Godly Play

Christian Education for younger children is based on the Godly Play program.  Godly Play is an approach to religious education in which children develop their own inherent spirituality. It has been developed over the past twenty years by Jerome Berryman, formerly a Presbyterian minister and now an Episcopal priest. 

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The Godly Play classroom contains shelves full of objects for children to use – objects that make the images of our religious language come alive. Children and teacher sit in a circle on the floor, literally surrounded by the language of our faith. The multi-sensory materials used to help in telling the Bible story of the day are placed in the middle of the circle, symbolizing the fact that God is present and accessible to everyone--both students and teacher. After the story is told, teacher and students wonder about it together. Then students are free to respond to the story in a variety of ways, including art or play.  We recognize that each student will bring a different perspective and a different response to the Bible story that has been told.

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