Old Abbey of Drongen in Flanders

Godly Play has an expanding worldwide presence in many different countries, cultures, and contexts. This is to be celebrated. But there is also a sense in which Godly Play is situated in a particular country, culture, and context. One of the more interesting aspects of the international development of Godly Play is the crucial, careful, and sometimes controversial work of contextualization, which has many facets. Can you imagine adapting The Circle of the Church Year to the southern hemisphere? Continue reading →

The desert is a dangerous place. People don’t go there unless they have to. In Godly Play practice, we need to go there often, and we need to take the circle of children with us. In addition to the beautiful hand-crafted desert boxes made by the artisans of Godly Play Resources, desert bags offer us another route into the desert.

Desert bags are more portable than the boxes. They occupy less space in the room, and are more affordable. Some people make their own, but now you can purchase one from Godly Play Resources. Continue reading →

Joseph James Balko died Saturday, May 21st after he collapsed as he finished a race in the Regional Track and Field Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was 15 years old. While they say “there are saints known only to God,” Joseph is a saint well-known to God and to the Fairbanks community.

Joseph left a legacy of Godly Play story materials that he lovingly made for the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks. When he was just 13 years old, Joseph identified the need for more story materials for his school’s Godly Play program. So Joseph decided to produce the materials as his Eagle Scout project. Because of this gift, Joseph’s loving, faithful spirit lives on through all who now–and all who will–work with the Godly Play story materials he produced. Continue reading →

The Foundation is pleased to announce a series of book reviews presented by the
Center for the Theology of Childhood.

The Center’s book reviews are available here and more will be added periodically. The first book reviewed in this series is The Grace of Playing: Pedagogies for Leaning into God’s New Creation (2016) by Courtney T. Goto.

The Center for the Theology of Childhood of the Godly Play Foundation is interested in the theory, practice, and empirical research concerning children’s religious lives, their spirituality, and the theological implications of what is learned. The Center is embarking on a project to offer original book reviews of volumes related to the spiritual guidance of children. This project is aimed to serve the international Godly Play community and to draw on it for these reviews, but those generally interested in this field will find them helpful as well. Continue reading →