The Complete Guide to Godly Play Volume 2, Jerome W. Berryman An imaginative method for nurturing the spiritual lives of children The Books of the Bible Sacred Story: Enrichment Lesson ISBN: 978-1-60674-279-2
Introduction This Godly Play presentation is part of The Complete Guide to Godly Play, a collection of over one hundred Godly Play stories and Godly Play support materials available from Church Publishing Incorporated. It is part of a comprehensive approach to Christian formation that consists of eight volumes. Together the lessons form a spiral curriculum that enables children to move into adolescence with an inner working knowledge of the classical Christian language system to sustain them all their lives. Developed by Jerome Berryman, God Play is an interpretation of Montessori religious education. It is an imaginative approach for working with children, an approach that supports, challenges, nourishes, and guides their spiritual quest. It is more akin to spiritual guidance that to what we generally think of as children s education. It involves children and adults, as mentors, moving together toward fluency in the art of knowing how to use Christian language to nourish their moral and spiritual development. Godly Play assumes that children have some experience of the mystery of the presence of God in their lives, but that they lack the language, permission, and understanding to express and enjoy that in our culture. In Godly Play, we enter into parables, silence, sacred stories, and liturgical action in order to discover the depths of God, ourselves, one another, and the world around us. If you are not an experienced Godly Play mentor, we strongly encourage you to first download and digest How to Lead Godly Play Lessons, available at: www.churchpublishing.org/godlyplaydigital. How to Lead Godly Play Lessons will explain the background of Godly Play, its methodology, and clear guidelines for its use. You will need this grounding before attempting to lead a Godly Play presentation, such as this one, or establish a Godly Play program in your church. There are additional Godly Play resources available from Church Publishing Incorporated at the site from which this lesson was downloaded. You will find these at: www.churchpublishing.org/godlyplaydigital. All of the stories can also be found within the printed eight volumes of The Complete Guide to Godly Play found at: www.churchpublishing.org/godlyplayprint. You will also find a number of books by Jerome Berryman about the spirituality of children as well as the Godly Play method at www.churchpublishing.org. In addition, you can learn more about Godly Play at the website of the Godly Play Foundation, found here: www.godlyplayfoundation.org. The Godly Play Foundation also offers Godly Play training for those interested in The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 2 Introduction
becoming Godly Play mentors and/or starting Godly Play programs in local congregations. Beautifully crafted materials for telling Godly Play stories are available from Godly Play Resources. Visit them at www.godlyplayresources.com. Enjoy the wonder of Godly Play, and blessings on you and the ones you lead in this transformative experience! The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 3 Introduction
Sacred Story: Enrichment Lesson The Holy Bible Enrichment Lesson: The Books of the Bible Where the Church s Story Comes From How to Use This Lesson Enrichment Presentation: this kind of lesson goes over the same material in a Core Lesson but from a different angle or in a more detailed way. Sacred Story: the stories of how God and people meet This Enrichment Lesson in Volume 2 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play adds to the Core Lesson about the Holy Bible by further exploring the concept that the Holy Bible is not one book, but a library of books. This is illustrated concretely by the material a small bookshelf that presents all the books of the Bible. It is usually presented at the beginning of the program year to those familiar with the Core Lesson about the Holy Bible (Lesson 2, p. 41) just after the Circle of the Church Year. The Circle of the Church Year is about how the Church tells its story and this lesson is about where the Church s story comes from. It is part of a comprehensive approach to Christian formation that consists of eight volumes. Together the lessons form a spiral curriculum that enables children to move into adolescence with an inner working knowledge of the classical Christian language system to sustain them all their lives. The Material Location: The Transition Shelf, between the Sacred Stories of the Old and New Testament. Pieces: A large, presentation-type Bible sitting on a book stand, wooden book shelf, wooden Bible Books, control key, summary cards Underlay: A neutral rug or piece of felt Background When you walk into a Godly Play room, you are walking into the Bible. The stories on the shelves surround children with the contents of the Bible, where the Church s story comes from. The Bible (or books in the Greek) is a collection of books. Both Jews and Christians use the term Bible, but The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 4 The Books of the Bible
