Open the Book
‘Bringing the Bible stories to life.’
Our lives are crammed full of stories; our stories, the stories of others, true stories, extraordinary stories, imaginary stories, stories of everyday: we are captivated and learn from them all. We watch them, we read them, we sing them, we gossip them. When we are asleep, we even dream in stories!
Stories are entertaining, but they are also powerful, motivating, memorable and inspiring. We recognise ourselves and our behaviour in them. They have the power to change our thinking, our understanding, our behaviour, even our lives. We enjoy stories as toddlers – asking for them to be read again and again. We still thrive on stories as seniors. Stories are for life.
The Bible is packed full of cracking stories about God’s relationship with His people. They introduce us to God: through them we encounter His character, and they are a foundation on which faith can be built. We know that Jesus taught in stories or parables, confirming that stories are one of the most effective ways of communicating.
Open the Book recognises the power implicit in Biblical stories, the impact of bringing the Bible to life and the importance of taking the word to the next generation (Psalm 78): into our neighbourhood primary schools.
““The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood.’”
Open the Book (OtB) started in 1999 and since 2013 has been part of Bible Society. It offers primary school children an opportunity to hear key Bible stories as told by a team of Christians from local churches, who present the stories during assemblies or acts of collective worship. Each presentation takes around 10–15 minutes and can either be incorporated into a wider school assembly, or stand alone. The Bible stories (written by Bob Hartman) and wrap-around introduction, reflection and prayer are all scripted - bringing reassurance to a school - and are approved of by Ofsted. There is a three-year programme of assemblies, all free to primary schools.
My first experience of Open the Book storytelling was about a decade ago in Deepcar, Sheffield. The OtB team were telling the story of Noah in a primary school. There was an elderly man (in his 90s?) doing sound effects with water off stage. There was a rainbow on a screen, a simple boat, and a cast in simple costumes. What I loved most, though, was witnessing a couple of hundred children really enjoying hearing a Bible story and finding it accessible. I was completely hooked on Open the Book in that moment!
Since that first encounter with OtB I have seen and heard that enjoyment replicated and expressed in the comments pupils have made after experiencing an OtB assembly:
‘That was the best assembly ever.’ (Y2 Sheffield pupil)
‘When are the old people in curtains coming again?’ (Sheffield pupil)
OtB teams also have tales of the fun they experience:
‘Hello, God.’ A Sheffield pupil to an OtB team member who had spoken as the voice of God.
‘It was so ridiculously hot in the hall, I used the staff toilet to remove my trousers and jumper before putting on my OtB costume. I couldn’t find my clothes when we were clearing away, so had to go shopping still dressed as an angel!’ (Shared by an OtB team member on the OtB Storytellers Facebook page).
Open the Book is a powerful storytelling ministry, it does not preach or evangelise. Schools therefore welcome OtB in.
Open the Book assemblies are suitable for those of all faiths and none. The Bible’s colossal contribution to our culture (literature, language, art, architecture, and music) means children should experience its stories.
More copies of the Bible have been sold than any other book in history, and yet Biblical illiteracy is probably as high as it has ever been, especially in younger generations. This can mean the stories are unknown to young OtB audiences – teams have been applauded as the children don’t know how God intervenes in the story or what will happen next – as demonstrated by one pupil who uttered out loud, ‘Uh oh’ when it became clear that Adam was going to offer Eve an ‘apple’. For many pupils, Open the Book might be their only exposure to the stories of God. Seeds are planted.
OtB doesn’t depend on a charismatic children’s worker, who may move on to a different role. It is a team effort – a church can have continuous contact with a school.
OtB ticks boxes for a school, too, in terms of their SMSC (Spiritual Moral Social Cultural) targets and helps meet their responsibility in law to provide collective worship of a ‘broadly Christian nature.’
OtB teams take good news into schools and are good news for over-stretched teachers who now need to take fewer assemblies themselves! They too enjoy listening, learning from and watching OtB assemblies.
If you’re excited about sharing Bible stories with school children and want to have fun with a team dressing up in costume to act/mime a part, perhaps you’d like to be a storyteller and get a team started from your church? Perhaps you can do clever things with curtains, enjoy searching for a golden coat in a charity shop (I was so excited when I found one this week) and you’d like to use your gift of creativity to make props or costumes? Or perhaps you are more of a narrator? If so, you will be joining thousands of volunteers all over England and Wales doing the same thing.
You honestly do not need to be a BAFTA-standard actor to be an effective OtB storyteller – it really is very easy, and it does not require hours of rehearsal time.
If you would like to know more about Open the Book, I am running a fun, no pressure, have-a-go, one-hour Open the Book introductory workshop at the Joined Up Conference, Sheffield on 4 March at Victoria Hall.
Booking and further details at www.joinedupconference.com or contact me to book a training session convenient for you at fiona.walton@biblesociety.org.uk or fiona.walton@cass-su.org.uk.
You might like to browse the OtB website at https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/get-involved/open-the-book.
Questions
Who first told you Bible stories?
What difference has knowing Bible stories made to your life?
What difference could it make to the next generation to hear Bible stories while they are young?
You are talking to a head teacher. How could you justify taking an Open the Book team into his/her school?
Could you be part of an Open the Book story telling team or commit to pray for Open the Book to reach more Sheffield schools?
About the Author
Fiona Walton is the Open the Book Training and Development Officer for Yorkshire. She also teaches and works for Christians & Sheffield Schools (CaSS).