The Center’s Leadership

the director

The Rev. Cheryl V. Minor, Ph.D., is the Director of the Center for the Theology of Childhood. Dr. Minor has a degree in Music Education from Boston University, an MDiv from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a PhD in Psychology from Northcentral University in Scottsdale, Arizona. Her dissertation examined Godly Play's impact on children's spiritual well-being. 

Dr. Minor was the Consulting Editor for Volumes 6, 7, and 8 of The Complete Guide to Godly Play, the newly revised edition of Teaching Godly Play. She was also the consulting editor on the revisions of The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volumes 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8. Dr. Minor published Godly Play in Late and Middle Childhood in 2022. Her most recent academic articles were published in Religious Education and the International Journal of Children’s Spirituality. 

Dr. Minor is an Episcopal Priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts. She and her husband, Paul Minor, have been Co-Rectors of All Saints’ Church in Belmont for over twenty years. Before serving in Belmont, they served churches in Manhattan and Philadelphia. They have two grown children and two grandchildren.

In Philadelphia, Dr. Minor discovered Godly Play and, she says, “found her life’s work!” She became a Godly Play Trainer in July, 2000. One of the perks of being a Co-Rector is that at least twice a month (and often more) she gets to be on the floor telling Godly Play stories to the children at All Saints’ while her husband takes care of the adults. All Saints also hosts a Montessori School, which means children surround Cheryl daily. This time with the children inspires her and centers them in all that she does.

Contact Dr. Minor: cheryl.minor@godlyplayfoundation.org

  • Jerome W. Berryman (2024). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 8, Revised & Expanded. (Cheryl Minor & Rosemary Beales, Consulting Editor). New York, NY: Church Publishing, Inc.

    Cheryl V. Minor, Hannah Sutton-Adams and Heather Ingersoll (2023). Crossed Wires: The Disconnect Between Christian Leaders’ Perceptions of Parents and the Lived Experiences of Contemporary Families. Religious Education, 118(5), 430–444. DOI: 10.1080/00344087.2023.2269342

    Cheryl Minor (2022). Godly Play in Middle and Late Childhood. New York, NY: Church Publishing, Inc.

    Cheryl V. Minor & Hannah Sutton-Adams (2022) Godly Play Went Home: An Exploratory Study of the Experience of Godly Play in Homes during the Covid-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Caregivers, Religious Education, 117:4, 313-323, DOI: 101080/00344087.2022.2101814

    Jerome W. Berryman (2021). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 6, Revised and Expanded. (Cheryl Minor & Rosemary Beales, Consulting Editors). New York, NY: Church Publishing, Inc.

    Jerome W. Berryman (2018). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 4, Revised and Expanded. (Cheryl Minor & Rosemary Beales, Consulting Editors). New York, NY: Church Publishing, Inc.

    Jerome W. Berryman. (2017). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 3, Revised and Expanded. (Cheryl Minor & Rosemary Beales, Consulting Editors). New York, NY: Church Publishing, Inc.

    Jerome W. Berryman (2017). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 2, Revised and Expanded. (Cheryl Minor & Rosemary Beales, Consulting Editors). New York, NY: Church Publishing, Inc.

    Cheryl Minor & Ryan Campbell (2016). The Parable of the Sower: a case study examining the use of the Godly Play method as a spiritual intervention on a psychiatric unit of a major children’s hospital. The International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 21 (1)., DOI: 10.1080/1364436X.2016.1150813

    Cheryl Minor & Barry Grant (2014). Promoting spiritual well-being: a quasi-experimental test of an element of Hay and Nye’s theory of children’s spirituality. The International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 10 (3-4). DOI: 10.1080/1364436X.2014.960916

    Jerome W. Berryman (2012). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 8. (Cheryl Minor, Consulting Editor). Denver, CO: Morehouse Education Resources, Inc.

    Jerome W. Berryman. (2009). Teaching Godly Play: How to mentor the spiritual development of children (Cheryl Minor, Consulting Editor). Denver, CO: Morehouse Education Resources, Inc.

