Good Samaritan Episcopal Church

When is it?

The third Friday of every month in Roetter Hall, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.

6:00 - 6:30pm    Pizza
6:30 - 7:30pm    Activity led by Paul Phillips
7:30 - 8:00pm    Free Time!

What happens?

The Friday night program is a collection of 12 well sculptured play spaces requiring the youth to figure out how to play in them. The play spaces require kids to think, act, and react. The games are grouped into 4 types of activities.

The Play Spaces

Impossible Games: These activities that have an element of ambiguity in the instructions. Those who see the ambiguity can do them. For those who cannot the activities are impossible.

Team Games: These are traditional types of games but have their rules modified either to play indoors, or to require rethinking how to play. When someone figures out how to sabotage the play space, the kids are required to add rules to prevent that. If the game deteriorates to conflict, we move on to the next activity.

Relay Races: These are outrageous and require kids to approach the activity with the self control. Carrying Skittles in a spoon to hopping from puzzle pads engage the kids in different challenges.

Individual Skills Games: These are different sorts of activities from tossing a hanger onto a rod to flipping spoons across the room.

The Play Space Architect

Paul Phillips creates unusual play space environments in which to perform the games and challenges that the youth encounter on Friday nights.

The Philosophy:

As adults we do not live in our youths' world. Our parents did not live in ours. We had to become a generation that created and solved our own problems. The Play Space is a controlled world where this next generation can learn to solve their problems in their way. The adult managing this play space must understand that the success or failure of the game is not important. The important part of a night is the interaction of the kids in confronting that success or failure. Sometimes I invent bad games that are not much fun. They produce good nights.

The Spiritual Component:

At the end of each night there is a mandatory 5 minutes of silence. The kids may pray, meditate, think, relax, or sleep. This is time when the kids have 5 minutes where they may hear the wee small voice. Notes to Parents

Many of the activities are physical. If your youth has medical/physical limitations, let the youth group leaders know.

If noise is an issue, please know that there may be loud, popping balloons and air compressors.

Should your youth have issues with the program, or is unhappy in the situations that challenge them to think and cope, please let Paul Phillips know.  Usually youth enjoy the opportunity to out-think a situation.

Some issues may be emotional and we expect all who participate to respect each person's right to have emotions and express them.