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This year the children of St. David's Episcopal Church in Venetia have been introduced to something new in Children's Church. It's a wonderful teaching method called "Godly Play" and is now used every Sunday.

Sunday School

Using "Godly Play," teachers now tell the children a story, rather than read one. They always incorporate visuals. The children are not told what the story means, but asked to think about what they heard and saw and to wonder about it. They can share what they wonder aloud. The method eliminates the idea of a right answer, while also showing the children that God is speaking directly to them, not using the instructor as an intermediary.

This instructional method was developed by Jerry Berryman in the '70s. A series of books was published beginning in 2002 and later introduced to churches by the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. In February of 2014, Mrs. Jennifer Yoon, Director of Children's Ministry at St. David's, along with two teachers, Mrs. Jennifer Cox and Mrs. Beth White, attended a weekend training session offered by the diocese. Their enthusiasm has led them to begin training other teachers and volunteers at St. David's in the use of "Godly Play." And this goes beyond the home church. Mrs. Yoon is now working with another local teacher to provide workshops designed to help other parishes to develop their own "Play" materials.

In addition to the youngsters (from pre-school to ten years of age), the entire congregation has an opportunity to observe the program in action once a month. The last Sunday at St. David's is always a family service. The children remain in the sanctuary throughout and "Godly Play" is used in place of a sermon. As the young parishioners gather around their teacher at the foot of the altar, the adults have a chance to observe and learn right along with them. On that day, "Godly Play" transcends all age groups.

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