A difficult question: Can we bring God and children together in the classroom?
The short answer: YES!
By using the Godly Play approach and integrating worship time into class time, you will be amazed by the transformation in your children! When we acknowledge God's presence while we are learning about him, we experience that learning in a profoundly spiritual way. Our hearts and minds grow simultaneously! Sunday school becomes a place where children can be with God in addition to learning about Him.
What is Godly Play?
Godly Play teaches children the art of using Christian language – parable, sacred story, silence and liturgical action – helping them become more fully aware of the mystery of God's presence in their lives.
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. To achieve this goal is to help children become deeply rooted as Christians and yet at the same time use this powerful language and community to be open and creative.
Godly Play is a Montessori-based Christian formation program for children and is one of the most loved and most used Sunday School and Children's Chapel programs in many Episcopal churches.
To help parishes and educators in the diocese, there will be a Godly Play Workshop on Saturday, March 26, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the diocesan offices near Monroeville Mall (click here for a map) for all Christian education directors, teachers, clergy, parents and youth ministers.
The workshop will be led by the Rev. Dr. Leander Harding, Dean of Church Relations and Seminary Advancement and Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Trinity School for Ministry. He is a certified leader for the Godly Play curriculum.
There is no fee to attend this workshop, but particpants are asked to register online by clicking here or the button below to ensure there are enough materials for all in attendance.
We began to notice how much more engaged our children were during class time and how deeply they understood the bible stories. This began to happen for us at Christ Church North Hills about a decade ago when we decided to introduce a new curriculum called Godly Play into our Sunday school classes. After a time, they began to bring their own experiences into a kind of dialogue with God in the context this worship experience in a classroom.
–Lorena Ringle, Director of Christian Formation, Christ Church, North Hills