easter 2015

Each day at the European Godly Play �  conference we had two workshops. Knowing I'd need a break and a change of pace after plenary lectures and conversations, I made sure that one of my workshops each day was a hands-on one. During the workshop hosted by Johanna Kaarto-Wallin, who makes the Finnish Godly Play �  materials, I painted (or rather, stained) a wooden set of Christian symbols. This isn't a lesson included in the books, but is very like the Crosses lesson (vol. 4).  Mine is a slightly different set of symbols than is sold in North America. I didn't come across the tradition of votive ships until I visited churches in the Nordic countries, so it doesn't surprise me that although not all sets include a ship there is one in Johanna's materials. votive ship in Ravlunda Church licensed photo by Yakikaki ( source ) Even the North American materials site shows two slightly different sets of symbols: compare  this  with  this . That sure gets me won...

We've begun and ended each day of the conference with stories. This morning I had planned to listen to Mary Cooper tell The Ark and the Tent. I was really looking forward to it... But I lingered too long over breakfast (and/or, lingered too long in getting out of bed so had less time at breakfast), and by the time I got to her room there was no room left. At least six of us were turned away. So, I joined another circle and listened to Rosemary Lavelle tell The Great Family. We commented during the Wondering on how smoothly she managed the 'sleight of hand' involved in 'burying' the bodies of those who die (first Sarah and later Abraham). And some people shared ways in which they had found those deaths to be an important, beautiful, helpful part of the story.  The story is about death and also about birth. So it was truly lovely to have in our midst a baby, who occasionally gurgled and cooed. His mother said afterwards she had worried he might disturb, but for me, it...

I've been hearing about it for years, but today I finally got a handle on what Deep Talk is. I knew it was something that Tuula Valkonen had developed based on Godly Play, and that she took it to corporations and businesses, but how- what- What?!? I didn't really understand. Today I went to her conference workshop and experienced it for myself. Jerome W. Berryman calls it "an adaptation of Godly Play ... to help work communities develop in creative ways". It's been adopted by the  University of Sheffield chaplaincy  as "a chance to explore with others by joining a wondering reflection, conversation and discussion... allow[ing] for quick, honest and deep reflection". It had elements in common with a team-building day my university department once participated in. And it had elements of Godly Play, of course. Based on today's taster, I would say that it's primarily a way to facilitate group communication and encourage good group dynamics. It's ...

This morning started out with a Godly Play story. We had a choice of seven circles to join, each telling a Parable, but in six different languages. I went to hear the Parable of the Great Pearl told in Spanish. I know that our storytelling can (and indeed should) be rather playful, but that does not always come naturally to me. It is certainly helpful to see how others do it. I remember in training watching Rebecca Nye as she put materials away, playfully flicking a rolled-up underlay back and forth a bit, unrolling and re-rolling it a bit. It was playful but also emphasised that we should roll those underlays back up as we put them away. This morning, I watched David Pritchard playfully act out how heavy the merchant's bags of money were, and mop his own brow as he "struggled" to carry all the possessions across to pay for the pearl.  During our Response Time, therefore, I felt encouraged to be a little playful with the figures on the focal shelf, and brought the shepher...

I am so pleased to be at the European Godly Play Conference! The conference proper doesn't start until tomorrow, but today we began an academic programme with a plenary lecture on ethical questions concerning research with children, a paper on the methodology of academic research, and another on primary school teachers' and students' responses to Godly Play � . After a very interesting poster session (10 five-minute presentations plus time to speak with those presenters in small groups or even one-on-one), it was time for a story: This photo captures my sense of the beginning of this conference. There is a lot still in the box, and the underlay is like a 'blank slate'. We shall see how things develop from here! 

Sheila, over at Explore and Express  has published a post today about a new term to replace "Door Person" when talking about Godly Play in German. She explains, When a door is understood as a symbol of opening up new possibilities, it's a great name. However, the literal translation in German, T�r-Person, has very different connotations. People think of a bouncer or a guard - someone who keeps people out. When I was new to Godly Play I used to forget and call the Door Person a "doorkeeper", a word I fear can have some of those connotations of "someone who keeps people out". But then again, some of us might think of the Psalmist saying, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God   than dwell in the tents of the wicked. licensed photo by "Emw" open doors at St Anne's, Lowell, Massachusetts I wonder what you think about the title, "Door Person".