Update from Candy Moser, Director of Operations

Candy is working diligently and creatively to bring the organization of the Godly Play Foundation to a new and vital place of efficiency and operational accessability. We are so lucky to have her gifts. She is just an incredible human being who gets Godly Play in the deepest way. Thanks Candy for all you do and all you are!

Here is an update on the Godly Play Foundation from the Director of Operations, Candy Moser.

Over the past 18 months our organization has gone through several transitions. First of all, we have become the Godly Play Foundation and have entered into relationship with Church Publishing Inc. Rebecca McClain became our new Executive Director on August 1, 2007. She has shepherded us with the help of the Godly Play Foundation’s Board of Directors to a place where we can move forward in a new way.

The Center for the Theology of Childhood with Jerome Berryman as Senior Fellow is located in Houston. Jerome is now free to concentrate on writing which is a blessing for him as well as for all of us.

In August 2008 Rebecca moved the Godly Play Foundation offices to Seattle, Washington. We have found a home at Saint Mark’s Cathedral where Rebecca is also serving as Canon Missioner. In October Caryl Menkhus and I (Candy) were hired to oversee training and operations for the Foundation.

We have spent the last few months looking at our training models, the feedback of participants and trainers, and the results of a focus group study done by a professional focus group moderator. It has become clear to us that we need to make some adjustments in how we deliver training.

Becoming proficient in the “art of Godly Play” is an ongoing process that includes time spent with children in a Godly Play classroom. Today being an “accredited Godly Play teacher” simply means “I have attended a teacher accreditation training event”. Everyone who attends and is “fully present for the whole time” becomes an accredited Godly Play teacher. What we realize is that it says very little about how skillful one is or the level of understanding of that teacher. In fact there may be Godly Play teachers that have never attended such an event who are far more skilled and have a deeper understanding of Godly Play.

We want to be able to provide training that will take someone from curiosity about the program to mastery. One can chose the level to which they wish to aspire. We want to make the process flexible, accessible and as affordable as possible.

We are excited about the new model that is emerging. We will be offering Introduction Workshops, Core Training, Enrichment Training, Supporting Workshops and Retreats which will be offered at training sites across the country on a regularly scheduled basis. Registration of these trainings will be handled on-line as soon as our new website is up and running. All things Godly Play will be on one site – books, materials, training and much more. The capacity of the site will grow over time but we hope to have the basics in place on or before June 2009.

There is still much work to be done before we can fully roll this out. We will be looking for training sites that are interested in partnering with us to provide these regularly scheduled trainings. We need sites that are strategically located, have the capacity to provide hospitality and above all are committed to Godly Play. We will also be looking for more trainers especially in areas where there are no trainers. The more trainers and sites, the more accessible and affordable the training will be.

More details will be outlined in the coming months as we move forward, but we wanted everyone to know what is on the horizon.