Welcome to the first posting from the Godly Play Foundation! Our hope in starting this blog is to have a place for those of us who love Godly Play to share our experience, stories, questions, reflections and insights.
Most of the postings will be from Candy Moser, Director of Operations and myself, Caryl Menkhus, Director of Training. We are both trainers who have recently been hired by the Godly Play Foundation to help provide leadership and direction as we move into this next phase of growth and development. It is big work...it is exciting work...and we are working hard to figure out how best to do this work! Our intention is to use this blog to communicate regularly with you to keep you informed about this journey and invite you into the conversation.
I live in Vancouver, Washington - just across the Columbia river from Portland, Oregon. I take a three hour train ride every Monday up to Seattle where Rebecca McClain, Executive Director and Candy both live and where the Godly Play offices are housed at St. Mark's Cathedral. I spend a couple of days there every week and work out of my home the rest of the week. We had a big snow storm last weekend (they say the biggest snow storm in years). We were all snowed in so none of us went anywhere! The picture is of a bird bath in my yard that shows how much snow we had! It was beautiful.
I really have come to understand Godly Play as a spiritual practice and I believe so much of spirituality and so much of Godly Play is just paying attention...paying attention to what you pay attention to and noticing what you notice and seeing what you see. The seasons are always such rich mediums that help me pay attention. Here is a poem recently sent to me from Parker Palmer's organization which uses the seasons as a way of noticing and paying attention. I thought it was appropriate for us all and for the Godly Play Foundation as we begin a new year.
Most of the postings will be from Candy Moser, Director of Operations and myself, Caryl Menkhus, Director of Training. We are both trainers who have recently been hired by the Godly Play Foundation to help provide leadership and direction as we move into this next phase of growth and development. It is big work...it is exciting work...and we are working hard to figure out how best to do this work! Our intention is to use this blog to communicate regularly with you to keep you informed about this journey and invite you into the conversation.
I live in Vancouver, Washington - just across the Columbia river from Portland, Oregon. I take a three hour train ride every Monday up to Seattle where Rebecca McClain, Executive Director and Candy both live and where the Godly Play offices are housed at St. Mark's Cathedral. I spend a couple of days there every week and work out of my home the rest of the week. We had a big snow storm last weekend (they say the biggest snow storm in years). We were all snowed in so none of us went anywhere! The picture is of a bird bath in my yard that shows how much snow we had! It was beautiful.
I really have come to understand Godly Play as a spiritual practice and I believe so much of spirituality and so much of Godly Play is just paying attention...paying attention to what you pay attention to and noticing what you notice and seeing what you see. The seasons are always such rich mediums that help me pay attention. Here is a poem recently sent to me from Parker Palmer's organization which uses the seasons as a way of noticing and paying attention. I thought it was appropriate for us all and for the Godly Play Foundation as we begin a new year.
May you be blessed
with vision
in these shadow times.
May light invade the darkness.
May it be a soft brilliance,
as bare as candlelight,
guiding you through
twilight 'til dawn.
And when the dawn breaks,
may you find yourself
upon a threshold.
May you enter
and go through,
and may you emerge
into the dance -
a whole and holy new
dance of grace.
-Maureen J. Hilliard, SND
In this winter season of both light and dark, may we all be blessed with vision, with courage and with hope.
Caryl
Oh, I am glad to see you up and running. Congratulations on your first post. I like the picture.
ReplyDeleteNew Year, new blog! This is a most welcome communication tool from the GP Foundation - congratulations, Candy & Caryl! And thank you too, Caryl, for your New Year's meditation and blessing in this first post. I'll be watching this space for frequent postings as the year advances.
ReplyDeletePS. I wonder how the birds felt about their bath being snowed under. I wonder if they have names... :)
Dear Caryl, Candy, Rebecca and everyone who joines to read,
ReplyDeletethis is a wonderful day to open a new communication platform for Godly Play because it points our awareness to the fact that many of us celebrated New Years Eve in a different space and time and yet we are celebrating the same thing but using different traditions, some of them real fun (and some, here in Germany, severly pagan!). It was great fun to watch our news at 8 p.m seeing the pictures of the fireworks from Sidney, where the new year had already started, then going out at midnight to do our little bangs and rockets and afterwards ringing Tim at L.A. knowing that he will have another 8 hours to go before doing similar celebrations. You might say that this is stupid because it is so obvious and can be explained in natural sciences' terms... and yet I feel it to be something very special to be connected through Godly Play, each in his or her own rhythm and space and yet enjoying eachothers understanding and support. I wish you all the best when you sit in the circle - may there be children, may there be adults and trainers, may there be us as partners in Godly Play worldwide.
God bless you!
Martin, Leipzig, Germany
What a joyful start to our new year!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate this new way to connect.
Though I love my work at the school, surrounded by 400 grace-filled children up to age 12, it can be ironically solitary. I have colleagues on my campus, but they teach other grades and subjects; colleagues in the religion department, but on other campuses using other curricula with older youth; and colleagues among clergy but in different areas of ministry. No one is working "side by side" with me -- except you, my fellow Godly Play practitioners. Thank you.