Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas to anyone visiting this blog!

Photo: Adoración de los pastores (Adoration of the Shepherds), Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (c. 1657), Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Ministry update & personal finances

I very rarely blog or comment about my own financial situation or means of support. However, I realise that some of my readers may wish to be made aware of this subject - so, despite a fair degree of discomfort in doing just that in this post, here goes!

For over three decades now, my 'home' church near London (UK) has consistently been making monthly gifts to help cover my personal and family needs in Spain. However, this arrangement will come to an end in March 2012 due to the cutbacks the church feels it needs to make in its annual budget and other priorities in its ministry. The leaders are presently encouraging their members (and any others beyond the local congregation who wish to support me individually or as families) to take steps to make personal arrangements once the church payments cease. They will be reminding the members again shortly by means of a letter, and recently they asked me for a short note outlining my current ministry that could be enclosed with their letter - especially for those who do not have access to this blog. Here is what I wrote:

For over 25 years, I have been involved with Unión Bíblica (Scripture Union Spain) as their National Coordinator for Children’s Ministries. I continue to travel regularly as a Scripture Union worker to different parts of Spain (and sometimes further afield), responding to invitations for training, lecturing & consultation. Since 2004, my work as a trainer has particularly focused on Godly Play, an imaginative approach to encouraging children (and grown-ups) to engage personally with Bible stories. My other duties with Scripture Union Spain also include publishing projects, especially in the area of evangelistic and Bible-reading materials for children.

More recently, I have been encouraged by the leaders of my (other) local church in Galicia (north-west Spain) to take over as their new Children’s Minister. This involves general supervision of Sunday school classes, summer camps, all-age worship, prayer events for children, etc. At the time of writing, I am busy training Sunday school workers in Godly Play principles and practice, setting up a brand-new Godly Play environment in one of the church classrooms, organising a KidsGames seminar for children’s and youth workers in Galicia, and regularly preaching on key Bible texts which either refer directly to children or impact indirectly on ministry with children and young people.

None of these posts is salaried, so my work still depends on voluntary contributions from supporters. I continue to be extremely grateful to God who has supplied my personal needs and those of the ministry for more than 35 years by means of regular donations from faithful supporters. Thanks be to God for this practical fellowship in the gospel!

If you also wish to contribute financially, you can send designated gifts on my behalf via Independent Christian Workers Trust (ICWT). This is especially useful for UK tax payers, as ICWT are able to reclaim tax through the Gift Aid scheme and, thereby, substantially increase these contributions. I would be happy to give you further details on request.

I wonder if there is any part we can leave out...

One of the wondering questions often used in Godly Play after presenting a Bible story is the following: "I wonder if there is any part we can leave out and still have all the story we need".

The challenge in our storytelling is to grasp what is essential and to omit the superfluous. Scripture itself is selective and often the biblical narratives use the bare minimum of language to convey the essence of the story. Too often when we tell these stories to children (or adults) we tend to elaborate on them and fill in the gaps, instead of allowing the children to thoughtfully read between the lines themselves. Godly Play seeks to employ the same economy of language as Jesus did, for example, in his parables. But there may be even more that we can leave out - hence the question for the children to ponder with us as, together, we seek to grasp the essential.

A couple of volunteers from my church congregation in Galicia have offered to carve some of the wooden figures used in Godly Play as we prepare the new classroom for the coming school year. I guess sculptors continually ask themselves the same wondering question: what more can be chiselled away before getting to the imagined object they have in mind? So throughout the creative process, the craftsman who produced, say, the beautiful donkey in the Holy Family set of figures (see illustration) will be wondering what else that is NOT a donkey can be carved away before finally reaching that which is essentially the donkey we need! The art is leaving out the unessential in order to focus on what really counts.

My church is currently celebrating the centenary of the construction of the rural chapel where we meet. A hundred years of tradition is something to celebrate! However, the leaders of the congregation are also aware that changes need to be made as the church faces the challenges of the twenty-first century. They need wisdom to balance tradition and renewal. "I wonder if there is anything we can leave out (or, perhaps, even add) and still have everything we need" was essentially the question that was in the air during the Reformation!

In October, my wife and I are moving house (again!) to be closer to the church and thus enhance our process of integration. There will not be as much space for all my stuff in the new house. "I wonder what I need to leave out (throw or give away) and still have everything I need" will be the question on my mind as I prepare boxes and attempt to de-clutter. Hmmm!