the contents of each of their collections of texts is not the same. In fact the contents of the first part of the Bible, sometimes called the Hebrew Scriptures and other times the Old Testament, vary among different Christian traditions. The stories of Old Testament and the New Testament were first an oral tradition, sometimes told around campfires in the desert or in people s homes. Then the stories were written down on soft leather, and finally on paper. It was not until the printing press was invented that the collection of books became a single book, or collection of books. There are many different kinds of writing in the Bible, including history, law, poetry, prophecy, letters, and more. This material is an aid to learning the books of the Bible, but it is more than that. It also introduces the contents of the books, the genres they represent, and connects them to the materials that are on the shelves. Notes on the Material The material for this lesson includes the large, presentation Bible that sits on a bookstand used in the Core Lesson. It should not be a children s Bible with cartoon-like illustrations. Additionally, you will use a small wooden bookshelf with wooden books, each labeled with the title of one book of the Bible. The books are color coded to organize them into types of writing, such as the Law, History, the Writings, the Prophets, the Gospels, and Letters. The material includes a control sheet that shows the colors and a list of the books in each of the groups. You can slide the control sheet under the little bookshelf when it is in its place on the transition shelf. The material also includes color-coded summary cards, with one or two sentences about the content of each book and an important quote from the book. Special Notes For readers ages nine to twelve, you might give a separate lesson on how to find a passage in the Bible by book, chapter, and verse. Prepare a small basket of citations related to the stories on the shelves from which the children can choose. Children can select a citation, find the passage in a Bible, and locate the material on the shelf. They can also use their new skill when wondering raises questions that lend themselves to looking at the text. In order to do this as a group, you will need to include a collection of Bibles for the children in your Godly Play room. Some Godly Play programs give each child a Bible that lives below these lessons on the transition shelf while they are in that room. It moves up with them to the next room as they grow. It then goes home with them. The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 5 The Books of the Bible
Sacred Story (Old Testament) Transition (Desert Box below) Sacred Story (New Testament) Pentecost + the Saints (Heroes) Easter te ll e r S t o r y- Circle of Children Parables Parables Kneeling Tables (small tables below) Focal Christmas Lectern Pulpit Painting Trays + Drawing Boards Stool Supplies Work- in- Progress Altar Tabernacle Sacristy Cupboard Rug Box Credence Table Circle of the Church Year Wall Hanging Where to Find Materials The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 6 The Books of the Bible
Movements When the children are ready, get a rug from the rug basket or a large piece of felt. Carefully spread it out in front of you. Then go to the Transition shelf and lift the Bible off its stand. Bring it to the circle, and place it on the rug or felt underlay (closed). Bring to the circle the wooden shelf with books of the Bible. Words Watch where I go to get today s story. First, this lesson needs a rug (or underlay). Now, watch again. Remember to carry the Bible with two hands so that you won t drop it. You may need someone to help you carry the little books and bookshelf. Carry the bookshelf flat so that the little books won t fall out. The Books of the Bible (Children s Perspective) Go back to the shelf and get the summary cards. Here are the summary cards. Once you have everything you need, you may need to take a moment to help everyone get ready again. The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 7 The Books of the Bible
Movements Pick up the book and look at it with respect and pleasure, and then put it back on the underlay. Words This is the Holy Bible. It wasn t always a book. A long time ago, it was stories told around campfires in the desert and later in people s homes. Pick up the Bible again. Open the front and back covers of the book. Put it back on the underlay (open). As you place it back on the underlay, flip through the pages gently and put it back on the underlay open somewhere in the middle. Sweep your hands around the room, indicating the shelves filled with stories. Rest your hand on the Bible. Pause and then move the presentation Bible to the side. Then place the bookshelf in front of you, facing the children. Then the stories were written down on pieces of soft leather and then on paper. Finally the printing press was invented and the Bible became a book. Today, you can even have the Bible on your computer or phone. We can open the front door or the back door, but in this room we like to open both doors and let all the stories out! They are all over our room. We still tell them in a circle, like around a campfire. Sometimes parts of the Bible are in a video or movie, but here we still like to tell them the old, old way. This Bible is for you. You can look at it when you are here. When we share a story from it, we will open it up to where the story comes from in the Bible. After you hear the story, you might want to read the story or have someone read it to you. The Holy Bible isn t really just one book. It is like a whole library of books collected together. Let s name each book in the library. These are the books that are in the Old Testament, the stories that happened before Jesus was born. Sometimes The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 8 The Books of the Bible
