Prayer and Worship
All that we do in school is centred on the person of Jesus Christ who is our Way, Truth and Life and we believe worship in our school names and celebrates His presence in our lives and is an integral part of school life and central to the Catholic tradition.
Worship takes on many forms in our school but is always concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into relationship, made possible through the work of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit.
Collective Worship is an integral part of school life and central to the Catholic tradition.
Collective worship takes into account the religious and educational needs of all who share in it:
- Those who form part of the worshipping community in church;
- Those for whom school may be their first and only experience of church;
- Those from other Christian traditions – or none;
- Those from other faith backgrounds.
The Aims of Collective Worship:
We believe that Collective Worship in our school aims to provide opportunity for all pupils and staff:
- To contemplate something of the mystery of God
- To reflect on spiritual and moral issues
- To explore their own beliefs
- To respond to and celebrate life
- To experience a sense of belonging and develop community spirit
- To develop a common ethos and shared values
- To enrich religious experience
- To grow in liturgical understanding and development
- To reinforce prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition
- To reinforce positive attitudes
- To participate fully
- To take time out ‘to wonder at’, ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to.’
Collective Worship in our school:
Collective worship is celebrated as a whole school on a Monday morning to share the ‘Scripture of the Week’ and is rooted in the teachings of the Gospel from the previous Sunday.
Pray and worship is celebrated daily as a class group and in Key Stage Two, pupils are encouraged to plan, prepare and lead a liturgical act of worship.
During the week, the children meet as a school phase and collective worship is led by the teacher.
Over a period of time, staff offer children a range of opportunities and experiences, using for example:
- Spontaneous prayer
- Music and song
- Use of images, pictures, posters, PPP
- Silence
- Meditation
- Scripture
- Movement, gesture, dance
- Traditional prayers
- Litanies
- Objects e.g. crosses, Rosaries, candles, oil, holding prayer crosses, mirrors etc.
When we pray and worship together we know our community is growing in faith, love, understanding and compassion.