As a Church of England school we hold a daily act of collective worship. This is when we bring our pupils together to share a story from the bible, a poem, a picture or even a news story. We then discuss it together and may even write prayers relevant to the discussion. We always try to think about what the story, poem, picture or new story teaches us and what Jesus would think about what we have discussed.
At the moment, most children are learning at home and are working hard but it is still so important to give them time to think about how they feel, how others feel, what is going on in the world and what we can do, as global citizens to support others and cherish the world we live in.
Below you will find stories, videos and resources to help you hold your own collective worship sessions at home. We would love to see pictures, videos or prayers from you home collective worships. If you are happy to share these with us, please send them to amyotoole@eastmeonprimary.co.uk.
Before you begin a collective worship session, it is important that you are in the right frame of mind. Take time to make sure that everyone who is joining in the collective worship is calm and quiet. It may help you to have a candle to light which will focus your attention. At school we say the candle prayer:
Dear Lord,
We light this candle to remind us that you are the light of the world.
As we come together now to pray and to praise, may your light remove all darkness from our eyes.
Amen
Week beginning 3.1.22
Click the link above and scroll to Spirituality to access Fridays Love Collective Worship by Adriannah & Eloise.
The worship starts with Count on Me by Bruno Mars which you can access here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc6T9iY9SOU
27/01/2021
This week we have all had some challenging learning to do and there have been lots of times that we may have felt that we 'couldn't do' something. Talk to someone at home about the last time you felt you couldn't do something.
Now Listen to the story 'The Thing Lou Couldn't Do', then come back and answer the questions below!
What did Lou do when she thought she couldn't do something?
How do you think Lou felt when her friends were able to do something she could not?
What advice would you give to Lou to help her feel better?
What was the magic word that Lou learned to use by the end of the story?
Why is this word so special? What does it remind us?
Can you think of anyone in the bible who might have felt like he couldn't do something that God wanted him to?
What Christian Value do we have to display when we are trying something that we thing we will struggle with?
Now write a prayer asking God to help you with things that you might find tricky and send me your prayers so that I can share them with everyone.
22/01/2021
This week lots of us have been finding lockdown very hard. Listen to the story 'Lucy's in Lockdown' (below) and discuss these questions:
How do you think Lucy is feeling each time her hair changes?
How do you think she feels once she has spoken to her friend?
What could you do to make yourself feel better when you are having a 'blue' day?
Do you think God or Jesus ever had a blue day?
08/02/2021
This week, we are thinking about showing love to those around us through random acts of kindness. Look through the powerpoint below with someone at home to help you think about how you could offer random acts of kindness to those around you. There is also a video for you to watch, showing how some other people are doing their best to show love to others.
When you have looked at the powerpoint and watched the video, try to write a prayer. Think about what you should say thank you to God for and what you might need to ask him to help you with. I would love to hear your prayers. If you would like to share them, ask a grown up to help you send them to me - amyotoole@eastmeonprimary.co.uk
Once you have listened to the story and discussed these questions, write a prayer. When we write a prayer we often thank God for something, say sorry for something and for his help with something. We may also ask God to help or be with someone else if we know they are in need.
If you are struggling to write your own prayer, you could use mine:
Dear God,
Thank you for our beautiful world and for the hard working people, doing their best to keep us safe.
We are sorry for the times that we have not thought carefully about the feelings of others and for when we have reacted badly to our own big feelings. Please help me to be kind always. Please be with people who are feeling lonely at this time and let them feel loved by you.
We ask this in Jesus name,
Amen
22/01/2021
We often think about the NHS in our prayers and we imagine the Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics to be like superheroes. Heroes, they most certainly are but, sadly, they are also just people. They are not born with super strength or super endurance so, how are they surviving lockdown #2?
Look at this picture:
What do you see in this image?
How do you think these Doctors and Nurses are feeling?
What Christian Values do you see displayed in this image?
Do you see our school Christian Values of Hope, Love and Courage? Where? Talk to someone at home and explain to them how even this sad image contains something beautiful when we consider the values being shown by the people here.
What do you think God thinks about this image? Who would Jesus be in this image, if he were alive today? Why?
Can you write a prayer using this image as the basis of your prayer?
Please share your prayers with me-either in a video or in a document. Send them to amyotoole@eastmeonprimary.co.uk
08/02/2021
This week we are thinking about Captain Tom Moore who has sadly passed away. In the last year of his life, he raised a huge amount of money for the NHS, released a single with Michael Ball (which went to Number 1!) and inspired millions of people around the globe. But he was also an inspirational person before the pandemic. This week we want to say a thank you to Captain Tom for everything he did throughout his life to support his friends, family and countrymen.
Watch the video below and consider all the reasons that Captain Tom was a person to aspire to. What Christian Values of ours did he display? Can you explain your ideas to someone at home?
Write a prayer to share with your family, inspired by the life of Captain Tom. Remember that in a prayer, we try to say 'Thank you' 'Sorry' and we usually ask for God's help with something. I would love to hear your prayers so send them to me if you can- amyotoole@eastmeonprimary.co.uk