Creating a safe and welcoming space

Here's an extract from a summary report on the work of the Coming Generations Track at last year's Scripture Engagement Forum at Melaka, Malaysia. The full report can be found here.

The Coming Generations track comprised about 40 people from every continent [...] The main themes of the track focused on how we can release the potential of young people’s interaction with God’s word [...]

Creating a safe and welcoming space

When young people perceive that we are listening and authentically sharing our own lives with them, a safe space is created where they can feel confident to explore Scripture. In such a space, we are affirming that no question or comment will be rejected and that no right/wrong response will be demanded.

Godly Play® models an approach that provides a safe sacred space for children to explore the Bible. Led by David Pritchard, we were - as children - invited slowly and thoughtfully into the story of the Old Testament patriarchs in ways that engaged our imagination and left us ‘wondering’ at the mystery of God, and at his invitation to be part of his story. This was a space characterised more by silence and simplicity than noise or clutter. As we became engrossed in the story, the storyteller (David Pritchard) became almost invisible: direct connection had been made between the story and the ‘children’. This is a deliberate intention in Godly Play®.

In a safe space, what is the role of the adult? We were challenged to take a step back and let God do what he wants to do in the group and among its individuals - to allow the Bible, his word, to speak for itself [...]

Godly Play classroom / 2

The creation of resource materials for the new Godly Play classroom in Castiñeiras (Coruña province, NW Spain) is well underway. Good progress is being made, with a team of volunteers from the congregation of Castiñeiras Evangelical Church working on the materials in their spare time during the summer with the intention of completely equipping the classroom for the start of the new school year.

It seems that we won't have to purchase any of the resources from Godly Play suppliers, as the volunteers are skilled and motivated enough to do the entire job themselves. This is quite remarkable and extremely beneficial: the volunteers will have the satisfaction that the fruit of their work will be used regularly in the Sunday school for many years to come - and it will certainly save the church some money!

The artefacts have been lovingly crafted to a high standard of excellence - really top quality! It will be wonderful to see how the children respond to them!

I hope you enjoy the pictures here of this part of the creative process. More photos will be added as other materials are produced.

Second Godly Play workshop in Castiñeiras

¡Godly Play is progressing in Galicia!

The second workshop took place on Saturday 12th June at my church in Castiñeiras (Coruña). There were 8 of us from that church and another participant from another church in Ferrol, a town in the north of La Coruña province, in NW Spain. This time, the workshop focused on Sacred Story, both the learning and practising of the narratives in Godly Play, as well as the creation of resource materials for telling them.

You can find more photos of the event here

World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk

For several years now, I have been translating, adapting and distributing resource materials relating to Viva's World Weekend of Prayer (WWP) for children at risk. I have been doing this as part of my work with Unión Bíblica (Scripture Union Spain), rather than through formal contact with Viva themselves.

Prayer is an integral part of Scripture Union's aim of "encouraging people of all ages to meet God daily through the Bible and prayer". Intercessory prayer is part and parcel of "meeting God", especially prayer on behalf of those who are closest to God's heart - i.e. vulnerable and needy children - and this in itself is a response to the reading of Bible passages such as "A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in his holy habitation" (Psalm 68:5).

This year I translated Viva's WWP poster, PowerPoint presentation and 5 prayer sessions for children. I am happy that through Unión Bíblica's partnership with La Semilla de Trigo (the Spanish branch of Grain de Blé / Grain of Wheat) and the Asociación de Educadores Evangélicos de Madrid (Madrid Christian Educators' Association), we have been able to promote this material to a wider circle of contacts through e-mail distribution, Facebook posts, digital prayer bulletins, etc.

I have already received some feedback from churches who have used these prayer resources, including the following comment:

"I am using this wonderful material you attached with my children in Sunday School and we are really making the most of it. They actually keep quiet and show great interest in the stories displayed in it, and pray!!!! which is a great task for them. Thank you for sharing this material with all who love and teach children." Rosa

My own church at Castiñeiras (A Coruña), in NW Spain, decided to take part in WWP for the first time this year. The Sunday School children had already worked with some of the translated prayer materials on the Sundays leading up to the WWP and the 2-hour meeting I had with them on Saturday 5th June. Sixteen children, aged 6-13 years of age, attended this special meeting. They enjoyed expressing their feelings and reactions to the situations depicted in the prayer resources by means of half an hour of free art response. Then they rehearsed songs and Bible readings for a 30 minute presentation they would be taking part in during the morning service the next day at church. Finally, the children and their teachers engaged in a short time of prayer.

