From An Interview with Pr. Rebecca West-Estell by Ben Fisher ’27 NVP Fellow

Pastor Rebecca West Estell is an amazing model for living out vocation and following God’s call. As a lawyer for 25 years and a deaconess for 15, she is also an inspirational leader for the Nourishing Vocation Project, developing a curriculum that centers on child leadership and intergenerational worship. During an interview with her, I learned about her project called Dressing Up the Bible, which had kids dress up and act out as the characters from biblical stories. One of the stories she shared was when the kids laid down the leaves for Palm Sunday while the rest of the congregation cheered. Another activity was when the congregation sat beneath a tarp that represented the large fish that swallowed Jonah. By doing this, the kids were able to be more immersed in the story by pretending to be Jonah in the belly of the fish. These experiences help the kids remember the stories as well as get a deeper understanding of the messages and God’s love by being able to actually live in the text. By allowing them to act out the characters followed by then asking questions such as how they felt and how that character connected to God, the curriculum encourages deeper thinking and reflection, further enhancing the learning experience during worship. Pastor Rebecca especially emphasizes the curriculum’s impact on helping kids understand and relate with the text, saying that the kids “Get a chance to stand in that position and see how God relates to them. They carry that with them. They carry that with them home. They carry that with them during school, because during that time of dressing up the Bible they have seen how God relates to everyone and everything”.

It’s a really good way to give the children a feeling of being a part of the congregation, and a part of what we’re doing

Pastor Rebecca West-Estell

This curriculum not only helps the kids get a better understanding of the Bible but also how to be better leaders by acting out the stories. It puts them at the head of the service and allows them to continue being in character by continuing to wear their costumes after the presentation. One thing that Pastor Rebecca said that really stuck with me was when she said, “One of my biggest frustrations is that even when we do a youth moment or a children’s message, or whatever you want to call it. The children are a part of the story for that 5 min. You know, and then they go back to their seat, and they’re told to be quiet for the next 45 min, you know. And so and so it allows them to see. Hey, I’m a part of this. We’re all in this together kind of thing”

By leading the stories, kids are also able to learn social and presentation skills, helping them come out of their shell and engage with others by playing and using their imagination. At the same time, the congregation is able to recognize and appreciate this leadership. When I asked Pastor Rebecca “What impact do you think your Nourishing Vocation pilot project has had on your congregation as a whole?”, she responded with “They see our children. Our children are able to teach them”. Another part of this curriculum that I too used to enjoy during worship when I was younger was the use of biblically-themed snacks for each of the Sunday lessons, such as animal crackers for the story about Noah and the Ark. This was a great way to have the kids’ five senses immersed in worship and is a perfect example of expanding the bounds of worship and including new ways of learning about God’s word. 

In the near future, Pastor Rebecca hopes to have the kids be able to participate in the process of making the costumes more detailed as well as creating visual backgrounds to set the stories in front of to further the immersion experience and creativity. I look forward to seeing how this curriculum will further develop and pray that it will help kids get a better understanding of the Bible and their important role as God’s beloved creation. Pastor Rebecca is truly following her vocation to promote God’s good works, and I can’t wait to see what new and immersive ideas she’ll help develop next. 

They get a chance to stand in that position and see how God relates to them, I think, enables them beyond that day, to be able to relate to God, and see how God relates to them. I think that they carry that out of the sanctuary. They carry that with them. They carry that with them home. They carry that with them during school, because during that time of dressing up the Bible they have seen how God relates to everyone and everything

Pastor Rebecca West-Estell