Godly Play

[Geoffrey Colmer]

On Saturday I went to a workshop on Godly Play. It needs to be experienced to do it justice, but in short it is an imaginative way of telling Bible stories to children, using both play and structure and inviting a response in the form of 'wonderings'. A key premise is that a child is not a pot waiting to be filled - the pot is not empty and the task of the adult is to help find out what's inside. This is of a piece with the attitude shown by Jesus to children.

I came across this concept several years ago through a friend who was using it. And then last year at about this time, Sam Wells in Power and Passion, the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book, used a key feature of Godly Play, which I found hugely helpful. At the end of each chapter he included some 'wonderings'. In the introduction Sam Wells writes, 'Wonderings stimulate responses, meditations, sharing, explorations, or further wonderings. Wonderings are not questions. They have a full stop at the end, not a question mark. To address them, one has to leave aside the dermination to get the right answer and instead has to open oneself to responses that invite further engagement. It is like the difference between a soccer match, in which the object is to score a goal, and the warm-up beforehand, when players gently scoop the ball up to one another, trying as a circle to keep the ball in the air. Wondering is more like the soccer players' warm-up, a way of shaping one's insights so as to be upbuilding to the group.' He goes on to say, 'Wondering is particularly inclusive of those of tender years or with fewer recognized accomplishments, who may well find it easier to engage their imaginations in a suitably unconstrained way.' I found this quite captivating and this was what led to me spending part of my day off attending the workshop!

It was an enormously creative day and I came away informed, enlarged and inspired by both the philosophy and the practice and felt that it has considerable scope in the life of the church. While the focus is upon children, it isn't restricted to the church - Cazz' school paid for her to attend! And I heard of its effectiveness with older people, in hospices, on retreats, and particularly in housegroups.

If you want to know more go to www.godlyplay.org.uk I would really like to hear of your experience of this as well as any critique that you may have. Over to you!

[Ricky Rew]

Thanks Geoff - I don't have any personal experience of Godly play, but I found your comments and the quote about 'wanderings' really helpful. I love this bit:

'one has to leave aside the determination to get the right answer and instead has to open oneself to responses that invite further engagement'

Ricky
www.easyrew.com :: Brain-free since '73