October 2010 - Bridgnorth's Church of England

MU in October

On Tuesday 12 October, Mothers' Union went back to school. We were invited by some members of Open the Book team to imagine we were in school as 7 year olds!

Those who cam to tell the story of Paul's shipwreck were Chris Blaze, Stephen Lomas, Roger Taylor, Chris March, and a co-opted student from Mothers' Union, Chris O'Brien.

In Bridgnorth, there is a team of 17 Open the Book volunteers, who go into Castlefields, St Leonard's and St Mary's primary schools on a regular basis, to take short assemblies, presenting bible stories with some superb props made by David Batty.

All the stories have been well written for young students, and are usually read by a narrator. Chris March was our narrator, and this allowed the rest of the cast to act out the story as it was told.

The scene was set for a sea voyage, with the side of a boat in position, ready to sail! It was going to be a tricky journey through rough waters, resulting in a shipwreck off the coast of Malta. Paul was in trouble, and was being sent for trial in front of the Emperor!

One of the team introduced the main characters and engaged us in discussing the difference between spreading the news now, and in biblical times. Cyprus, Malta and Rome were mentioned in the story, which are places children may have heard of or even visited on holiday.

From our members' experience, it was obvious that the team have a great rapport with 7 year olds, and there was an excellent interaction between the storyteller and the assembly, which children do not get whilst sitting in front of a TV screen... often on their own!

How did Open the Book begin in Bridgnorth? Apparently, it originated in Bedford in 1999, when a group of Christians first started presenting bible stories in school assemblies. The idea spread and eventually reached Gloucestershire, where it was extremely successful. Someone from that area came to talk to a number of interested Christians in the Baptist Church. And from this initial meeting about 3 years ago, it was decided to set up on Open the Book team for our primary schools.

The aim of Open the Book is to introduce primary school children to the stories of the Bible. There are no three books containing the major biblical stories, available for us in schools.

Two vital pieces of information to be noted are that all volunteers have to be CRB registered, and have to agree to abide by the Open the Book Code of Practice.