This gathering was also important for me, as it was the first real interaction I have been able to have with the children as a group since I joined the church earlier in the year.

Yesterday (Sunday 6th June), we celebrated WWP with the whole congregation. The church leaders had already decided to shift the normal morning service to the evening, and had announced that arrangement the Sunday before, so that the maximum amount of time could be devoted in the morning to prayer for children at risk. About 100 people attended the all-age morning service, which included a display of the children's art responses from the day before, the adapted WWP PowerPoint presentation, case studies from the translated lesson materials, Bible readings led by the children, songs, congregational responses and open prayer. Several of the church members approached me after the service with positive remarks expressing a desire to continue celebrating the WWP in future years.

It's vital to pray for children at risk in today's world. Even more strategic is when children themselves are involved in praying for other children - this is a powerful means of grace in God's hands. Viva estimate that around 3 million people may have taken part this year in WWP events around the globe - over half of which will have been children!

Weekend residential training for Christian educators

This past weekend (28-30 May), I have been leading some residential training near Madrid on working with children for a small group of Christian educators. This event forms part of the regular annual programme of the Asociación de Educadores Evangélicos de Madrid (Madrid Christian Educators Association), run in partnership with Unión Bíblica (Scripture Union Spain). The training is based on the course Working with Children Today, which I put together many years ago and continue to update regularly.

On this occasion, only four people took part in the course. They were from churches in Madrid and Aranjuez, and included school RE teachers, leaders of summer camp programmes, child minders and Sunday school teachers. Despite the low numbers, there was a good spirit in the group and plenty of motivation to learn and share. Here are a few of their comments on the closing feedback sheet:

• "I really liked this course!"
• "Just right! It's helped me a lot!"
• "Great! Many thanks!"
• "I am really grateful for everything I have learned. Thank you!"

The next training in this series is scheduled for the end of September.

Godly Play at a national conference for Christian medical staff

At their latest national conference, which took place this past weekend (28-30 May) near Madrid, the Spanish Christian Medical Fellowship, Unión Médica Evangélica (AME), agreed that their morning worship should consist of Godly Play stories.

So, I was happy to lead two half-hour sessions on consecutive mornings before breakfast, presenting the classic stories of The Great Family and The Parable of the Good Shepherd. These presentations aroused a great deal of interest from the group, and many useful conversations took place subsequently during the breaks for coffee and lunch on subjects such as chaplaincy services in children's hospitals, training in pastoral ministry to children, child spirituality, etc. I am expecting to receive follow-up invitations from several of the participants to develop work in these areas through Godly Play workshops and seminars.

More photos of this event can be found here

Godly Play weekend in Valencia

I'm writing this post in Madrid, in between Godly Play presentations last weekend in Valencia and a residential training event on working with children this coming weekend here in the Spanish capital. So, here's my report on the first of those two activities.

Last Saturday (22 May), I was invited to lead a Godly Play introductory day in Valencia, organised by the First Baptist Church of Valencia and the 'Bona Nova' Evangelical Church, in partnership with Unión Bíblica (Scripture Union Spain). The event was attended by a group of 21 educators, both professional school teachers as well as volunteer Sunday school staff. They represented 3 local churches in Valencia city and another church in the nearby town of Xátiva.

Some of the participants had experienced Godly Play in the past at other training events, but for others it was totally new. In general, the feedback was really positive and a core group of participants expressed interest in attending workshops in Godly Play to learn the nuts and bolts of this method. A date has been reserved later this year for the first of this series of workshops: Saturday, 13 November. The staff at the First Baptist Church have also revealed their plans for transforming one of their classrooms into a permanent space in which to offer Godly Play to the children of their congregation.


The following day was Pentecost Sunday. At the First Baptist Church, two Godly Play classes were organised, the first for young children and the second for the older age group. Both groups responded very well to the wondering questions related to their respective stories: The Parable of the Good Shepherd, in the case of the younger children, and The Mystery of Pentecost, in that of the older group.

In the first session, there were many young children crowded into a rather limited space, and a number of adult observers also attended - which is not to be recommended in a normal Godly Play class. Even so, the children responded very well to the story during the response time, choosing a variety of art and craft media, as well as the materials of the parable itself. We also enjoyed sharing the feast together. In the same way, the older children responded creatively to the Tower of Babel and Pentecost stories although, unfortunately, there was not enough time that Sunday morning to celebrate the feast with them.

