New Service Opportunity for 5th-8th Grade Youth

For the Spring of 2018, we are creating a new service opportunity for our 5th-8th grade youth on Sunday mornings at 9:30am. Instead of Sunday School, these members of our church will be invited to assist with our youngest Godly Play classroom. As our 3k-5k Godly Play teachers can attest, we have lots of energy to manage in that room! Before assisting, youth will be invited to attend a brief training with our Godly Play teachers so that they can understand the particular format of the program and how they can be helpful. After attending the training, these youth will be scheduled as helpers just as adult teachers are. Our hope is that their participation will continue to nurture a spirit of service in our youth while also exposing them to the rich biblical teaching of Godly Play.

What is Godly Play?

Godly Play is a way of religious education. The goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using the language of the Christian tradition to encounter God and find direction for their lives. There are six objectives that help meet this goal.

1. To model how to wonder in religious education, so children can “enter” religious language rather than merely repeating it or talking about it.
2. To show children how to create meaning with the language of the Christian tradition and how this can involve them in the experience of the Creator.
3. To show children how to choose their own work, so they can confront their own existential limits and depth issues rather than work on other kinds of problems dictated by others, including adults.
4. To organize the educational time to follow the pattern of worship that the Christian tradition has found to be the best way to be with God in community.
5. To show children how to work together as a community by supporting and respecting each other and one another’s quest.
6. To organize the educational space so that the whole system of Christian language is present in the room, so children can literally walk into that language domain when they enter the room and can begin to make connections among its various arts as they work with the lesson of the day and their responses in art or other lessons.

(Berryman, J., Teaching Godly Play, 1995).

KEY CONCEPTS OF GODLY PLAY:

• Godly Play grew out of Montessori roots and is based on the principles of Montessori education
• Children will be greeted at the door of the Godly Play room ready to enter the space and say goodbye to their caregiver
• “Work” in Godly Play is child-directed. Children will choose what they want to do, such as art activities (coloring, crafts), discovering Godly Play materials, cleaning the room (sweeping, dusting), etc.
• What children choose to say and do in the Godly Play classroom is sacred; therefore, the Godly Play leaders will not comment on what children said or chose to do each week. Caregivers should allow children to share what they choose to after a Godly Play session

GODLY PLAY AT NATIVITY:

• Children in 3k-5k and grades 1-5 are invited to participate in Godly Play each week
• Class will begin at 9:30 and end at approximately 11:00. *Please be mindful of the start time of 9:30, latecomers might potentially disrupt the Biblical story for the day
• Children should be brought to the door of the classroom where they will be greeted by a Godly Play leader
• There will be two Godly Play leaders present each week
• Children can be picked up at the door of the classroom at 11:00 or they will be escorted into the church to find their parents
• The focus of Godly Play is not on making products, so please do not expect paperwork or organized artwork to accompany your child
• A small snack is giving during the “feast,” but please keep in mind that this is not substantial. The feast typically consists of water and a few pretzels or crackers, the idea is to mimic Communion

We look forward to spending time with your child in the Godly Play environment while learning and growing together. If there are questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Lindsay Powers (lpowers106@gmail.com, 662-466-1114)

A Note from Peter (July 2015)

Discernment, I’ve been told, is figuring out what is next and what is not next. The fallow time that is summer in the church is a blessing in that it invites us into discernment. Though our farmers are hard at work now, for those of us whose lives are tied to the school calendar, the summer provides a moment to stop and wonder about what it is that God would have us do next.

In our church family, a number of your leaders have been discerning with me the shape our Christian formation programming will take down the road. Christian formation is a term I use to encompass every part of our life together that helps us to grow in the knowledge and love of God. Sunday School is the obvious example, but youth group, children’s chapel, Emmaus small groups, and Mission Mississippi prayer breakfasts are all part of how we do Christian formation. Here are a few of the things your leaders have been working on:

Junior High Sunday School: Two years ago we made an attempt at starting a Jr. High Sunday School class. As we have more and more children in this age range, a number of us discerned it was time to make another go of it. Emily Riser has offered herself as the leader of this new class that will cover the 5th-8th grades. For her curriculum, she’ll be using Sparkhouse’s re:form, a program that invites emerging young adults to tackle questions together about the Bible, the creeds, Jesus, and other topical concerns. You can learn more at wearesparkhouse.org/teens/reform/core.

Adult Forum: Beginning this Fall, our Sunday learning for adults will take a slightly different form. We’ll move out of the current classroom and set up in the parish hall. Want to sit and listen and talk about the day’s topic while eating your breakfast casserole? Great! Want to sit and chat about the weather? Well, you might want to do that in the Bishop’s Hall. In addition to the new space, the teaching burden will be spread around a bit more. Look for programs led by yours truly as well as other Nativity members and friends.

Godly Play: This Montessori-based approach for our 3-6 year olds is off and running. Lindsay Powers, Kim Lassiter, Cindy Wilson, Tish Goodman, Sherrie Peel, and Kathy Whicker have agreed to be our teachers, and most of them will travel with me to Sewanee the last week in July for a four day training in the program. Look inside for ways that you can help fund the startup of this program!

Emmaus Groups: Many members had very positive experiences last year with these small groups that gathered on a monthly basis for fellowship and learning. Look to hear more in August about joining a group for the first time or reconvening last year’s group.

Wednesday Bible Study: Frances Lavelle and I have discussed beginning a simple bible study after the 10am Wednesday service. Would you be interested in that? Let me know!

Peace,
Peter+