Prayer and Liturgy
We place Christ at the centre of all we do and, therefore, Prayer and Liturgy is crucial in developing a way for children to develop a relationship with Christ and come to know him better. Prayer and Liturgy is planned following a structure with reference to the Church’s liturgical calendar, the RE curriculum, feast days and significant dates.
The parish and parents are invited to participate in some celebrations.
A variety of prayer styles will be used appropriate to the age of the children and the occasion.
Prayer and Liturgy and Assembly Timetable
Monday: The “Monday” Word (taken from the Wednesday Word) shared in classes
Tuesday: Class Prayer
Wednesday: Whole School Celebration of the Word 9:00am
Thursday: Whole School Celebration Assembly 9:00am (including a time for shared prayer)
Friday: Class Prayer
Whole School Prayer and Liturgy
The SLT and Collective Worship Leader lead the whole school in a time of prayer, usually in a Celebration of the Word, every 2/3 weeks, with individual classes leading worship in the weeks between. The theme is closely linked with the liturgical year so that all members of the school community have an understanding of the readings, colours and messages we listen to and see on Sunday at Mass. However, this act of worship may address current issues, events in the week (both secular and religious) or other feasts in the Church’s year.
Thursday’s Assembly celebrates our children and the gifts given to us by God, sharing our achievements and talents. While this is not an act of worship within itself, it will begin or end with a time of shared prayer.
Class Prayer
Teachers in school seek to empower children; they lead and model good practice and also give children the opportunity to participate, take ownership of their learning and develop their own relationship with God. Teachers aim to give children a real voice in planning and leading worship. It is important that we all look to children as having an important role to play in our faith communities; Christ himself said, “Let the little children come to me” (Matthew 19:4), welcoming them as models of faith – and so should we. We will pray together as a class at regular intervals each day and share in a time of prayer daily, either as a whole school or an individual class. On a Tuesday and a Friday, pupils and teachers lead worship within the classroom. This can be in any medium of worship. The theme for this worship may be based on our RE curriculum, the liturgical calendar, current events etc. The children will lead their own worship within the classroom, though this is related to the pupils’ age with regards to their level of involvement and frequency. (See Appendix I for further details). However, children still have time to rest in times of prayer that are led by an adult throughout the week, giving them the time to simply ‘be’ with God while also developing their understanding and participation in the full scope of prayer life that our faith has to offer. Child involvement and leadership may look like:
- EYFS: the theme and style of worship is decided by adults and pupils prepare the Prayer Focus, participating as appropriate.
- KS1: the theme and style of worship is decided by adults and pupils have varying levels of input, according to their ability and confidence. This progresses through the key stage.
- KS2: the theme and style of worship is decided by children with increasing independence, though some support is still given.
The Prayer Room at the front of school has a Prayer Space that changes regularly. This is a quiet area where the children can encounter God at a time of their choosing. This usually involves some form of reading, reflection and action. The Pupil Chaplains take responsibility for planning and facilitating this, named Prayerful Playtimes.
Parent Worship
Parents are invited to worship with our school community at key events in the year, such as the EYFS Welcome Time of Prayer and the Y6 Leavers’ Time of Prayer. They are also welcomed to participate in giving glory to God during specific liturgical seasons, such as Advent and Lent.
Parents are also invited to attend Stay and Pray sessions in every class, whereby they participate in the planning and delivery of our shared worship. This timetable is established across each Key Stage.
The Wednesday Word is also shared online each week for our families to use to support their prayer life at home. We also have prayer events, such as our Prayer Space, to which families and parishioners are invited. Families are encouraged to join the parish at Mass each weekend, especially for our half-termly Family Masses.
Mass
A Mass rota has been developed for the children in order to develop the links between School and Parish. Children in KS2 attend Mass on a rotating system each Tuesday. This allows our children to give glory to God and meet him in the Eucharist: the foundation of our Catholic faith. Children in KS2 also join the parish on Holy Days of Obligation, while KS1 will share in prayer in class on these days. We also have a Family Mass each half term.
Reconciliation
Children who are preparing to meet Jesus for the first time in the Eucharist are also prepared for their first Reconciliation. We celebrate God’s forgiveness in a Reconciliation Service as part of the catechetical programme.
St. Edward
On our patronal feast day, we celebrate St. Edward in both classroom activities and times of prayer. We also ask for his intercessions as part of our regular cycle of prayers and celebrate in other times of prayer, such as meditation based on St. Edward’s example, regularly.
Staff Prayer
Each staff meeting begins with a time of prayer. Before a Thursday briefing, all teachers take it in turns to lead in prayer.
Definitions of some forms of worship
Collective Worship is the term defined in law for the way in which we connect spiritually with God, our creator, following the example of Christ, guided by the Holy Spirit. This comes in a multitude of forms and there is no right or wrong way to give glory to God.
Mass is at the centre of the celebration of our faith. We celebrate the mystery of the Eucharist as a faith community, praising alongside our parish community of The Holy Name of Mary. Fr Tom is our parish priest and leads our prayer and worship.
Liturgy means the whole complex of official services, all the rites, ceremonies, prayers and sacraments of the Church as opposed to private devotions. In this sense, we speak of the arrangement of all these services in certain set forms used officially in every church. In the Roman Catholic Church, for instance, Compline is a liturgical service, the Rosary is not.
Prayer, according to St. John Damascene, is the “raising of one’s mind and heart to God.” This can be vocalised or internal, contemplative prayer. We can use traditional prayers of the Church or our own thoughts and words.
