Here at St. John we seek to build up a mixed-age circle of children and youth, from preschool through early elementary school, who grow alongside one another in the knowledge and love of God.

A typical session includes gathering, sharing a feast (snack), hearing sacred stories, wondering together about them in community, and responding through art materials, play or meditation.

Godly Play was designed as a two-hour session that provided ample space for young people to explore the stories of God and their own spiritual lives. Needless to say, we don’t have a two-hour window to offer Godly Play in the regular rhythms of Sunday parish life, but our abbreviated session includes all of the components of Godly Play, in a shorter time.

The Godly Play framework has served St. John families for more than a decade (and now is practiced in more than fifty countries!).

The spring and summer of 2022 were times of reinvestment and renewal in St. John’s Godly Play. Thanks to the generosity of time, talent and treasure of a few people, we began the 2022-2023 program year with:

*eight wooden shelves built as an Eagle Scout project, improving the aesthetics and functionality of the original Godly Play room

*more than thirty new stories from across Godly Play’s eight volumes, given in memory of a loved one

*hand-sewn desert bags for the stories of God’s people in the desert

*fresh art supplies and a new meditation corner

We are grateful for this growth and investment in our young people. With these contributions, St. John is opening a second Godly Play room, following guidance in the Godly Play Foundation’s newly-published book (Godly Play in Middle and Late Childhood, July 2022) on supporting young people in middle-to-late childhood.

All of this growth builds on the early days of Godly Play at St. John, when shelves were gathered, materials were purchased or made by members. Devoted storytellers have provided stability of leadership over the years and care of the prepared environment.

We wish to express sincere gratitude to those who have contributed visibly and invisibly from one year to the next. And we are grateful to those who continue to lend their gifts towards this Godly Play ministry here at St. John.

The fall/winter story sequence for the Godly Play room will be: the Holy Bible, the Circle of the Church Year, key Old Testament narratives, Baptism, Advent and Christmas.