Ministry of Wonder

Several years ago at St Philip's, the Church school began using Godly Play as the centerpiece of our approach to Spiritual Formation for young people. Godly Play is an approach to spiritual formation that is based on the child honouring principles of Montessori education.

There is an underlying assumption in Godly Play that children have an awareness of God and a relationship with God. Through Godly Play, children are invited to explore this awareness and to learn language to speak about God and the existential questions that are common to all people.

When one learns to be a storyteller or a doorkeeper for Godly Play, the training emphasizes that each time a child shares their thoughts or understanding or feelings, this must be honoured and respected. They are sharing their awareness of God; we all learn more about God from each others' experiences and so we must respect them.

Wondering time in Godly is when much of this sharing happens. Together the storyteller and the children in the circle wonder about different aspect of the story. Every storyteller can name moments of profound insight and faith that have happened during wondering time in Godly Play. In this time and throughout Godly Play, storytellers, doorkeepers and the children in the circle are all ministering to one another. They build a community of shared responsibility and respect that is deeply sacred.

When we have incorporated wondering time into our communal worship, we have also created such a circle of shared responsibility, respect and trust. Each person's contribution is honoured and helps us to learn about God's presence in the world and in our lives. We have benefited greatly from the children in these times, who have modeled these values for us during wondering time as they offer and receive thoughts with the whole congregation.