Details
| Venue: | Irish Institute for Pastoral Studies, St Patrick’s Campus, Thurles |
| Dates: | Monday 8 July to Wednesday 10 July, 2019 |
| Times: | 9:30am-7pm (except on final day of course which ends at 5:30pm) |
| Trainers: | Cora O’Farrell and Sarah Voigt (accredited members of College of Godly Play Trainers) |
Cost
€430 Residential (including full board) or €330 non-residential (including lunch) as well as training, handbook, morning & afternoon refreshments
This Core Training offered in Thurles on 8th -10th of July has been approved as part of a Blended Learning Summer Course for CPD. Teachers wishing to avail of the EPV days will need to complete two online modules in addition to the on-site training. We are looking at making those online modules available to any others who would like to do a bit more of the theory of Godly Play.
Course Content
Over 3 days you will develop your practice and understanding of the art of Godly Play. The training follows an action / reflection model of learning. There is a mixture of trainer-led presentations in each genre and participant storytelling presentations. Each day explores on of the primary genres of Godly Play:
Sacred Stories, Parables and Liturgical Lessons.
Workshops in the cord module also cover details of how to set up a Godly Play environment, the theology and spirituality of childhood, and time to explore your concerns and questions.
What is Godly Play?
Godly Play is a gentle way for children to engage with the Bible and Christianity and to explore its meaning for their lives. It creates the space and tells the stories in such a way that children can listen deeply, wonder and respond. Godly Play storytelling combines words with careful movement of story materials and leads into open-ended exploration and creative response.
How can Godly Play be used?
Godly Play can be used in schools, parishes, hospitals and at home. It is used in play and pray groups, holiday and afterschool clubs, school retreats, as part of religious education programmes, for family worship and for sacramental preparation. It can be adapted for use in children’s liturgies.
Although it has been developed for children, it works well with adults too, and is used in retreats and in care homes.
Trainers
Dr Cora O’Farrell is a member of the Godly Play College of Trainers. She lectures in Religious Education at St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra, a college of DCU. She is also a Member of the Council for Catechetics, Irish Catholic Bishops Conference. Cora’s doctoral research was is the area of Children’s Spirituality, and she wrote the textbook for first and second class for the new RE primary school curriculum. Cora lives in Dublin.
Sarah Voigt is a member of the Godly Play College of Trainers. She has used Godly Play in church and afterschool groups for the last ten years. She currently works with the Church of the Nazarene in Wicklow Town as a missionary minister. She is particularly interested in the ways in which Godly Play can bring those of all faith traditions together.