On a nice summer’s day in June I had the pleasure of going to St Paul’s Church, Penketh to deliver an Air and Share called ‘Come and Experience the New OtB Programme’. Storytellers had the opportunity to look through the new Storytelling Bible and Storyteller’s Handbook and ask questions about the membership. We learned the new OtB song and some Makaton signs (which are all included in the Full Membership pack) and Storytellers had a go at one of our new stories, ‘Calling Disciples’.
It was wonderful to hear Storytellers’ passion for OtB and how several are considering OtB membership. Thank you so much to St Paul’s Church for such a warm and kind welcome. Everyone was helpful and caring, the refreshments were lovely and the church is a wonderful space. Thank you to everyone who attended and thank you for your continued commitment to sharing Bible stories with children everywhere through the power of storytelling.
Ruth Holden, Regional Training and Development Office
In core training we ask all OtB teams to pray, prepare and present, as well as pause to reflect on their storytelling. As we move into the summer there’s no better time to put the ‘pray and prepare’ into action and to pause and reflect on all that has been achieved and learnt this year. Below are some ways you might like to do this.
Pray
If you haven’t already signed up to be a Full or Associate Member you may want to pray about this. What is God calling you and your team to for the rest of the academic year and 2023–2024?
Whether your team is big or small,l it’s always good to invite more people to join you on your storytelling journey. Why not pray about this and see what doors open?
Prepare
Each year Team Leaders need to go through the OtB Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct with their team. Why not to do this over the summer when things are a bit quieter? Get in touch with us if you have any questions.
Have you signed up to the new OtB Programme? Take time to go through our new stories and work out what stories you’re going to present next term/year. What props and costumes do you need? How can you get the children involved?
Take time to explore different forms of storytelling like mime or puppetry.
Pause and reflect
What went well this year? What stories stand out? Why? Can you learn anything from this?
What areas can you improve? Do you need any support from your Regional Training and Development Office. Please get in touch.
We have been running a pilot with a team in Axminster using Open the Book with Home Education groups. This month the group celebrated its first birthday with a special party. Thank you to all the team for all their hard work, prayers and dedication.
We often have questions from Storytellers that can be useful for everybody. This one’s a common query for teams.
Can a prospective Storyteller visit a school to watch an OtB assembly without being safely recruited first?
Yes, a prospective Storyteller can visit a school to watch or take part in an assembly to get a feel for OtB and see if it’s what they’d like to do, but they are to be signed into the school as a visitor (as all Storytellers should be). You can also let the school know they’re a prospective Storyteller so haven’t been safely recruited by their church just yet.
Our membership scheme launched in May and you were sent an email inviting you to sign up with a link. If you haven’t done so already you can do that now.
Become a member
Your member packs will be sent directly to you once your Direct Debit goes through. This will include the new Storytelling Bible and Open the Book Storytellers’ Handbook as part of the full member pack.
This is the easiest way to pay for your membership. But please note that you can only use a personal account number, not a church account number. If your church is paying they will need to contact us to set this up.
Please note there is a 15 day cooling off period and membership packs will be sent in the week following the direct debit is taken.
If you would like to make a single payment by cheque, please make cheques payable to Bible Society. You will need to tell us the supporter numbers of those for whom you are paying the membership fees.
Please send any cheques or forms to the following address:
(Open the Book Membership) Bible Society, Stonehill Green, Westlea, Swindon SN5 7DG.
Please note with postal delivery and processing times cheques can take 2-3 weeks to process. Membership packs will be sent in the week following the cheque being processed.
You can call our friendly team any time between 9.30 am–4.30 pm (Monday to Friday) on 01793 418222 or Freephone 0808 178 4921. We will set up a direct debit for your membership.
You will need to tell us the supporter numbers of those for whom you are paying the membership fees.
If you’re still undecided, we’ve prepared a Frequently Asked Questions section for you on our website.
We are really looking forward to celebrating with you at the ‘A Story Well Told’ tour. If you would be willing to volunteer at any of the venues, please contact your regional training officer.
You can register on Eventbrite to find out more details and venue addresses. We are now able to offer all Storytellers a free ticket, so please use the special code, BS-G-23, and don’t forget that if you sign up as a full member you will receive a code for a free ticket for you and one for a friend.
We kick off the tour with the South West Area – Cullompton, Monday 3 July 2.00–4.00 pm – which is really easy to get to from the motorway. We then head to the South Wales Area – Baglan, Port Talbot, Wednesday 5 July 2.00–4.00 pm; this event will feature parts in English and Welsh. Then we’re driving north to the Yorkshire Area – Sheffield, Friday 7 July 2.00–4.00 pm, and further still to the North Area – Newcastle upon Tyne, Saturday 8 July 2.00–4.00 pm before heading back to the South Area – Basingstoke, Monday 10 July 2.00–4.00 pm.
We then move to the Midlands Area – Wolverhampton, Tuesday 11 July 2.00–4.00 pm – for our penultimate event. We round off this tour with the East Area – Ely, Monday 17 July 6.30–8.30 pm.
Do book in and we hope to see you there!
Sponsor a team to grow Open the Book overseas.
Sponsorship is an opportunity for you to bring the transformative joy of the Bible into schools beyond this country. With a donation of £200, you or your team or church can sponsor an Open the Book project overseas. You’ll be fully funding the work of one team for a year, enabling them to visit schools across their country with Open the Book’s proven programme of engaging Bible storytelling.
Opportunities to update your skills for Open the Book:
Tuesday 4 July, 1.00–4.00 pm, St Austell
Monday 17 July, 10.00 am–3.00 pm, Cumbria
Friday 21 July, 10.00 am–2.00 pm, Durham
Saturday 9 September, 10.00 am–1.00 pm, Braunton
Wednesday 12 July, 9.00 am–12.00 pm
Tuesday 25 July, 1.00–4.00 pm
Monday 21 August, 10.00 am–1.00 pm
Wednesday 30 August, 10.00 am–1.00 pm
Isle of Wight 8 July, 9.30 am–12.30 pm
Go to the website for booking onto these and other events
Try our Online Training at any time as a refresher in English or Welsh
Read the Bible 
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