Movements Take each book from the Old Testament out and name it, lining them up in order on the underlay. Invite the children to repeat the name after you. Take each book from the New Testament out and name it, lining them up in order on the underlay. Invite the children to repeat the names of those books as well. Count the books and compare the Old Testament and New Testament. Using the control sheet, explain how there are different kinds of books too. Words you will hear people call them the Hebrew Scriptures, and these books are read by both Christians and Jews. And here are the ones that tell the stories of Jesus and what happened after Jesus died, and rose again. These books are only read by Christians. Let s put them back on the shelf and count the number of Old Testament books and New Testament books. The Old Testament is much longer than the New Testament. There are many different kinds of writing as well. See how many kinds there are? There are books of law, history, poetry, Prophets, the Gospels, the history of the early church, the letters, and the Revelation to John. You can use this control sheet if you decide to take all the books off the shelf and want to put them back in the order they come in the Bible, or if you want to know what kind of writing is in each book. Pick up the summary content cards. Show how the control key and summary cards work together so it is easy to check your work. Pick a card at random. Show where it is in the library and tell what it is about. I have an idea. Let s figure out what the books are about. You might want to read one sometime, so we need to know where they are and what they are about. The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 9 The Books of the Bible
Movements Pick a book you know for example, Genesis to show which stories on the story shelves are from Genesis. Get up with the little book, and hold it next to the stories that it contains. Return to the circle and sit down. Put Genesis back in its place on the little bookshelf, and then lay your hand on it. Point to the Law section. Lay out the books, and recite them from memory. Put the books of the Law back on the shelf. Enjoy the whole bookshelf. Touch several of the books with wonder. Words Here are the summary cards. For every book on the shelf there is a summary card. Let s pick one and see what it says. (Read what is written on the card aloud.) It is also fun to see how each material in our room is connected to the Bible. Look. Here is the Book of Genesis. The Creation Story is from Genesis. The Flood and the Ark is too. The Great Family also comes from there. The first three stories on our Sacred Story shelf are all from the first book of the Bible. You know, some people even memorize the names of the books of the Bible. The names are just fun to say, and knowing the order of the names helps you find things in the Bible faster, because you know your way around. You can memorize the books in small bits while you are learning about them. This is how it works. See the part called the Law? There are only five books. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That s not so hard, is it? Now I wonder which one of the books you like best? I wonder which one is the most important one? I wonder which one is especially for you? I wonder if there are any books we can leave out and still have all the books we need? The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 10 The Books of the Bible
Movements If the children think there might be more that needs to be written, show them the empty book sitting at the end of the New Testament Sacred Story shelves labeled, The Part that hasn t been written yet. They might be the person who needs to write something down for all us. I wonder... Point to the kinds of books Law, Gospels, History, Paul s Letters, and so on. Words I wonder if there is something we need that has not been written yet? Now, I wonder which kinds of books you like best? I wonder which kind of book is the most important? I wonder which kinds of books are especially for you? I wonder if we can leave out any of the kinds of books and still have all the kinds we need? Replace all the materials on the shelf. Roll up the rug (or fold the underlay), and put it back in its place. Then return to your spot in the circle, and help the children choose their work. Now watch how I put the materials away so that you will know how to do it when you make this your work. Now it is time to get out our work. What work would you like to get out today? You may work with the materials from the Bible, or you may make something about them. Maybe you have something that you are already working on. There may be another material you would like to work with. There is so much. While I am going around the circle, think about what you are going to work with. The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, 11 The Books of the Bible