Pastoral Crafting: Peg Disciples

The curse of being a pastor with hobbies is the lack of time you get to do said hobbies if you aren’t intentional about carving out time. For the last 6 months, however, I have folded my hobbies into my pastoral duties and ignited a fire inside of myself. Holy Week (especially Good Friday), Vacation Bible School, and the peg dolls have all been sources of creativity that spiritually filled me.

Disclaimer: If you care extensively about historically accurate clothing or aesthetics, this post will not be for you. The character designs were built entirely on “vibes.”

Since Holy Week of 2024, I have been on the lookout for Bible character dolls or action figures. I have been on a journey to incorporate play into our worship space to include kids and neurodivergent minds to engage with their faith. Much to my dismay, there was nothing even close to affordable for a small country church. Fortunately, I am a crafter with ADHD and a “How hard can it be?” attitude. I turned to Amazon, yes, the evil Bezos empire, and purchased some wood peg dolls. (unaffiliated link)

The first rendition was Jesus, the original 12, and Paul & Matthias. They were imperfect, and I didn’t have any women represented. I was satisfied for the moment; ministry was calling my attention to other duties.

Maybe it was a year or only 6 months later, I finally got myself organized enough to create more peg dolls. Here are some slightly better photos of all the dolls. The guys got a few updates (because of the lack of sanding I did; they were already showing signs of wear), and now we have some of the original female disciples from the Gospels.

I’ve learned a lot about this medium. I loved using acrylic paint for it’s quick drying properties and ability to layer colors. However, I really should have sanded the pegs first. I tried to work on the guys too fast, and the paint is muddy in a few spots. I am considering putting a clear-coat varnish on the dolls, hoping to protect the paint.

Dolls include:
- Jesus (heart on his chest)
- Mother Mary (heart on her chest)
- The 12
  - the fishermen/inner circle
    - Peter (fish & keys)
    - Andrew (fish)
    - Sons of Zebedee: (fish & lightning bolts)
      - James (the Great/Elder)
      - John
  - Judas Iscariot (bag of money)
  - Philip
  - Thomas/Didymus
  - Bartholomew/Nathaniel
  - Matthew/Levi
  - Jude the Zealot
  - Simon the Zealot
  - James of Alphaeus/ James the Less
- The women
  - Mary Magdalene (fancy clothes & a money bag)
  - Mary of Bethany (scroll & pen)
  - Martha of Bethany (apron)
  - Susanna
  - Joanna
  - Salome
  - Mary of Clopas
- Acts Characters
  - Paul (scroll & chains)
  - Matthias

If you have ideas of items the other characters could carry in their hands or be represented on their body, let me know! I created these from memory and would like to add more details.

I am placing an order for a few more dolls, including a few different sizes. Naturally, my ADHD wants to go all in, therefore i’ve started making a list of future peg dolls.

Near Future Peg Dolls:
- Gospel characters: woman at the well, healed woman, man born blind, John the Baptist, Pharisees, Sadducees, Roman officials, King Herod (Luke 2), Herod Aggrippa (Easter), Zacheus, Elizabeth & Zechariah, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea
- Acts & the Epistles – Lydia, Priscilla & Aquilla, Phoebe, John Mark, Luke, Timothy, Onesimus, Philemon, Stephen, Eunice, Lois, Syntyche & Euodia, Barnabas, Cornelius, Dorcas, Ethiopian Eunuch, James brother of Jesus, Philip (not the apostle) & his daughters
Eventually: Hebrew Scriptures Peg Dolls
- Abraham & Sarah
- Moses & Zipporah
- Aaron & Miriam
- Jochebed (A, M & M mom)
- Isaac & Rebecca
- Jacob/Israel + Rachel & Leah, Zilpah & Bilhah
- Hagar & Ishmael
- David, Saul, Jonathan, Micael, Abigail
- Dark stories:
  - Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel
  - Noah & Family

Okay, I had to stop listing characters… I was about to list everyone in the Bible. You get the point.

Tell me if you’ve made any peg dolls. Do you have tips or tricks?

A Post-Election Confession, A Psalm

Mother,* I have a confession to make:
I have placed my hope in the political rhetoric of my country.
I have let my faith be infected by political agendas.

I have lost sight of the Gospel
while focusing on the words of politicians,
Allowing myself to hate my spiritual siblings.

I have neglected the ministry of the church
in hopes of the Social Gospel
becoming the law of the land.

The election results wounded my pride
and I sought consolation in the wrong places
because I questioned Your sovereignty and power and goodness.

Mama, I seek You in desperation. I feel hopeless.

Train my eyes to see Your Spirit moving in this chaotic world.
Reclaim and revive my hope.
Protect my heart from growing calloused.

Remind me of your faithfulness and constancy.
Tell me the story of the saints and martyrs, and your unrelenting love.
Enable me to love others like Jesus.

*Divine words for God cause a bit of tension in the Christian world. However, if male and female are created in the image of God, then God is not a man. Jesus refers to God the Father as Father and Daddy (Abba) a few times, which became the Church’s default language. Ironically enough, we refer to the Triune God by only one person of the Trinity. God is Father, God is Son, God is Holy Spirit. There are places in the Hebrew scriptures where God is described with feminine language (like having a bosom to comfort her children).

For this psalm, I reached for language that helped me to find the most comfort in God’s presence. However, I am not limiting God to one gender.

Poem by Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

by the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

Labor Day fun

Labor Day was a nice lazy day with some fun and finishing up projects.

Josh got a bike and a bike trailer for him and Stevie to explore. everything was assembled today and they got to do their first test drive in the neighborhood.

Afterwards we took Nana and Boppa and the bike to Foster Park for some fun.

There was a little bit of homesteading today as well: I processed peach butter to be turned into fruit leather for Little Miss.
I also spent some time in the garden gathering tomatoes, beans, and peppers. I will be the first to admit that our corn is embarrassing.

Homestead apples

our garden has been flourishing. it is finally time for harvesting some of our apples.

First, we had to wash the apples and sort them into two categories: apples good enough to be apple chips and ugly apples to be made into apple butter which would be turned into fruit leather.