On my name badge it says I’m ‘Director of National Ministries’ which is a kind of posh title to say I get to look after the people who work in Bibleworld. I read the Bible myself and my favourite bit is when Jesus is at the wedding party and changes the water into wine. I like the fact that Jesus went to parties and knew how to celebrate when good things happen in life. I think it would be kind of cool to be at a party with Jesus.
Sometimes I think about all the questions I’d like to ask him over a bowl of jelly and ice cream. Stuff like where do the dinosaurs fit into the Bible story, why are everybody’s fingerprints different and what does he think about the global warming thing? I figure he’d know some good answers to questions like that.
Anyway....back to me. My favourite colour is red, particularly if on my shoes. My favourite movie is Monsters Inc, particularly when Mikey squirts the disinfectant in his eyeball. My favourite food is Cadbury’s Chocolate Buttons.....giant size of course.
Sandra is Bibleworld Operations Manager and oversees the day to day running of Bibleworld Edinburgh and Bibleworld Mobile. Sandra has been with Bibleworld for 9 years and joined as a coordinator with Bibleworld #1. She has experienced the development of Bibleworld over that time, making sure that the programmes are kept up to date with changes in the education sector. Sandra enjoys the variety of work in Bibleworld and is encouraged when she visits new areas and Church partners who want to reach out to schools through RME.
Sandra spent a few years in full time Christian ministry before coming to work in Bibleworld. She has always found it a joy to work with young people and has a great desire to help participate in new initiatives that help them discover more about God through the Bible.
One of her pleasures as she travels round Scotland is visiting coffee shops...and so far her favourite has been...oh it’s too hard - there have been so many!
Fiona joined the Bibleworld team in August 2008 as a Bibleworld Mobile coordinator. In September 2009 she became the Development Project Manager for Bibleworld Edinburgh & Mobile and is now based in Edinburgh.
Her background is in primary education and workplace training (amongst other things), so the big kid in her loves developing programmes for Bibleworld. She loves anything that involves creative thinking and implementation so her role here keeps her both busy and happy.
She enjoys introducing children and young people to the Bible message and helping them unpack its themes and meanings in relevant ways. This can be rewarding, exciting, and sometimes a little scary…but when faced with challenging projects she finds that chocolate (in any form) helps her get through the day.
Valerie is our Bibleworld Edinburgh coordinator and has been in post for 3 years where she coordinates and runs the programme of workshops. Valerie delights in sharing the Bible message in fun and innovative ways with every child that walks through the doors of Bibleworld. Her background is varied, but she most recently worked for 5 years in an autism specific school with both children and young adults.
When she is not working in Bibleworld she leads children and young people’s groups in a voluntary capacity. She loves working hands on with children helping them develop a greater understanding of the Bible and bring it to life in relevant and exciting ways.
Valerie can often be heard saying “I’ve got the best job in the world”… an honour that the other coordinators have allowed her to retain…for now!
James is one of the Bibleworld Mobile coordinators. He likes the varied aspects of the job and enjoys the interaction with children as they explore Bibleworld. James is dedicated to the improvement of the quality and presentation of the Bibleworld programme.
He was born in Peterhead, in Aberdeenshire a long time ago (his own words)! He spent most of the first 35 years there, except for a few years in Australia and England. James’ first career was as a primary school teacher working in the North-East of Scotland, but later found himself living and working in Egypt. He attended Arabic language school in Jordan and went on to teach English in a Presbyterian run school in upper Egypt for a few years before moving to Cairo where his family remained for 12 years.
Now back in Scotland he says he misses the diversity of people he befriended in Cairo, but says that working with the Bibleworld team more than makes up for it!
Hannah is one of our Bibleworld Mobile coordinators and travels around Scotland with our mobile classroom. She loves seeing young people excited about visiting Bibleworld and enjoys supporting their discovery of God and the Bible message.
Hannah has fond memories of her visit to Bibleworld as a child and hopes to create a memorable experience for everyone who visits Bibleworld.
Hannah graduated from the University of St Andrews in June 2009 where she studied Theological Studies and Mediaeval History. She has always taken an active part in work with children and youth mostly within her home church.
Paul joined the Bibleworld team in September 2008 as the Connect Coordinator and spends his time encouraging church groups to sponsor their local primary schools to visit Bibleworld. He is also an administration buff so is often called on to carry out specific pieces of work for the team.
Paul took early retirement from the Finance Industry in 2004 and now, in addition to working two days a week in Bibleworld, he is a member of the Church of Scotland’s Social Care Council and also works for the Law Society of Scotland. For the last few years he has acted in the Edinburgh Easter Play playing both disciples and priests! He has also written and published a book entitled “The Minister’s Cat” which was a collection of articles that he wrote for the church magazine looking at life in the manse from the cat’s somewhat esoteric viewpoint.
Paul was born as a Roman citizen around 2000 years ago in a town called Tarsus. Through his childhood and adolescent years he was trained in Jewish law and eventually as an adult became a member of the Jewish council in Jerusalem. He became zealous and radical, and also very dangerous.
Paul took great offence at the teachings of Jesus and followers during the early church years. As far as he was concerned they were all due the punishment of death as dictated by Pharisaic law. An amazing change took place in his life after a fascinating encounter with God. After this, Paul became one of the most famous and influential Christians that ever lived.
Paul is a perfect role model for the rest of the team.
Joseph is a major player in the Bibleworld team. He is young, vibrant and full of bright ideas. He had a pretty shaky start to his career, but once a few issues were ironed out he rose to great fame and fortune. As part of the Bibleworld team he reminds us not to get too big headed or self-important because of the trouble those attitudes got him into.
Joseph’s example to us all of how to conduct ourselves when tempted to play one-up-man-ship with others on the team is second to none. Even in his powerful position of authority he behaved in ways that were caring and humble – this was possible because of the journey he had travelled. He learned his lessons young, and we would all do well to follow in his footsteps.
When we are tempted to settle scores, Joseph’s model of conduct is the real winner. Three cheers for Joe!
Lazarus lived, and died...and lived again in Bethany near Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. He and his 2 sisters were good friends of Jesus and they all spent quite a bit of time together. Lazarus has an amazing story to tell, and he does it in an entertaining way at Bibleworld.
His death is recorded in the book of John, and so is the account of him being raised from the dead. He’d been dead for 4 days before Jesus restored him to full health. Just before Jesus was killed, the chief priests wanted to arrest Lazarus because of the testimony of his life.
Mary and Martha, his sisters, were the two women who went to visit Jesus tomb 3 days after he died. They were the first people to know about the resurrection of Jesus. We do not know what Lazarus did for a living, but we do know that he has some incredible stories about Jesus and the things he saw (and experienced) him do.
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