Activity opens up bible exploration
By Rev Sandy Brodine
How playing with Mr Potato Head led to a profound conversation.
Last weekend I had the pleasure of leading one of the Bible studies at Surrender 2026. Using an intergenerational collaborative approach that I call “curated meaning making”, I offered participants the opportunity to explore how to grow communities of faith that are safe places of welcome and inclusion for people of different neurodiversities, genders and cultures and ages. They were invited to come along prepared to wonder, play and get a little bit crafty, rather than just to listen to a wise talking head.
I began by saying that this study was designed for “all of the brains” in the room, and that hopefully all people could participate safely and comfortably. Rather than talking about being inclusive, we were going to embody the practice. We read the bible story of Jesus eating at a Pharisee’s house in Luke 14:1, 7-24. The story revolves around who should be given the most important seat at the table. Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Banquet where the Master ends up sending his servant out into the street to invite “the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame” to come to the banquet.
After some wondering questions about the story, participants were invited to spend about 25 minutes engaging with five different ‘meaning making’ opportunities. The invitation was made to all the people gathered, regardless of age, or anything else, to choose whichever one or two or three activities they might like to participate in. The activities included “Dwelling in the Word”, Visio Divina, an embodied environmental gratitude prayer, bead making, and an activity using Mr Potato Head where participants could make potato head characters and wonder: “Would this potato head be welcomed in the Kingdom of God?”
When I gathered the community back from their activities and asked: “What did you hear as you shared those activities?” the responses were deep and profound. One person noted that a couple of the kids had been play fighting with the potato heads – as kids do. “Was this what an inclusive community would look like?” she wondered. The next person reflected on a situation in the community where he works where there is an adult who often has violent tantrums, and how this becomes unsafe for the rest of the community. “Can we really be a completely inclusive community when some people are violent or dangerous to others? How would we do that?” he wondered. From here an intergenerational conversation continued where we unpacked what it might really look like to embody the kind of Kingdom reality that Jesus outlines in the Parable of the Great Banquet. Children and adults alike chipped in with their wisdom and experience. We wrestled with this meaty and complex issue. From what seemed like a simple, perhaps some might think even simplistic activity, a complex and important conversation ensued.
Yes, even a kids’ game like Mr Potato Head can help us to wrestle with the bible, and how we might grow to be more like the kind of community Jesus calls us to be.
Rev Sandy Brodine is Younger Generations Education and Strategy Coordinator