St Mary’s – “Open the Book”
Open the Book started in 1999 with just a handful of volunteers taking Bible stories into Primary Schools in Bedfordshire. It soon became extremely popular and has grown steadily over the past twenty years. There are now over 11,000 volunteer storytellers regularly visiting 2,000 schools across the UK, and the demand from schools for their own Open the Book team continues to outstrip supply.
Our own Open the Book team started 6 years ago. We thoroughly enjoy visiting Vigo Primary School each month to present a new Bible story. We act out the stories with volunteers from the Year 6 children. We make simple scenery and props to create atmosphere and, with children and adults in costume, present each story to the whole school during assemblies. We all find it to be hugely rewarding and great fun.
Stories from the Bible are very much part of our culture and heritage. So much of our language, literature and music have been inspired by the Bible. It is life changing and affirming: the stories are exciting, they broaden knowledge and help with issues of morality and showing kindness to others.