    Jerome W. Berryman (2008). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 7. (Cheryl Minor, Consulting Editor). Denver, CO: Morehouse Education Resources, Inc.


    Jerome W. Berryman (2006). The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Volume 6. (Cheryl Minor, Consulting Editor). Denver, CO: Living the Good News.

Assistant Director of the Center and Spiritual Care for the Godly Play Foundation

Hannah Sutton-Adams began her journey with the Godly Play Foundation as an intern after her first year of doctoral work. Hannah then became the Assistant for Research and Projects at The Center. In 2025, Hannah was named the Assistant Director of The Center and Spiritual Care for the Godly Play Foundation.

Hannah holds a Ph.D. from Boston College. Her dissertation, “Adult Christian Formation After Religious Trauma,” contextualizes elements of Godly Play as a chaplaincy intervention to facilitate healing from religious trauma and abuse.  Hannah attended seminary at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist, earning an M.Div. She also holds a certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies from the Trauma Research Foundation.

Hannah is a board-certified chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. She has served in various healthcare contexts with a special interest in pediatrics and behavioral health. She draws on her academic research and chaplaincy experience to serve as a licensed Godly Play Trainer and Storyteller. Hannah considers it her mission to ensure all children have access to safe and healthy spiritual nurture.

She also loves experimenting with Godly Play as a spiritual practice with people of all ages and in unusual spaces. Hannah has practiced Godly Play under a tree, in a pediatric psychiatric hospital, in a home-based church plant, in college ministries, at retreats, and in higher education.

When Hannah is not working for The Center, you can find her providing spiritual care, reading, writing, and enjoying nature with her husband, Logan, and their dog, Charo.

Contact Dr. Sutton-Adams: hannah@godlyplayfoundation.org

  • Minor, Cheryl, Hannah Sutton-Adams, and Heather Ingersoll. “Crossed Wires: The Disconnect Between Christian Leaders’ Perceptions of Parents and the Lived Experiences of Contemporary Families.” Religious Education 118, no. 5 (October 20, 2023): 430–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2023.2269342.

    Minor, Cheryl V., and Hannah Sutton-Adams. “Godly Play Went Home: An Exploratory Study of the Experience of Godly Play in Homes during the Covid-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Caregivers.” Religious Education 117, no. 4 (August 8, 2022): 313–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2101814.

    Sutton-Adams, Hannah. “Book Review: Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.” Anglican Theological Review 104, no. 2 (May 1, 2022): 234–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/00033286211061499.

    ———. “Book Review: Margaret Benefiel and Bo Karen Lee, The Soul of Higher Education: Contemplative Pedagogy, Research, and Institutional Life for the Twenty-First Century.” Anglican Theological Review 103, no. 2 (May 1, 2021): 246–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/00033286211008113.

    ———. “Recognizing Stones and Snakes in Children’s Christian Formation: An Introduction to Religious Trauma and Abuse.” Religious Education 118, no. 4 (2023): 356–68. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2023.2227816.


    ———. “Trauma-Informed Children’s Ministry: A Practical Guide to Reaching Hurting Kids: By Robert G., Crosby and Lori A. Crosby, Eugene, OR, Cascade Books, 2022, 200 Pp., $43.00 (Hardcover), ISBN 9781666715750; $28.00 (e-Book), ISBN 9781666715767.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 29, no. 3–4 (October 1, 2024): 159–60. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2024.2319635.

Advisory Committee

  • Holly Catterton Allen, Ph.D.

  • David M. Csinos, Ph.D.

  • Brendan Hyde, Ph.D.

  • Annette Mahoney, Ph.D.

  • Rebecca Nye, Ph.D.

  • Cora O'Farrell, Ph.D.

  • The Rev. Canon Andrew Sheldon, Ph.D.

  • Rabbi Michael Shire, Ph.D.

  • Robert Whittaker, M.D