Some of the aldult observers were staff workers at the Valencia City Mission, who were inquiring about how Godly Play might be used with the children who have contact with the mission. So, it seems there may well be many other trips back to Valencia over the next couple of years!

Click on the following links to see more pictures of the Godly Play introduction and the children's classes.

Godly Play classroom / 1

I'll be using this blog to update you from time to time on our progress in setting up a new Godly Play classroom at my church in the rural area of Castiñeiras, in NW Spain. The target is to have the classroom fully operational by September 2010, when classes will begin with a small group of children aged 3 to 6.

The Evangelical chapel at Castiñeiras is celebrating its centenary this year. However, this church community is presently renovating the rooms on the upstairs floors - and one of them will be totally dedicated to Godly Play! This is good news indeed!

Although the room is rather small, I have thought carefully about how to maximize the space. It was originally one of the rooms in the missionaries' residence over the chapel when it was built in 1910 - and includes a fireplace! However one of the pieces of furniture especially designed for the GP classroom will carefully fit in the space used for the hearth.

The room is very bright as natural light streams in from two windows, overlooking the surrounding fields and nearby beach. Its solid wood floor, rafters, doors, etc. have recently been revarnished and polished, and the walls painted.

I am really surprised how quickly the church carpenter and his team have produced the furniture for the new classroom after I had submitted to him the design for the shelves. They were ready in time for a Godly Play workshop we held earlier this month in a larger adjacent room.

Here are some practical principles about designing and organizing Godly Play space that will be guiding us as we continue to develop our own classroom.

You can see more photos here of the present stage of development. Please revisit this blog from time to time for further updates on our progress!

World Weekend of Prayer for Children at Risk

On the 5-6 Junio, millions of Christians will be taking part in the World Weekend of Prayer for children at risk, coordinated by the international network of Christian NGOs, Viva.

Scripture Union Spain (Unión Bíblica), in partnership with Grain of Wheat (La Semilla de Trigo), are promoting this weekend of concentrated prayer for children in need through our own network of contacts. From Viva's website, practical resources for this event can be downloaded, including a Prayer Guide in Spanish, that has been carefully prepared and edited, and includes information, testimonies, prayer topics and activities for promoting creative prayer in groups of both children and adults.

The Viva website contains a number of other Resources in English, such as a PowerPoint presentation, a guide for children's activities, posters, etc. I have been busy translating some of this material into Spanish to complement the prayer guide.

These materials will be used with the children at my church in Castiñeiras over the next couple of weeks, and I will be leading a special service at church on 6 June. I hope you will also consider joining the millions of Christians who will be praying for the children whom Jesus referred to in several strong statements, such as when he said: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones".

Training updates

I have been leading several training events recently. Here's an update on news since my last post.

On 17 Abril, I was in Durango (in the Basque Country) leading an introductory day on Godly Play. This was organized by Scripture Union Spain (Unión Bíblica) in partnership with the National Department for Christian Education of the Federation of Assemblies of God in Spain.

16 religious education teachers and Sunday school teachers attended the event, representing several Evangelical churches in Durango, Pamplona, San Sebastián, Valladolid and Vitoria, and also from a Catholic community in Durango.

You can see more photos of this event here.

The following weekend (23-24 April), I was in the town of Onda (Castellón), leading a second module of SU Spain's basic training course Working with Children Today. This was organised in partnership with the 'Vida Nueva' Evangelical Church in Castellón de la Plana and the 'Bona Nova' Evangelical Church in Onda. The 18 Sunday school teachers who took part in this training event were from these two churches.

The programme also included a brief introduction to Godly Play. On the following Sunday (26 April), I was able to preach at the local church and also present the Godly Play story of the 'Synagogue and Upper Room' to the entire congregation.

More photos of this weekend training are available here.

Taking advantage of these two weekend events, I drove to Madrid to see some of our family, and then on to Salou (in Tarragona) to view a number of hotels as possible venues for our forthcoming II National Godly Play Conference, which we hope will take place at this popular seaside resort in October 2011. This meant that my all-round 10-day trip from Galicia to the Basque Country, Madrid, Tarragona, Castellón, Madrid, and finally back to Galicia, involved over 2,000 km of coast-to-coast driving in my car laden with materials for two different courses!

