Overview
The Berryman Special Collection is culled from the personal library of Jerome W. Berryman, donated to the Lifelong Learning at Virginia Theological Seminary. It contains 663 volumes drawn from a lifetime of work in the theology of childhood, Christian formation, children’s spirituality, and pastoral practice. The collection is a focused, highly usable research resource that reflects Berryman’s interests as a theologian, educator, and practitioner of imaginative, child-centered ministry. This collection, coupled with the Berryman Archives, available digitally at https://www.theologyofchildhood.org/access and housed physically at the Bishop Payne Library at Virginia Theological Seminary, is a rich resource.
Virginia Theological Seminary is located in Alexandria, Virginia. For information about visiting VTS and getting access to this resource, please contact Wallace Benton at Lifelong Learning. He can be reached at wbenton@vts.edu.
Collection strengths & notable emphases
The holdings cluster around a handful of tightly related themes, making the collection especially valuable for scholars, clergy, formation leaders, and students of children’s spirituality:
- Childhood & Development — child psychology, developmental theory and faith development, childhood studies, family & parenting.
- Children’s Spiritual Formation — Godly Play (including translations), Godly Play-related authors (Sonia Stewart), Sofia Cavalletti and the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Maria Montessori, E. M. Standing.
- Theology & Practice — theology of childhood, children’s spirituality, pastoral care, Christian formation/education, liturgical action, scripture, ethics, and Judaism.
- Imagination, Story, and Play — narrative, parable, play & laughter, creativity & the creative process — genres central to Berryman’s method of telling theological truth through story.
- Psychology & Pastoral Application — psychology and child psychology resources that inform pastoral practice with children and families.
- Special Interests & Cultural Threads — Dante and Italian studies, biographies & memoirs, translations and pedagogical theory.
Why it matters
This is not a general theological library: it’s a curated working library that shows how theology, developmental psychology, liturgy, and imaginative pedagogy converge in the practice of Christian formation for children. Many of the books contain Berryman’s original notes written in the margins, favorite passages underlined, and more. For anyone researching Godly Play, the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Montessori approaches to religious formation, or the pastoral theology of childhood, the collection offers a dense, practice-oriented bibliography and primary reference base.
How it’s useful (suggested uses)
- Primary starting point for theses or courses on children’s spirituality and faith development.
- Practical resource for clergy and formation leaders designing programs for children and families.
- Cross-disciplinary readings for seminars linking developmental psychology and pastoral theology.
- Source material for historical or biographical work about Jerome W. Berryman’s influences and practice.