Godly Play: The Good Shepherd and the Worldwide Communion

Well, I'm back after a short pause from blogging. Sometimes you just have to take a break every now and then to find fresh inspiration.: )

This week at our church's bi-weekly brunch, we heard the story, "The Good Shepherd and the World Communion". I actually like the German title better: "Der Gute Hirte und die weltweit Einheit der Christen", which translates to "The Good Shepherd and the Worldwide Unity of Christians". This story is from the liturgical genre and connects the Parable of the Good Shepherd to the Eucharist (Communion or Lord's Supper, depending on which tradition you come from). The Eucharist, like the Lord's Prayer, is something that almost all Christians with few exceptions (although there are some) observe. Hence, my tendency to favor the German title. 

This is a story with little text. As an inexperienced Storyteller, I used to rush it, because I was uneasy with the silence. If you can learn to be content with the silence, the children will be attentive as well and enjoy the silence. 

The Good Shepherd leads his sheep out of the stall. They know his voice and follow him.

He goes before them to show them the way.

He leads them to green pastures.

This is the Good Shepherd's table.

This is the bread and wine of the Good Shepherd.

Sometimes people from all over the world come to the Good Shepherd's table. And the children come, too.

The text above is, of course, not the actual text. It's just enough to give you a taste of what the story is like and show you what the movement in the story is like. 

The image of the Good Shepherd seems to be an image that children are naturally drawn to. Berryman based his Good Shepherd stories on the work of Sophia Cavaletti (who developed Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the forerunner of Godly Play), who in her research repeatedly found that children were particularly interested in the idea of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. I have found this to be true in my work as well. 

All of the children who heard the story today had heard the Parable of the Good Shepherd at least once before. Some have actually participated in Communion before. But interestingly enough, the children did not seem to make a direct connection between communion in the church and the Good Shepherd's table. One child, however, wondered if there was a connection between the Good Shepherd's table and the Passover feast (which she had been learning about in religion class at school). 

One of the questions in the Wondering was whether or not the people at the Good Shepherd's table were happy. That led to a lively discussion about whether or not we are always happy when we come to the table or when we leave. 

Here is a look at some of the creative work that we did afterwards.

One child wanted to hear the Parable of the Sower, so I told it to her. Then she pulled out the Second Creation story and put it together with the Good Shepherd and the World Communion. I would love to know the story that she was going through her head. 

Another child made wool pictures. 

Other children painted.

I am thrilled to have a child who is developmentally young enough for Montessori Practical Life activities. She is practicing "dry pouring" with lentils, an activity that encourages fine motor skills. 

This was one of our more harmonious Godly Play Sundays, and one in which I pondered again how much I love my job! 

Linked to Montessori Monday at Living Montessori Now

Change of Plans

Family Brunch unfortunately had to be cancelled at the last minute this week. Taking a cue from the old adage, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!",  I told the story I had worked on to my own children and husband in a small, intimate and impromptu worship service.

This story is called "The Good Shepherd and the World Communion" and combines the ideas of Jesus as the Good Shepherd in Psalm 23 and John 10 with the liturgical ritual of communion. It is a fairly short text, but loaded with things to think about.  It ends with people from all over the world and the children gathering around the Good Shepherd's table.

Here are the materials for this story. There are two "pastures", a literal one and one in the church.
The Good Shepherd leads the sheep out of the stall on the left to his table on the right.  

At the end of the story, the Good Shepherd and sheep
are joined by people from around the world and the children.
For info on how I made the materials, click here.

This was also the first time that I have ever told a Godly Play story in English. That was slightly amusing, because I was translating from the German in my thoughts the entire time.  I think it actually helped slow me down and make the whole story more meditative.

It was also a good opportunity to practice the language of silence with my own children. My kids sometimes have difficulty separating Mom from children's pastor and teacher (I am also my son's English teacher at his school!). And as anyone who has ever taught their own children in a group setting knows, your own children can often be the cause of the worst disruptions.   So this was a chance to explain again what I expect of them and why.: )

During the Wondering Phase, my children seemed more thoughtful than usual, perhaps because we were at home. I asked three questions:

"Have you ever been near the Good Shepherd's table?"
Here my children had specific memories of being near the Good Shepherd's table not only in our church, but in other churches as well and talked about the different types of bread that were at the Communion table.

