Stepping into the Story

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Stepping into the Story
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This book provides a Christian reading of the
biblical story from Genesis to Revelation. It is
written in a way designed to remind contemporary
Christians that they too inhabit that same story
and are meant to live inside it, continuing the
works and words of Jesus in today's world. The
Drama of Scripture by Bartholomew and Goheen.
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The Bible as a three act drama The drama of
Job The drama in Johns gospel
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What sort of drama?

• Performance play in a church setting
• Bible Sketch in the service
• Mystery Play
• Drama as Imaginative Play

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Play is the purest, most spiritual activity of
man at this stage (childhood) and at the same
time typical of human life as a whole. It gives
joy, freedom, contentment, inner and outer rest,
peace with the world. It holds the sources of
all that is good. Froebel 1887
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Playing is much more important to religious
education than we have yet believed. If play
dies, we will lose the creative motivation
necessary to struggle with our existential
concerns. Jerome Berryman
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• Types of Play
• Hide and Seek
• As if
• What if

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Drama is a valuable tool It teaches children to
listen to each other and helps them to work
together It allows children with non-academic
intelligences to shine It involves childrens
emotional and imaginative intelligences It can
bring characters to life It gives an opportunity
for participation and whole class involvement
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It helps visualize conflict, new scenes and
emotions It gives language and form to what is
otherwise unsayable It allows experimentation
with new concepts and ideas It encourages
expression of insights It encourages
communication, both verbal and physical It
promotes creativity and it echoes the ritual
present in most faiths It helps children enter
the paradoxes and truths of the kingdom of God
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Activities to step into the story
Sculpture drama Hot seating
Circle drama
Conscience Alley
Sound drama
Real Play Bringing a picture to life
Improvisation Freeze Frames
Role Play

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The Laughing Christ from Brazil
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From The Life Of Jesus through the Eyes of an
Artist by Paul Forsey
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The Word became flesh.  Incarnation is at the
heart of God's drama. God steps into our story
so that we might be able to step into Gods
story. God became flesh so that we could see,
touch and feel what God is like. Word become
flesh is our theological imperative to turn the
words of our Bible into flesh again. The flesh
and blood of dramatic/playful activity connects
God's story into the everyday of our own lives so
that we might come close to God and God come
close to us