World Cup and Godly Play

Hi, on this page I will be sharing, reviewing, and recommending resources for children’s, family, and all-age, church-based work. I love to explore and discover new ideas, and creative ways of supporting this fantastic ministry. It’s such a privilege to serve the church and to help make worship meaningful and fun for children and families. I hope you’ll find my ideas and recommendations helpful.

Ish will confirm that I have never been a competitive person and I rarely take any interest in sport apart from World Cup football. Last night’s England game against Senegal however was both tense and exciting. It’s hardly a comparison but it did bring to mind those days when we as young parents proudly cheered on our sons while they played football at school or for our local village team or church youth group.

Our eldest son loves games and somehow manages to make a competition out of anything. In fact, when we meet over family meals, he usually comes up with some sort of challenge that gets us all thinking. But the problem with our family is that everyone talks all at the same time and our family meals can be a very noisy, un-leisurely, gathering as we all compete to get a word in edgeways, including our grandson pictured here with Gramps.

At work I used to teach a method called Godly Play. As Christians we believe in a creative God, and since we are made in the image of God, so we too are creative beings. Godly Play encourages us to be playful with Bible stories and prayer, to use visual aids and tangible objects like sand, wooden figures, fabrics, metal, clay, paint, wire, stones, paper, food, or anything really! I discovered that both children and adults love to play around with craft materials and all the other various creative things that we can use to tell stories and express our prayers. As individuals we are all unique, with our own imagination and creative thinking, so it is fascinating to see the numerous ideas and ways of telling a story or praying a theme visually.

To return to sport, we all know the benefits of fresh air and exercise and our recent experience of Covid has taught us how much we should appreciate being able to get outside in the fresh air. When Ish was recovering from leukaemia, he was told that gentle exercise in the fresh air would help not only to oxygenate his blood, but it would be beneficial for his mental well-being. When he felt well enough, he took up golf again and found walking for several miles round the course each week greatly improved his health. This photo was taken last spring.

Even when it’s cold, Ish and I love to go out at lunchtimes, we walk or sit by our local canal, beach, or park where it is very peaceful and just simply watch the world go by. I’m not sure if this is just something you take time to do when you get older but I’m sure it’s a spiritually therapeutic way to spend time at any age and it doesn’t cost anything. In a world that seems more stressful than ever, may I encourage you, if you can, to do the same. Go outside, take a walk, or sit down, take some deep breaths in the fresh air, and send up a short prayer of thanks to God for the benefits of spending leisure time in His company.

LET US PRAY