Finally, back in Galicia at my home church in Castiñeiras (A Coruña), on Saturday, 8 May, I led the first of a series of Godly Play workshops. This first one focused on Jesus' parables of the kingdom.

13 people, members of Evangelical churches in Castiñeiras-Riveira, Ferrol and Santiago de Compostela, took part in this practical training workshop.

After getting acquainted with, practising and presenting the main guiding parables used in Godly Play, the participants got involved in a brief hands-on session of creating their own teaching resources for these same parables.

Here you can view more photos of this workshop.

Godly Play workshop near Barcelona

On Saturday, 16 January, I led a Godly Play workshop at a church in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, near the city of Barcelona. The theme of this training event was the Godly Play "liturgical action" stories.

Fifteen teachers took part from several localities in the Catalan region: Salou, Tarragona, Molins de Rei, Torrasa and Sant Feliu de Llobregat.


Click here for photos of the workshop.

Godly Play teaching in Barcelona

Taking advantage of my annual fortnight's lecturing on children's ministry at Ibste, the Spanish Bible Institute and Theological Seminary at Castelldefels, near Barcelona, I was also able to lead Godly Play classes with two groups of children.

The first session took place on Sunday, 17 January, at a church in Sant Feliu de Llobregat (in Barcelona province). About 10 boys and girls took part and they responded enthusiastically to the stories on Holy Baptism and The Good Shepherd and World Communion.

The second session was held on Wednesday, 20 January, at Ibste's chapel, where an international group of resident children and parents at the Bible Institute gathered together for their very first encounter with Godly Play. I told them the Parable of the Good Shepherd in Spanish and English, and one of the Institute's staff also translated some of the words into Chinese. It would seem that communication was quite a challenge! However, when I moved the little wooden figures of the sheep out of the fold and made them follow the figure of the Good Shepherd towards the "green pastures", suddenly the most lively child in the group placed his cheek on the green felt underlay which represented the rich pastures. He then laid himself down and two of the other children did likewise. I doubt whether any of these 2- to 4-year-olds had ever learnt the words of Psalm 23, "He makes me lie down in green pastures". However, these little ones were intuitively following and anticipating the story - using their own body language to do so!



Photos: Eunice Sanjaime

Godly Play introduction in Granada

On Saturday 14th November, I was in Ogíjares (Granada) leading a Godly Play introductory seminar that included a general presentation of the method and also offered the participants a chance to learn some of the Old Testament sacred stories for themselves. Sixteen teachers from several different churches and schools in Granada came to the seminar: the Mosaic fellowship, Cristo de la Yedra R.C. school, Inmaculada Niña R.C. school, the R.C. parish church of San Miguel Arcángel, the Iglesia Evangélica Española (IEE - Methodist/Presbyterian), the Baptist church... Here is some of the participant feedback following the seminar:

• I would like to see Godly Play used in practice with a group of children. It has been very interesting. It would be good to have a workshop set up for the creation of Godly Play materials, maybe coordinated by the future GP Spain association.

• It's a great way to evangelise. I would like to attend more workshops for every aspect of Godly Play: 'door persons', 'storytellers', crafts people, etc.

• I love the similarities between this approach and the Sunday Eucharistic celebration.

• I'm looking forward to practising this at home with my own children.

• It can be easily applied to mixed gender and age groups. The material is very resistant and durable, and re-useable for different lessons.

• A good method to share God's truths and teachings. Right from early childhood, it invites people to see God as very close, as it encourages wondering and personal involvement.

• I think this a a great way to tell children Bible stories.

• I would like to learn how to use this to teach my students and children Catechesis.

The seminar took place on the premises owned by Mosaic, a Christian community which has been practising Godly Play for about 2 years. They have a dedicated classroom in the town of Ogíjares, near Granada, as well as most of the story materials.


Besides Godly Play, Mosaic has also run sessions on Living in a Fragile World, Godly Play style activities on ecological issues, conservation & citizenship. They have done this experimentally in the open air with all-age groups.

On Sunday 15th November, the day after the seminar, I took part in an ecumenical activity based on two Godly Play stories (the Parable of the Leaven & the Parable of the Deep Well). Children and adults from several Protestant, Catholic & Moslem communities or families attended this event.

More photos HERE

Godly Play in Portugal

Cilla and I spent last weekend (7-8 November) in the north of Portugal. I had been invited by my colleagues in Scripture Union Portugal (Uniâo Bíblica) to take part in the closing events of their 60th anniversary celebrations.

