Godly Play

I've spent today playing... Theres different sides to leading Godly Play. One of the things that I really like is finding and building the stories.

I've always liked arts and crafts so this really leaps out for me.  Theres always a story behind a picture a painting a statue or carving. Each person who comes to look at it contemplate it adds to the story.

That is very true in Godly play each story we ask I wonder, theres no right no wrong as we enter into the story and journey together.  And I mean together in a real tangible way.

The stories are used in two ways, occasionally as part of the sunday morning, and mainly in our monthly Kids Club we all come together leaders and clubbers. As we ask I wonder there is a look that comes over the whole group, as they play through the story in there imagination...

Today's story makes 6 we now have..

Advent

Good Shepherd

Good Samaritan

Mustard Seed

Holy Family

Mystery of Pentecost

And the parable of the sower in a work in progress.

The latest Box ready 

Mystery of Pentecost

There's a song we sing from time to time. It goes something like this in part....

Brother let me be your servant let me be as Christ to you

It is easier for us to serve another. To be there to give a lift take a meal offer a place to stay. To care, but. E able to not do anything. It is far harder to be the person on the receiving end of that care. So much harder to be the one who is allowing the other to be as Christ and serve. Why is that, that we would never see it as putting ourselves out to be there for another, yet we feel a burden in the way so often

What brings this thought, in part the maunday Thursday service as the Priest kneels to wash the feet of parishioners. The same way in which Jesus knelt to was the disciples feet.

Partly as this week I've not felt well, now this isn't fun I don't like not being able to do things. I'm deffinatly the worst patient ESP when doctors and tests are involved. The dummy doesnt just get thrown out its sent into orbit. That happened a few times this week (hangs head)

Let me serve you from offers of a room so as not to be alone, and SMS and calls those word of the song from others has been so real.

The real challenge is the words LET ME BE AS we I have to allow others to come alongside to be Jesus with skin on..... and definitely need a dose of grace to do that.

Tough lessons for each of us to learn.

And thankful that even in the impression of a teenager throwing out the dummy some. Ery special people carried on being just that Jesus with skin on.

Expedition Force

ASK!! and Y@AS for a week this week.. well a four day week.  Today was the first day of our holiday club. A club for those who attend our Kids club once a month on a saturday.. that's until some of the youth club asked if they could come... and so today we had 17 4-13's in church,crafts, games,drama song,story and fun. 

It wasn't the usual type of holiday club because of the mix.. two boys came along and they had a great time with a pair of secateurs and branches i'm not sure the trees did :). As they helped prepare for the easter garden.

a few minuets of quite after a game was the moment that was for me the moment of the day to day as we sat together with a box of plastic eggs in a box.. Resurrection eggs - each day we choose three eggs, in each of the eggs has a bible passage and a little something. Today the three eggs chosen were

   5. Piece of rope, twine, or thick string (a scourge) 
“Pilate wanted to please the crowd, so he    set Barabbas free for
them. Then he had Jesus whipped and handed Him over to be
crucified.” Mark 15:15

11. Rock 
“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a new linen sheet, and
placed it in his own new tomb, which he had just recently dug
out of solid rock. Then he rolled a large stone across the
entrance to the tomb and went away.” Matthew 27:59-60

12. Nothing (the tomb is empty)
“He is not here. He has risen just as He said.” Matthew 28:6

before we opened the folded paper I wonder what the thing inside your egg has to do with the story..Hands shot up..  as the first egg was opened. A rock - " it's just a guess but could it have any thing to do with the stone and the grave. The next was empty lots of ideas as to why it might be a empty egg. 

In a simple way today we started a new expedition together. and we journey through Holy week. 

palm sunday

Palm sunday has to be one of the days of the year for me that I look forward too. Here in the new patch there lots of firsts and today was another of these. There was no little white stallion leading the procession or causing church wardens a near heart attack when the vicar brought him right into the church. Walking the short walk from the village hall to the church in the cool but sunny spring morning. 

 two of the young people joined us this morning and it was their first time so a lot of excitement and questions and parts of the gospel story falling into place. they came out this week with the best description of a disciple I've heard in a while at house group on Thursday. 

those people you know the ones that were with Jesus they just followed him his footsteps like and learnt things then past them on so we can do it...

such a simple but wonderful way to explain what we so often over complicate. Today there were more great moments of laughter and excited comments on the front row as they turned and commented about recognising parts of the service from the gospel story we have been looking at over lent.