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 fishermen/inner circle
- 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?
Meriah J Tigner 