At the begining of March a ‘taster’ event organised by members of the Frome Deanery ‘Big Dream’ youth initiative saw around twenty people gather at Holy Trinity Church, Frome to explore the growing impact of Open the Book (OtB) in local first and junior schools. Surrounded by colourful and ingenious props and costumes, representatives came from ten churches, two schools, the Bible Society, and three established Open the Book teams.
Open the Book, a national programme run by the Bible Society, offers primary schools a series of carefully prepared Bible story assemblies. These stories are brought to life by trained volunteers from local churches—or sometimes by the children themselves, helping children to encounter Bible stories in a lively, fun and interactive way..
Everything is designed with schools in mind:
● Scripts are shared in advance
● Participation is always voluntary
● Volunteers are safely recruited and formally trained
● Assemblies follow national safeguarding requirements
● The programme is recognised by OFSTED, SIAMS and ESTYN
An Religious Education teacher from one of the schools who attended, spoke about the difference these assemblies make, she said, " Many children have little contact with Bible stories at home, so seeing them acted out and sometimes stepping into the story themselves, helps to bring these stories alive and stay in the memory." Others from two local Open the Book teams then shared how rewarding and fun participation is to both the schools and OtB team members.
Currently, three or four local teams visit five schools and attendees heard how Open the Book also helps to build links between schools and the local church and community. In Nunney, for example, this has grown into interactive community dramas held in the church at Easter and Christmas, where the whole school gets involved.
Clare Morgan from the Bible Society shared encouragement, offered local training support and highlighted the resources available, including their new material for running Holiday Clubs. Teams swapped ideas about sharing costumes and props, and one lady offered her skills to help create or repair outfits and by the end of the evening one church had a new Open the Book team, and one school was opening its doors to Open the Book assemblies.
There will be a training evening at Holy Trinity, Frome for new team members on Thursday 30 April. The training is open to anyone in the area who would like to participate, please contact annie.herridge@holytrinityfrome.com for more information. All participants need to sign up on the Bible Society website: Training and Events - Bible Society