The Christian Education Resource Center & Women’s Studies
Dear friends and partners in ministry. I would love to share with you about our latest event called Bibliodrama led by Rev. Agnete G. Holm from DanMission, which was held on Saturday, April 28, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the CERC Seminar room at NEST. As requested by Agnete, our number was seven, which is the ideal number for such a group activity.
Bibliodrama is not drama or theater – but it is spiritual counseling in a group with the help of biblical texts. There is a Bibliodrama leader who guides and leads the group through the text and through the issues that appear. Bibliodrama was invented in a Cappuccine monastery in Germany and is inspired by the Ignacian spirituality.We all know that we learn very much through experiences. But in our churches we are used to sitting down and listening. How can we experience the biblical stories without performing drama or theater? Bibliodrama gives the biblical story a physical place in the room.
The biblical story can be appealing and inspiring, but it does not impose anything on the participants. There is room for the individual to find a place in the biblical story which is relevant and rewarding in life and faith. No matter what, the participants will feel a relation to the biblical passage and there will be room to feel if there is a life-giving calling from the biblical story. The dialogue within the outline is a contemplative listening to the other participants. We listen without commenting and we listen in a way that allows us to focus our attention on what processes are happening in us while we are listening. In the workshop we learn how to make space for this kind of dialogue.
The participants met again after their experiences in the outline, then the session was rounded off with a sharing of faith and experience. This helped us to relate to the experience in a way that is relevant for our life and faith. This was an existential dialogue, where the instructor was present as a spiritual counselor and the participants became companions in each other’s lives. In the workshop we learned to connect our feelings and experiences gained from this spiritual journey to our everyday life.
Here are some of the comments from our participants…
“It was indeed a very meaningful morning! The workshop provided a refreshing way to understand the text: we physically walked with the different characters of the story, we felt their pain and their thirst, shared their questions and were ourselves emotionally touched in our heart and soul. A great way to think creatively about a Bible story and to apply it to our life. Thanks for the invitation C.M.”
“I liked this approach. I had never thought of taking such a journey, it was a new experience to me, and an enriching one. It made me feel really close to Jesus and increased my desire to see my friends really meet him and enjoy his closeness and love. I also want to practice this as I am reading the gospel and try it with the children and maybe one mother or two. Thank you very much for making this happen. H.A.”
“I want to say that in this seminar I gained a new hope for my future. I had the feeling of an essential refreshment and was really impressed by the completely emotional openness of all participants. Thanks for giving me the chance to share this sort of experience with the group! P.R.”
“I would like to tell you that this was the most practical workshop I've ever attended in my whole life ! I was happy to share my thoughts with others and I was extremely relieved, thank God! God bless you. S.J.”
At the end, we had a fellowship lunch in the NEST small dining room and shared more about our experience with Bibliodrama and how effective it is for one’s spiritual journey.
Instructor in Christian Education
Director of the Christian Education Resource Center