Day Twenty Eight- 1/28/11 Praying Through Play

Day Twenty Eight: 1/28/11
New Thing: Praying Through Play with Delia
Inspiration: Ellyn and Delia
Cost: $0
Time: About 3 hours
Bottom Line: Delia and I had a really fun and deep time.

OK- This picture was actually taken at the Vocare Retreat, but it was the same story that I told today. 

 Reflection: Today Delia played hookie from pre-school and we went to our Garden Gate Parent/Child group at church. While we were there Delia played with her best friend, Katherine as well as the other delightful children. My friend Ellyn (who is also our church's Director of Religious Education) lead the parents in a great workshop about the different philosophies of the importance of play for the spiritual life of the child paying particular attention to Waldorf and Montessori Methods. It was really interesting to hear her thoughts on how those styles emphasize the importance of play as the "work" of childhood and how we can incorporate some of those ideas into our homes such as using toys which can ignite the imagination and are made of natural materials like wood.

The Story of The Good Shepard and World Communion

As a Godly Play teacher (which is the style of curriculum that we use at Trinity for our younger members), I have really come to appreciate the importance of play as the language of childhood. During a Godly Play Class, the story teller uses special objects and materials to tell the sacred stories of the Bible as well as important liturgical lessons. Then the children answer open ended questions about how they experience God in the stories. They are then invited to pick a "work" (such as painting, working with clay, reading, or working with plants) that helps them respond to the story as we close with a "Feast" of a small snack. All of this is done to mirror the church service. When we tap into the wonderment mystery of children's spirituality we allow them to speak the truths about God that they in fact already know, but may not always have the language to articulate. Being a GP teacher has really enriched my own spiritual life.

I was so inspired after the Garden Gate, (which included a lovely prayer/play circle) that Delia, Katherine and I went into one of the Godly Play classroom and I told them the story of The Good Shepard and World Communion. I have never told Delia this story and it was really beautiful to hear her wondering at the end. We finished up the lovely morning with a little ladies lunch together where we played with our food.