Page 17 - Demo

Jerome to come to be Theologian in Residence for two weeks. In that two weeks, we designed and assembled a model Godly Play classroom, trained storytellers, videotaped stories, and invited Jerome to preach. We also spent an entire Saturday telling stories to our seven diocesan diaconal candidates. That was my rst glimpse into using Godly Play with adults, and their engagement spoke volumes. These were faithful Christians, called out by their congregations to serve as ordained deacons; they were active in church in every way. And yet, hearing the Godly Play stories exposed something signi cant—a gap, a missing piece in their formation. I could feel a deep longing in these wonderful people, an awareness that Jerome has beautifully articulated in Becoming Like a Child. At the end of the Chapter Four: “The Creator/creator A nity,” he o ers this conclusion:
“An a nity with God evokes our ultimate identity and moves us into the deep current of creativity beyond normal maturity. Maturity beyond the norm, then, is not an end state. It appears when we steer at any age between rigidity and chaos, consciously or unconsciously. Still, this glorious opportunity of living in the deep channel of our true identity can decay into rigidity or chaos at any moment, so we must ask, ‘How then shall we live.’” (p143)
That is the question, and yet for this small group, it was clear this experience had awakened something in them that had not been in view before this day. The glimpse of that beautiful state of creativity was not part of their normal experience of church. They were awakened to something that had eluded them, even though they were among the
most dedicated and faithful members. How and why have we missed this? Why have our endless programs and classes leftthislongingunful lled?Itwasandisaquestionthathas stayed with me for decades.
Godly Play became a source of celebration among the children and adults at Trinity, and I continued to see moments of grace in our life together. Trinity was a community that expressed maturity beyond the norm—so much so that even the chaos of a major re could not pull us from that deep channel of our true identity. After my departure from Trinity Cathedral in 2005, I continued to explore using Godly Play with adults, trying a variety of stories and experiences. Each time, I became aware of the value of stretching beyond the norm. Each group helped me appreciate the challenges for adults to get ready or to do their work. Even in community, we are programmed to stay in our heads, disconnected from the whole self and each other. One observation became clear: people wanted to touch the stories, to put their hands in the desert box and to march the gures across the desert, to leave footprints. They needed to manipulate the pieces of the Greatest Parable, and always laughed each time I touched the red-hot Pentecost block. These were children longing to come out to play. Using object boxes helped them tell their own remarkable stories, and after weeks together these communities began to nurture each other.
Three years ago, I began to work on the book Graceful Nurture. As I played with various courses, I remembered the years I used Godly Play for adult baptism and con rmation. I always wanted participants to have something to take away with them, but I never quite gured out what that might be. While writing, I realized I wanted them to take
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