Open the Book
Churches come together to bring the Bible to life in schools
Shaula Reilly - Curate
Open the Book teams go into primary schools to tell stories from the Bible using drama, props and costumes and often involving children dressing up and taking part too. The aim is to let the stories speak for themselves in a fun way, with a short time of reflection and a prayer at the end.
For a number of years Angela le Roy has led an OtB team that goes into our church schools in Wellow and Shoscombe. Some of the team are from the church family in Wellow and others come from further afield. It has been brilliant to have some new members from St Julian's Church in recent months and the children clearly enjoy the OtB assemblies, especially when they or their friends are taking part.
In January 2023 a new OtB team started going into Peasedown Primary School each week: for Key Stage 2 one week and Key Stage 1 the next. The wonderful thing about this new team is that members come from all 3 churches in Peasedown - St Joseph's, Peasedown Methodist, and St John's - and we've really been enjoying working together. There has been a lovely welcome from the school and we've heard reports of children coming home to tell family members about it. Special thanks have to go to Mary Warren for her amazing energy and enthusiasm in making lots of costumes and props and bringing along puppets for children to use.
“I have really enjoyed working together with all the churches in Peasedown to deliver the Open the Book sessions to the children at the local Primary School. It is wonderful how we work together as a team”
Fi Carr, St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church