St Matthew’s Georgetown viewed the Psalms from a new angle on Sunday morning! As part of their regular all-ages’ worship service, congregation members got out of their seats and on to the floor, exploring the powerful and often painful emotions expressed in “the Church’s Hymn Book” through a game of Psalm Twister.
The coloured circles on the mat from the party game Twister were labelled with emotions, thoughts or beliefs commonly found in the Psalms, such as praise, anger, trust, a call for justice or a cry for help. Each word or phrase appeared twice. Leader Sally Cloke read out a Psalm, pausing to let congregation members name the word or emotion they thought best matched the meaning of each verse. Two players had to place a hand or foot on the relevant circle, gradually tying themselves in knots. “The game continues until the Psalm ends or the players fall over,” said Sally.
“It’s a great way to help people recognise that Psalms are much more than bland ‘songs of praise’,” said Revd Bryce Amner. “In Anglican circles, ‘negative emotions’ such as anger towards God are rarely expressed, but the psalmists have no such inhibitions.”
Bryce and Sally would be keen to lead a game of Psalm Twister at your church or help you explore other ways of introducing creativity into your worship.
Photos by Eduardo Hernando and Bryce Amner
