SUNDAY MORNINGS FOR KIDS! 

Nursery Care for our youngest disciples, birth - preschool.

Godly Play for grades K-5th downstairs in the Youth Room/Godly Play rooms.

 
 

Making meaning through story, wonder, and play. Nurturing spiritual lives by honoring the centrality, competency, and capacity of children. Learn more!


Sunday Mornings at 10:30 am (Doors open at 10:15)
Summit Youth/Godly Play spaces
Contact: Alexis Sterbentz

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Godly Play was first developed in the USA by Jerome Berryman within a youth work context. It has developed into powerful tool in both churches and schools as a way of telling bible stories. It has strong links with the Montessori approach to education.

Godly Play is a way of creating time and space for children to be, not just to do and is about process rather than product.

Key elements of Godly Play are:

  • Space - a safe, child-oriented environment, somewhere to be and to think

  • Process - open, exploring, valuing questions, discovering truth, freedom to face difficulties, developing the language of spirituality

  • Imagination - playful, exploring both the light and the dark, opening channels for deepening spirituality

  • Relationships - between children, between adults and children, equality within community, mutual learning

  • Intimacy - valuing self and others, respecting autonomy, inclusive, looking for the good in people

  • Trust - faith in the power of story, valuing silence, , valuing each person’s spirituality and vulnerability, allowing power to move around the circle and people to take responsibility for their actions and words

What happens in a Godly Play session?

  • Children are welcomed into the space and given time to become quiet.

  • They listen to a story, told in a circle using objects and artifacts. Children are drawn into the story as everyone including the storyteller looks at the objects and artifacts as the story is told.

  • The story is explored using open questions and discussion, allowing plenty of time for thinking. Be prepared for long silences!

  • Children then respond to what they have heard using a free choice of materials, e.g. art materials, small world materials, mark-making materials, or they may just wish to sit and think. They can also use the props to retell the story for themselves.

  • Ideally the session ends with a simple ‘feast’, i.e. something to eat and drink together in the circle.