On Saturday, I led a Godly Play introductory session for a group of 24 Sunday school teachers and church workers from four different local congregations in Oporto. There was a good response from the participants and this has laid the foundation for a more extended return visit in the New Year, and perhaps presentations in Lisbon, too.

Besides the Godly Play introduction, I was also asked to bring greetings from Scripture Union Spain (Unión Bíblica) at the main anniversary celebration meeting held at the First Baptist Church of Vila Nova de Gaia, near Oporto, and the following day to preach at the morning service in the Missionary Church of Braga.

All my contributions took place in Spanish, which most of the people there seemed to understand without the need for translation.

More photos here

I National Godly Play Meeting

Over the recent long bank holiday weekend (9th to 12th October), the first national Godly Play meeting took place in Madrid for teachers who are already committed to this method in Spain. I had recently returned from my travels in Malaysia to coordinate the event.

Fifteen people took part, coming from Barcelona, Galicia, Madrid, Menorca and Tarragona, and representing churches who use Godly Play in English, Spanish and Catalan. Special guest, Ulrike Labuhn joined us from Berlin. Ulrike, a Godly Play trainer in Germany, speaks good Spanish, having lived for a time in Bolivia.

The motto for the gathering was Ultreya!, the old pilgrim's cry of encouragement - Onwards!, and this mutual encouragement was really the object of gathering together.

Our meeting was structured in two main parts: 1) Looking backwards at the lessons learned on the way, regarding Godly Play practice, and 2) Looking forwards to the next stages of the continuing journey, especially as we travel together in terms of establishing common structures aimed at consolidating, extending and supporting Godly Play practice in Spain. As is common in other GP events, the programme was also based on the usual GP cycle: 1) Building the circle ('threshold community') - getting to know one another; 2) Storytelling - telling our own individual and corporate stories, as well as a full GP session; 3) Getting out our work - responding individually and as a group to different proposals, especially those relating to the development of Godly Play in Spain; 4) Feast - times of fellowship between sessions, especially at mealtimes and in the evenings. There were also brief times of collective worship each morning and evening led by different members of the group, as well as a leaving ceremony, in which we symbolically blessed one another and the children we represented, as well as all the children in Spain and beyond whom we also wished to join the Godly Play 'circle'.

Time was made available for the participants to share, often through visual presentations, the development of their own practice of Godly Play in their respective churches and localities, as well as resource materials which they may have made themselves. This gave us better insight into the GP classrooms that are already functioning, or being developed, in Barcelona, Madrid and Tarragona.

Our guest, Ulrike Labuhn, also gave us an overview of the growth of GP in Germany, with particular emphasis on the process of translating and adapting stories from volume 6 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play. Ulrike had already told us the German version of the story of Job in a previous session, which was rather different from the 'official' GP version that is found in the manuals. The developments in Germany were very useful to us as we discussed the future of GP in Spain. One of the main differences at present is the high proportion of professionals (teachers, theologians, therapists...) in the German movement, whereas in Spain the majority of GP practitioners are volunteer Sunday school teachers.

One of the doubts the group raised was the difficulty of going ahead with an organized structure for Godly Play Spain when there was a perceived vacuum of knowledge about GP internationally. This was seen to be part of a much wider problem, as there is so little being translated into Spanish about recent research and study in fields such as the theology of childhood / child theology and the spirituality of children, both of which inform the development of Godly Play and methodology in general. So, time was dedicated at the meeting to offering basic background information about these topics, as well as the international structures of GP, which are also presently in a state of renewal and development.

It was stated very clearly at the meeting that the most important thing for the practitioners was what takes place at ground level (literally) within the circle of children in a real-life Godly Play session. Everything else (e.g. training, resourcing, publications, associations, etc) were there to support such action. The vision was to help make it possible for children anywhere in Spain to join a Godly Play circle, and that this work be of an increasingly deeper understanding and higher quality. To facilitate such growth, we need to create certain structures. However, we certainly did not wish to create another organization simply for the sake of it!

Apart from the sessions on helping us to work towards a structured organization for Godly Play in Spain, there were also two workshop sessions: 1) Raquel García gave a practical demonstration on her work with adolescents, which uses an adaptation of the Play of Life model of psychodrama, developed by the Argentinian pyschiatrist, Dr Carlos Raimundo; and 2) Dr Raúl García gave a talk on the Therapeutic Power of Narratives, followed by a time of questions and answers.

