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St. Gabriel and All Angels

by Deaconess Lucinda Hall

I’ve started using bibliodrama in St. Gabriel’s Sunday School group, age range 6 to 15. Bibliodrama is a form of role-playing in which parts are taken from biblical texts. The result is a form of commentary and interpretation blended with self-expression and discovery. It is a way to gain insight, ask questions, and build community.

The fullest bibliographic experience, in late July, was the Bethesda pool story. The theme was “confidence” and my goal was scripture insight, and personal knowledge connections.

We analyzed the levels of confidence, and the source of confidence for each of the characters in this story: the man who made it to the pool and to be healed, the man who tried but could never make it to the pool, and Jesus. The confidence in Jesus was of course God, and that automatically became the measuring rod for the others’ levels of confidence, and the goal: union with God as the source of confidence. At the end, the children told me all the ways to develop relationship with God, and thereby confidence: prayer, meditation, worship, good works, and knowledge. They really got it!

Another bibliodrama in late August was the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. We only focused on the moment when Joseph recognized his brothers. The theme was “discernment,” perceiving a situation and making choices. When Joseph recognized his brothers, what did he feel? As governor of Egypt, what was the range of possible actions? And what did he choose to do? What motivated each action, and which were ethical?

For each of these we acted the roles, placing everyone around in the right places.

In early September, we created a “bibliodramatic moment—a brief foray into a different kind of discourse.” We read the story of the Good Samaritan and while seated in a circle I asked for perspectives. What would the incense carried by the Levite say about the Levite’s actions? What would the Levite himself say, and the Samaritan? Three children spoke what they thought each felt about their actions. Our theme was “self-dedication,” and the question I posed after getting the different perspectives was “to what did they dedicate themselves, and what was the result?” and “to what do we want to dedicate ourselves?”

Children need to move their knowledge, and this form is working well. These bibliographic moments have given us active insight into the perennial ethical questions posed by the Bible.