Year five for Year 2Martyn Payne |
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This was the
fifth year of 'The Christmas Journey' experience, which a Churches Together
Team offers to Primary Schools in and around Frodsham, Cheshire; and it was my fifth
year of involvement too for Barnabas,
telling stories that top and tail the journey for the Year 2 children who come
round during the week and the groups of adults and children who book in on the
Saturday. Fifteen local
schools sent classes, which in groups of between twelve and 17 children at a time
travel through the events of the first Christmas. A wonderful team of actors,
guides, storytellers, puppeteers, craft helpers and musicians (not forgetting
the coffee and tea makers!) bring the whole experience to life again and again,
so much so that each group feels that it is just for them. After having
learned a special song for their travels, they start their journey by hearing
the story of the biggest present ever - the great gift of this world to us from
God. However, it is a gift that we have sadly misused and spoiled, yet this
Giver does not give up on his gift. But how is such a broken world to be
mended? That's where the great surprise of Christmas comes in. The children now
step back in time to hear about the story of God's second biggest gift - that
of himself as a baby. They begin by meeting Mary in the kitchen making bread,
when an angel visits; they become shepherds in the fields, when the heavenly
choir breaks in upon them; they become visitors to the stable, where the
animals have a tale to tell; they turn up in a rich palace where they help some
wise men pack presents for a long journey. And finally the children meet me
again in a modern-day sitting room, where we share the story of how this
special gift of the baby Jesus is God's way of mending a broken world and of the
beginning of putting everything back together again. The Frodsham
Team, led by Moira Curry and Gill Morgan, has built up such good relations with
the local schools over the years that they now have no trouble in persuading
them to come and experience the Christmas Journey. In fact, it seems to have
become a vital part of their Christmas curriculum for many. Everything is very
professionally done with special packs for the schools to take away and the
opportunity for the teachers to look at additional resources for their RE
teaching, in particular some of our Barnabas books. Both local
authority and church schools are involved in this well-established project and
this year too we had a visit from a local special school, where the children
have quite severe special needs, but who nevertheless enjoyed the high levels of
tactile and visual input that are a vital part of a each aspect of the Journey.
The final part
of the journey in the 'sitting room' is also a chance for the children to
reflect on what they have experienced, and this year was no exception. There
were some great comments, in particular about how the story of Jesus has 'two
beginnings'. 'It's because Jesus goes on forever,' exclaimed one; while another
child explained, 'God came to Mary and asked her to have his baby and then at
the end God cared for him so much and he thought about it so deeply, that he decided
to bring Jesus back to life again.' A longstanding
BRF supporter from London came to visit us on the Friday, as he is hoping to
persuade his own church to put on something similar in 2009. Having talked at
length to the team and having experienced the journey at least twice, he later
wrote: I found all the
input very moving, and the reaction of the children was quite super... I think that the opening and closing stories
were the factor that made the Christmas Journey a rounded, whole experience,
which must have stayed with the children as a world view, not just a pretty
story, no matter how dramatically presented. Of course it is
to be hoped that many others will want to put on something similar for their
local schools and to this end Barnabas is publishing the book of the Journey in
June 2009 - watch out for The Christmas
Journey by Moira Currie and Gill Morgan. Over 300 adults
and children experienced the 28 journeys we staged this year and which in my
case added up to 56 storytelling sessions! Phew! All of us in the team are very
much aware of the prayer that goes on behind the scenes, which is the source of
the strength we needed and the inspiration we were given to deliver this very
special experience to so many children; all of which further develops the good
relationships between churches and schools in this particular part of Cheshire. |
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