The Good Samaritan retold for today Props required

6 pieces of coloured felt or material at least A4 size a football/soccer ball (adapt story to fit available prop) a torn, dirty t-shirt sports trophy/medal or footy boots school leaders badge or bike bell Clean sports t-shirt Bandaids 2 apples (or healthy snack) a wii remote or another game controller
Instructions for telling the story Have the above props in a box or basket next to the storyteller. Seat children in a circle so they can clearly see the storyteller and so there is a space in front of the storyteller to put the props. As the story is told the storyteller places a piece of felt/material on the ground in front of them to their right and then places a prop on it. Place the next piece of felt/material to the left of the first one and then place the next prop on there. Repeat throughout story. Introduce the story During the introduction, lay down the first felt/material square. Adapt the introduction to suit the purpose for telling the story. For example, with unchurched children looking at the value of respect: Id like to tell you a story. This story is based on the story of the Good Samaritan, which comes from the Christian tradition. (Lay 1st felt square on floor.) I invite you to listen to discover who shows respect and how they show respect. What are the characters listening to? Or for a church setting: Id like to tell you a story. You might recognise this as a story that Jesus told that is recorded in the Bible. Jesus told this story in response to someones question about who is our neighbour? Im going to ask you afterwards: Who should we show care to? Tell the story (Make sure youve laid the first felt/material square down during the introduction) One sunny afternoon Peter was walking home from school alone. He was bouncing (hold football) his brand new football that hed been given for his birthday. Pete and his friends were all on the school footy team and theyd had a great time kicking his new footy around at lunchtime. (put football on cloth) Pete was wishing that his friends had been able to come home with him that afternoon to kick the footy. (Lay 2nd felt square next to first one.) Suddenly, Pete heard footsteps running up behind him. A group of kids from his school tackled Pete to the ground, punching him, ripping his t-shirt (put torn and dirty t-shirt on cloth) and throwing his backpack in the mud. One of them grabbed Petes football (remove football) and they all ran off - leaving Pete lying bruised and bleeding on the ground. (place 3rd felt square) The school football team captain was out on his training run. (put on cloth, football team trophy) He saw Pete and just jumped over him and kept running. (place 4th felt square) Then, a school leader from Petes school was riding her bike down the road. (put on cloth, badge

or bike bell) The school leader saw Pete and recognised him but she just rode her bike to the other side of the street and kept going. Then, Sam, the new kid at Petes school came walking down the road. (place 5th felt square) This was his first week at this school. No one had invited him to play with them at lunchtime. When Sam saw Pete he remembered how Pete had shoved him away when hed asked to join in the football game. But when he saw Pete lying on the ground, Sam felt sorry for him and ran over to him. He helped Pete sit up. Sam pulled his spare sports t-shirt (put on cloth, clean sport t-shirt) out of his own bag and gave it to Pete to wear. He picked up Petes backpack and wiped the mud off. He then helped Pete stand up and together they walked to Sams house. (place 6th felt square) When they arrived, Sam gave Pete a towel and bandaids so he could clean up his cuts and wash off the dirt (band aids on cloth). He invited Pete to stay until Petes mum could come and pick him up. Sam found them some snacks to eat (put apples on cloth with bandaids) and shared them with Pete and they played Wii sports together. (put wii sports game or wii hand controller on cloth with apples) The end. Questions for use after telling the story (adapt to suit your context) Who showed the most respect in that story? (Accept answers such as Sam, the new kid, the kid who helped) Who or what do you think Sam, the new kid listened to that made him help? (good thoughts inside that helping people is important) Who do you think the school leader or the football captain listened to? (listened to selfish thoughts, maybe football captain just wanted to keep training or didnt think it would be cool to help someone whod been beaten up. The school leader might have been thinking they were too busy or running late so couldnt stop. She may have been afraid she could get hurt what could she have done to keep herself safe but still act with respect and help? eg phone ambulance, find an adult.) Respect is about caring for others, not just ourselves. How did Sam do this? (even though Pete hadnt played with him and Sam could have left Pete, he cared about the fact that Pete was hurt and needed help so he did help) What were Sams actions that showed respect? (Helped Pete, cared for him, took him home, helped him clean up, shared toys.) Why do you think Jesus told this story to answer the question about who is our neighbour? Why should we show care to others? We can show care to people whether we know them or not; whether they are similar to or different from us; whether they are popular or lonely; whether they are younger or older than us and whether they treat us kindly or not. We can still choose to be respectful. We can choose to listen to the good thoughts inside us, we can choose to care about others, not just ourselves and we can choose to act helpfully.