Yearly Archives: 2016

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Come Close to this Table: Godly Play with Developmentally Delayed Adults

Telling stories at VBS for adults

Telling stories at VBS for adults

By the time the first sheep touched down on the green felt, the electric fan in the corner was the only sound in the room. They waited silently to receive the next word, bodies relaxed but in that slightly forward-leaning posture common to children in every Godly Play circle all around the world.

These were not children. Nor were they seated cross-legged in a circle. Some of their fragile bodies and compromised joints would not have allowed climbing onto the floor. We were not even in a circle. Continue reading →

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The Contextual Conundrum

Old Abbey of Drongen in Flanders

Old Abbey of Drongen in Flanders

Godly Play has an expanding worldwide presence in many different countries, cultures, and contexts. This is to be celebrated. But there is also a sense in which Godly Play is situated in a particular country, culture, and context. One of the more interesting aspects of the international development of Godly Play is the crucial, careful, and sometimes controversial work of contextualization, which has many facets. Can you imagine adapting The Circle of the Church Year to the southern hemisphere? Continue reading →

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The Spiritual Child

Lisa J. Miller, The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015)

Introduction

Lisa J. Miller, The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving Dr. Lisa Jane Miller introduces herself to the readers of The Spiritual Child as “a leading scientist in the now booming field of spirituality and psychology, mental health, and thriving (1).” In the Acknowledgments to her book she thanks Teresa Barker for her “elegant crafting of the writing (349),” and goes on to thank others such as her “alchemist of ideas,“ her “publicist extraordinaire” and her “ingenious marketing team (350).” This book is, indeed, a team effort and it was no small task to create an audience for it, because an appreciation for “the spiritual child” swims upstream in our culture. On the other hand, the book has hit a nerve. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller list and hit #1 in Family Nielsen Ratings. It has been a Psychology Best Seller for USA Today, and a Non-Fiction Best Seller in Publishers Weekly.

The author graduated with a B.A. from Yale University. She earned her Ph.D. under Martin E. P. Seligman, a leader in the positive psychology movement, at the University of Pennsylvania. She has published over 85 peer review articles on spirituality and mental health. Continue reading →

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I Wonder: Engaging a Child’s Curiosity about the Bible

Elizabeth F. Caldwell, I Wonder: Engaging a Child’s Curiosity about the Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2016)

Introduction

Elizabeth F. Caldwell, I Wonder: Engaging a Child’s Curiosity about the Bible Elizabeth F. Caldwell is Visiting Professor of Religious Education at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee. She taught previously at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago for thirty years, 1984-2014, where she was Professor of Pastoral Theology and Associate Dean for Students and Academics.

At McCormick she taught a course for seminarians called “Reading the Bible with Children.” Her goal for the course was, as she writes, to “model good biblical scholarship with children (vii).” This book came primarily from that experience. Her most recent books before I Wonder include God’s Big Table, Nurturing Children in a Diverse World (2011) and Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Children (2007). She is an ordained Presbyterian minister and in 2004 the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators selected her as Educator of the Year. Continue reading →

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Desert Bags Are Here

desert bagThe desert is a dangerous place. People don’t go there unless they have to. In Godly Play practice, we need to go there often, and we need to take the circle of children with us. In addition to the beautiful hand-crafted desert boxes made by the artisans of Godly Play Resources, desert bags offer us another route into the desert.

Desert bags are more portable than the boxes. They occupy less space in the room, and are more affordable. Some people make their own, but now you can purchase one from Godly Play Resources. Continue reading →