"Do you think the people around the table are happy?"
This question about whether the people were happy or not led to a conversation about whether or not the people are always happy when they came to the table. I mentioned that sometimes people come to the table when they are sad and need comfort.  Then, one of my children said, "Sometimes people come when they are in trouble and need God to forgive them." What a beautiful thought, that we can come to the Good Shepherd's table anytime and in any state to find what we need . . .

"Have you ever heard the words of the Good Shepherd?"
Here both children said that they didn't hear God with their physical ears.  One said she heard Him with the ears of our her heart, and the other child said he saw God with his "third eye" or spiritual eye. We also talked about how we can hear the Good Shepherd through the Bible, other people and nature.

Then, we celebrated feast time with grape juice and spelt crackers.  Sometimes the unplanned things in life turn out to be the most fun!

Sneak Preview

On Sunday I am planning on telling the Godly Play story called "The Good Shepherd and the World Communion". I've been wanting to do this story for a long time, but couldn't figure out how to get affordable materials.  The set from the Diakonie Leipzig, the official supplier in Germany, costs 167 Euros, and our church plant doesn't have that much cash lying around for one GP story.  And the materials from the American supplier aren't much cheaper.  Lately though I've been inspired by on-line friends such as Storyteller, Leslie, and All Play on Sunday who make their own materials.  So I decided to give it a go at making my own materials for this story. Am Sontag möchte ich die Godly Play Geschichte "Der Gute Hirte und die weltweite Einheit der Christen"erzählen. Ich wollte schon länger diese Geschichte spielen, aber ich wusste nicht, woher ich das Material dafür bekommt.  Die Teile von der Diakonie Leipzig, die Godly Play Sachen in Deutschland herstellt, kosten 167 Euro, welches Geld wir als Gründungsprojekt nicht haben. Und aus Amerika zu bestellen ist nicht unbedingt billiger. In den letzen Monaten bin ich von Storyteller, Leslie, und All Play on Sunday inspiriert, die GP Material oft selber basteln. Und vor Kurzem dachte ich mir, ich versuch's mal . . .

Taking inspiration from the Waldorf world, I decided to use wooden peg dolls for the people of the world. And since I live in the land of Waldorf, the wooden pegs dolls are in every hobby shop and economical.  Here's a look at the results below:  Von der Waldorfwelt kam ich auf die Idee Holzpuppen anzumalen.  Sie kosten ungefahr ein Euro pro Stück und sind deshalb preiswert.  Hier sind meine Ergebnisse unten:

I have new respect for people who earn their living with decorative painting, because the flowers and stripes on these dolls were not entirely easy to paint.  They require a very steady hand, careful planning, and a dose of patience (something that I am not naturally gifted with!). I intentionally did not give them faces taking a cue from Waldorf education to allow the children to project their own interpretations onto the figures.  My daughter gave her approval by immediately playing with them and telling her own stories. Ich habe eine neue Respekt für Künstler, die solche Holzspielzeuge dekorieren, da es nicht wirklich einfach ist die Designs auf einer 3-D Fläche anzumalen. Ich habe die Gesichtsausdrücke mit Absicht nach einem Waldorfprinzip wegelassen, damit die Kinder phantasievoll die eigene Intepretationen bei der Geschichte machen können.  Als meine Tochter sofort anfing mit den Puppen zu spielen und Geschichten zu erzählen, wusste ich, das hat gut geklappt. 

For the sheep I used polymer clay that hardens in the oven.  Aren't they cute?  Für die Schafe habe ich Fimo benutzt und ich war zufrieden mit der Ergebnis. Süß oder?

And last but not least, here is the Good Shepherd with the sheep.  Und jetzt kommt Der gute Hirte.

Stay tuned to see how things go on Sunday in the park!  Bis Sonntag im Park!