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These are not the images which spring most readily to mind when we think about children’s work in our churches! But at St Andrew’s, Roundhay, Leeds, they are part of a colourful and dynamic picture which is coming to life as this church designs and delivers an exciting and challenging Christian Education package.
WoRM stands for Workshop Rotation Model, a new way of teaching Bible stories and themes through a series of workshops based on a particular activity and led by someone with the appropriate skill. As far as possible, the rooms in which the workshops take place are transformed into special places to stimulate the children’s imagination. We have a fully equipped computer room, a puppet theatre and an easily erectable awning which transforms another room into a Bedouin tent. We also use one of the church kitchens as Martha and Mary’s B&B for cookery workshops, and eventually we hope to have more computers and a room which looks like the Jerusalem Temple.
Each week there are two workshops, one for children from age 3 up to Year 2 and the other for children from Year 3 up to the age of 13. A theme or Bible story is taught for four weeks via four different workshops, which are rotated so that regular attenders have a chance to participate in all four. Each workshop is complete in itself. This addresses the problem that many churches experience when using material which tries to develop a theme over a number of weeks and requires for its success, a continuity of attendance which is not always achievable. It takes seriously the problem of recruiting teachers and maintaining their enthusiasm and commitment by spreading this load over a wider group. At our last count, we noted that 38 adults have been involved as workshop leaders since WoRM began two years ago.
preparing the soil
A Design Team of eight people meets monthly to select, study, discuss and pray about the theme. We identify the main learning outcomes for each age group, select an appropriate memory verse for the children to learn, decide on which workshops will be most appropriate to communicate the story or theme, and identify workshop leaders and what resources they will need. Very often, we write or make some of these as well. This is a very big task, but we usually have a lot of fun trying to get to grips with it, and in the process, our own understanding of the Bible is deepened. After the meeting one of our members writes up lesson plans, another recruits workshop leaders, and a third writes prayers to be used at the end of each workshop. Behind the scenes we have a growing number of cheerful volunteers who use their talents to dress ‘wooden spoon’ puppets, make shadow puppets, models, games and puzzles, and write drama, songs and poems, to name but a few of the resources we have used. Some of them are people who would not otherwise have had any involvement with our children’s work. One is virtually housebound because of chronic pain. It is good to be able to involve them in this way.
wet elephants
When the project began, one of the Design Team, a talented artist, agreed to paint a Noah’s Ark mural on the wall between the sanctuary and the rest of our premises. Everyone has enjoyed seeing the different animals appear, and for a few weeks last summer there were ‘Wet Elephant’ warnings in the corridor as the paint was drying! The mural proclaims a welcoming and ‘child friendly’ message about the church to the parents of the many children who attend weekday groups on our premises, and has contributed to an increase in requests for baptism and in children’s attendance at worship. The artist’s next project will be a mural on the wall leading to the Temple room.
spreading the news
Another member of the team keeps the WoRM section of the church notice board up to date with lively bulletins and photographs of workshop activities, and prepares occasional WoRM newsletters for parents. We have also produced books of WoRM Prayers and Memory Verses, for parents and children to use at home. Our ‘Head Shepherd’, who recruits and supports a team of ‘shepherding adults’, (one for each workshop, attending for the whole of each rotation) also keeps in touch with parents and shepherds so that we are aware of any particular needs. In our first year of operation we bought ring binder files for every book of the Bible, and the children made and decorated labels for them. Our Bible Keeper ensures that photocopies of their art and craft work and photographs of other activities are preserved in the appropriate file. We plan to use these at WoRM Open Days and Taster Days in the near future.
‘the worm it grew....’
Like the ‘Lambton Worm’ of the Geordie folk song, our WoRM keeps on growing, but despite all kinds of ‘growing pains’ and occasional ‘great big goggly eyes’ for the Design Team, when we struggle with difficult themes and begin to realise the size of the task, this new approach to Christian Education is beginning to bear fruit. By the end of our fifth year, we hope to have designed and delivered a ‘core curriculum’ which will be repeated on a five yearly rotation. Already we are sharing our lesson plans with another church in Yorkshire and we hope to widen this sharing when our curriculum is complete. Two volunteer carpenters have made a portable bookcase for storing our Bible files. This will be used in all-age worship and in our workshops, with Benjamin and Barnabbas, ‘Bible Bookworm’ glove puppets (knitted by a church member). Another member has recently made colourful lace ‘Bible Bookworm’ bookmarks for all the children.
We are grateful to Mick Maskell, our Synod Youth & Children’s Work Trainer, for introducing us to WoRM, and to our former minister, David Miller, whose enthusiasm and drive gathered together the Design Team and got us started. For more information, see Workshop Rotation. A New Model for Sunday School. Melissa Armstrong-Hansche & Neil MacQueen. Geneva Press, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, Kentucky 40202 - 1396, U.S.A. ISBN 0-664-50110-9 or www.rotation.org
Jean Mortimer is adviser to the Design Team, a ‘retired’ Minister, and an Elder at St Andrew’s)
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