This week’s Godly Play lesson is The Great Family from The Complete Guide to Godly Play: Volume 2 by The Rev. Dr. Jerome Berryman Told by Godly Play® Canada Trainer Amy Crawford.

This week’s lesson takes place in the desert box (*please note it is a “desert box” not a sandbox!) an important setting for many of the sacred stories. Listen to how the storyteller introduces the children to the concept of the desert and its physical significance in the stories of the people of God. 

In this story, we continue seeking the elusive presence of God. God was present at creation, blessing all that was made. Noah walked with God and was led by God’s presence to build the ark that preserved life. And then?

The people living around Abraham and Sarah believed that there were many gods embedded in nature. This meant that gods had to be “here” or “there.” Abraham and his family believed that God was everywhere, but was that really true? What if they were to go into an unknown place or experience, would God be there? They were not sure of this, but they put their faith in God’s promises and found them to be true.

After you’ve watched the story, you might like to ask the wondering questions again – pausing after each question to leave enough time for your child to ponder and respond, if they wish – if they don’t that’s okay! I would encourage you to accept and affirm all answers simply by repeating exactly what the child said.

The wondering questions are:

1.    I wonder what part of this story you liked best?  (Affirm by saying – “You liked XXXX best”). *where XXXX is whatever the child said
2.    I wonder what part the story is the most important? (Affirm by saying – “The most important part of the story is XXXX”.)  *where XXXX is whatever the child said
3.    I wonder if any part of the story is about you? (Affirm by saying – “The part of the story that is about you is “XXXXX”.  *where XXXX is whatever the child said
4.    I wonder if there is any part of the story we could leave out and still have all the story we need?  (Affirm by saying – “The part of the story we could leave out and still have all we need is XXXX”.)  *where XXXX is whatever the child said

After the wondering, while we don’t direct children in their work, some suggestions might be:

·       That they draw or paint the part of the story they liked best
·       That they gather some of their toys to retell the story
·       Or…..