In the final stages of the meeting, the participants reached agreement regarding the next steps to take towards setting up a Godly Play association in Spain. A representative group has been appointed to work on the statutes and aims of such an association, and another to find a place to hold the next meeting in Salou, Tarragona, probably for next autumn. Ulrike and I will work on a plan for accredited training (which was one of the major issues that the group felt was important to address in the short term). It is hoped that the next National GP Meeting will include an accredited training module and also a session in which the new GP Association will be formally created and the first board of directors elected.

So, there seems to be plenty of work to get on with in the coming months!

Malaysia part 3 - Melaka

Together with George Town (Penang), Melaka (or Malacca) was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Cities in 2008, and my couple of walks around the historic centre showed me how fascinating the place really is. Its cultural and religious diversity revealed in numerous mosques, temples and churches, its traces of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule, its colourful 'trishaws' (tricycle rickshaws) and meandering canal walks, its smell of delicious Indian and Chinese cooking... all made me wish for more time to wander and to take in more fully all the sights, sounds and smells this old 'gateway to Malaysia' had to offer. However, I only had three days in the city before returning to Madrid in time for the first national Godly Play gathering that I was coordinating at the end of the week (see next post).

In any case, I was not in Melaka primarily for sightseeing. The initial and primary purpose of my visit to Malaysia was to lead a one-hour Godly Play presentation at an international consultation on Bible engagement. In the track which concerned the 'Coming Generations', about 45 leaders from many different Christian agencies around the world met together to discuss ways of encouraging effective Bible engagement with children and young people. This discussion was based on a series of different models of good practice that were presented throughout the first two days of the consultation, and tied into the overall Bible theme for the event: the encounter of the risen Lord with his two disciples on the road to Emmaus (in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24).

Scripture Union's International Week of Prayer guide summarizes nicely the aims and some of the contents of the track:

'Exploring Scripture Engagement for the 21st Century' was the theme of the 'Hearts Burning' Conference convened by the Forum of International Bible Agencies in Malaysia in October. In the 'Children and Youth Track', experienced practitioners (including several SU staff from different national movements) presented workshops that demonstrated different models of working amongst young people. Each of the models reflected thoughtful hermeneutics, the relational dimension of Scripture engagement and the expectation of response. Thank God for the diversity of experiences shared from around the world: from Godly Play with young people to state-of-the-art multi-media resources, from an interactive Bible Timeline approach to the Bible narrative, to the transformational impact of that narrative upon traumatised children and youth. Please pray that as a result of the Forum, SU around the world will face the challenges of Scripture engagement with today's young people with renewed vision and innovative ideas as the many SU delegates return to their national movements.

The feedback from my own workshop on Godly Play was very encouraging. Here are a few snippets:

• "Children and young people can 'hear' God without our help."

• "Really we need to understand more about our children."

• "It's really Godly play."

• "Very interesting for children and a very powerful tool."

• "Rituals and symbols."

• "Helping children to reflect."

• "The power of interactive object lessons"

• "Interesting storytelling method"

Wendy Strachan, the coordinator of the 'Coming Generations' track, and also coordinator of children's ministries for Scripture Union International, made the following comments after the workshop: "Godly Play is something I've read about and warmed to - but never seen in action. Several things struck me in David Pritchard's 'hands-on' presentation:

• The confidence that children - including very young children - can encounter God in the Bible narrative.

• The simplicity of inviting children to 'wonder' about the story - without prescribing answers or even requiring a verbal response.

• The patience and dignity of allowing the children to enter the story - no need for the adult to interpret the text for the child, but simply to encourage them to engage with it.

• The multi-sensory approach - not just visual.

• The reverence that accompanied 'God coming near'.

Perhaps the most challenging feedback for the long-term development of Godly Play came from Stanley Chum, General Secretary of the Chinese Bible International Ltd, based in Hong Kong. He wrote the following evaluation on the response poster: "David, that is the best presentation I have ever seen. I personally was in the story and have spiritual insight gained. I wonder how to train storytellers to work to that effectiveness." In a brief conversation the following day, Stanley and I discussed how to begin Godly Play training for Hong Kong and the whole of mainland China!

Mindboggling!

