in a way that brings them to life. The goal of Godly Play is to show how to be open to the Holy Spirit, The Creator, and the Redeemer all at once and all the time in every place.

This approach is quite different from the traditional model in which the teacher tells the children what they need to know. Godly Play is not about things that are that simple. It is not just about learning lessons or keeping children entertained. It is about understanding how each of the stories of God’s people connects with the child’s own experience and relationship with God. Godly Play respects the innate spirituality of children and encourages curiosity and imagination in experiencing the mystery and joy of God.  Godly Play values process, openness, and discovery.

An Environment for Learning

Godly Play is was developed by an Episcopal priest over 30 years ago as a way to use the Montessori approach as a way to facilitate spiritual formation.  A Godly Play classroom is set up in a deliberate way to enhance children’s experience of the sacred stories. The classroom provides a space to worship God, not just speak about God. Just as adults experience the sanctuary as sacred space, so do the children experience the Godly Play room as sacred space.
Children’s time in the Godly Play setting is managed so that it is both orderly and leisurely. There are two adults in each room, the storyteller and the doorperson. Adults are there in service to the child and to support the community that develops.
Thirteen Principles

Godly Play is a distinctive approach to children’s ministry that is based on 13 specific principles that are deeply grounded in our spiritual tradition:

1.    Godly Play helps refocus us on the sacramental importance of the everyday things of the world, such as bread, wine, candles, oil, wood, linens, and clay.

2.    Godly Play teaches us that being quiet and deliberate about our work can be just as satisfying as being noisy and busy.

3.    Godly Play provides sensory materials (such as figurines, fabric, clay) for kids to work with in a safe, stimulating environment, combining two primary gateways for learning (language and play).

4.    Godly Play is not a rote method of teaching and learning, but a discovery method that engages the whole child  – hands, heart, head, mind, senses, and intuition.

5.    Godly Play uses craft activities in a creative way, allowing each child to individually respond to what they think and feel after hearing a sacred story.

6.    Godly Play respects the demands on teacher’s time, offering a stable setup and routine from week to week.

7.    Godly Play teaches a reliance on a gracious God who is real and accessible in all the mystery of life, both joyful and sad.

8.    Godly Play teaches children to respect the things and people they work with.

9.    Godly Play teaches the classic rhythm for living modeled in the Bible:  action, reflection, engagement, and prayer.

10.    Godly Play teaches kindness and mutual respect through its rituals and the way it organizes its space and community of children

11.    Godly Play offers a child-friendly version of the ancient practice of lectio divina: holy reading, wondering, and responding to God’s sacred stories.

12.    Godly Play teaches that everything in God’s creation holds the possibility of holiness.

13.    Godly Play teaches that there is kairos time (significant time) as well as chronos time (clock time).  In the classroom, teachers say, “ there is all the time we need” to see God in the center of daily life.

We invite you to contact out teacher, Beth Sale, at beth_sale@ hotmail.com, to learn more.  You are also welcome to visit our Godly Play classroom in the Children’s Center.