Photos: Typical sights in Melaka

Malaysia part 2 - Kuala Lumpur

As soon as my Godly Play workshop was over at the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary extension centre in Klang Valley, I was placed in the capable hands of the Revd. Sivin Kit, pastor of Bangsar Lutheran Church (BLC), in Kuala Lumpur. Sunny & Rosalind Tan were on their way to Australia to attend their son's graduation, so now I was 'changing' my church affiliation from Baptist to Lutheran!

I had already been in touch with Pastor Sivin through contacts made via Facebook and Twitter. An inveterate blogger and a prolific user of social networks, Sivin combines Evangelical theology and an 'emerging church' inclination with a strong commitment to and engagement with social issues in Malaysia and beyond. He is widely read and had already researched many of the Godly Play texts and websites, and had in fact tried to implement this method in his church. The Sunday school coordinator, Phoebe Long, and several members of her children's ministry team from Bangsar Lutheran took part in my Godly Play workshop in KL, so there was plenty of evidence to suggest that this particular fellowship wished to move deeper in their understanding and practice of this method. The previous day, Rosalind Tan, the director of the Holistic Child Development Institute in Penang, had commented that Malaysia really needs a working model of Godly Play so that any enquirers can see what it's all about. Maybe, BLC is the place to start.

My visit to Kuala Lumpur coincided with the temporary move of Bangsar Lutheran Church's worship services to the brand new custom built Luther Centre in Petaling Jaya, KL, where I would also be staying overnight in one of their, as yet, unused guest rooms. The following day would be the very first Sunday worship service at the centre, so a special day for the church.

Next morning, at the start of the service, Pastor Sivin Kit informed the congregation that it was World Communion Sunday. He remarked that it was therefore very appropriate that there were guests from different parts of the world. Besides me, the visitors included the pastor and two other members from a partner Lutheran church in Germany, who were on a tour of Malaysia. They were invited to give a visual presentation of their work in Bavaria. Another lady, Sue, was also visiting BLC and said that, like me, she would also be taking part in the international consultation that would be starting that same afternoon in Melaka (see next post).

My own contribution to the service was to share with the congregation a short message from Luke 24 (the story of the walk to Emmaus, which was also the theme for the Melaka consultation) and to demonstrate Godly Play with a group of children from the church, which was probably the most delightful moment in my whole visit to Malaysia. I chose to tell them the parable of The Great Pearl.

It always amazes me how easily and readily children the world over can disconnect from their immediate surroundings and enter wholeheartedly into a story through the power of narrative in approaches such as that used by Godly Play. The children were up on stage before dozens of grownups, a number of whom were busy taking photos and videos of the event. The action was being projected up onto a big screen so that all the congregation could see what was happening down on the floor within the circle of children. They were facing a complete stranger, a Westerner with a funny English accent. And yet...! Amidst all the paraphernalia of cameras, flashes, microphones, etc. and a multitude of adults (not at all to be recommended in a normal Godly Play session!), these children, just like their little brothers and sisters the world over, were able to connect immediately with the story and the subsequent wondering in such an engaging way.

And not only the children! Many of the adults, too, were similarly caught up and engrossed, as a short video clip on YouTube demonstrates. The introductory text on the video clip reads:

No clown suit, no loud music, no excited shouting. David told the children a quiet story about a pearl, and they were rapt. So were the adults. With a couple of exceptions :).

The person who uploaded the clip also added the following note on YouTube: "David's session of Godly Play had the children captivated, with a quiet story of a pearl. Quite a different approach from the 'loud and flashy' paradigm. It seems to be good for adults, too ;)". It's true that what works with children also usually works with grownups - at least those who are willing to connect with the 'child' they carry within themselves.

The comment on the video clip above sums up nicely how so much of today's children's ministry is often based on a fast-paced entertainment paradigm. Although both boys and girls obviously need and enjoy times of boisterous and exuberant upbeat activities, it is surely a very low view of children to suggest that such an approach is essential in order to hold their attention for more than a few minutes. Godly Play allows children to quietly enter into deeper levels of 'play', in which they are actively involved through their imagination and wondering, and to meet a playful God who invites them (and grownups, too!) in a gentle and poignant manner to relate the Bible narratives to their own life situations. This is far more fulfilling than mere entertainment!

After the service, and over lunch in a restaurant in a nearby shopping mall, I was able to answer questions and talk further about the merits of Godly Play with several members of BLC, especially with Phoebe, the coordinator of the children's ministry at the church. Hopefully, this contact will continue in the future as we work together to 'grow' Godly Play in Kuala Lumpur.

More photos here.