VISITORS

There are individuals and groups who are very happy to visit your school to take an assembly. Some may not want payment.

These people often send information about themselves to schools. If not, try asking at your local place of worship. They may know of such people, or may know, for example, of a visiting clergyman or missionary in the area who would like to speak about his work to children. I hope to put links to such people on the Links page soon.

Of course, your own local clergyman can be invited to speak to the children from time to time. He might be quite happy to choose his own topic, or may welcome some guidance on this from the teachers.

If your school takes in children from a number of parishes, all the clergymen can be invited in at the same time, to speak to the children from their own parishes, rather than speaking to the whole school.

This takes some organising, but is pssible. My school used to do this once a month. It helped to foster the home/school/parish relationship. The children appreciated seeing their priest/vicar on their own ground for a change. (We now only have children from one main parish, so no longer do this.) The priests rarely were unable to come. We kept the time to twenty minutes, so this was manageable for them in their busy days.

RECONCILIATION ASSEMBLIES

Once a year, maybe during Lent or at another time of reconciliation, the school can take part in a Reconciliation Assembly.

At my school, the priests from about five local parishes used to come in for a whole afternoon once a year. The R.E. co-ordinator, (myself at that time), wrote a service in which each priest had a speaking part. This was posted to the priests in advance. The whole school assembled in the hall for this. A child from each class also did a reading, (a prayer or short Bible story), and the whole school said an Act of Contrition and sang a hymn such as "Lord, the light of your love is shining".

The children then returned to class. One class at a time came back into the hall. There was background music playing - a tape of lively children's hymns. Sheets of prayers and an examination of conscience were placed on chairs for while the children were waiting to speak to the priest.

The children approached this with reverence and often said that they were glad this had been organised for them. All the children in the school attended the service, but could choose to take the opportunity of speaking to the priest afterwards. Children from all denominations spoke to the priest. It was very rare for a child not to take this opportunity. It was also very rare for a priest not to be able to attend. If they are given enough notice and have the aim of an event explained to them, they are usually very helpful.

There are shorter alternatives, such as:
1) After an examination of conscience, children are invited to come forward and write 'sin words' on a board, e.g. fighting, stealing, lying etc.
Words of absolution are spoken and the board is wiped clean at the same time.

2) After an examination of conscience, children are invited to come forward and place a piece of rubbish in a bin. A song such as 'Yesterday' could be played in the background.
Words of absolution are spoken and the lid is put on the bin.

3) During an examination of conscience, children are invited to come forward and blow out candles at appropriate moments.
As words of absolution are spoken, the candles are relit from the paschal candle.

ASHES ASSEMBLY

Submitted by:
G. Lownsbrough

A much shorter version of the above is an Ashes Assembly.

Once a year, during a time of reconciliation, (Ash Wednesday is ideal), the whole school meet together. Before the assembly, each child and adult will have written one of their faults on a piece of paper. Faults can include: anger, selfishness etc. They do not write their name and the paper is not shown to anyone. Each class puts their papers into a paper bag, which is brought into the assembly.

The assembly includes: a quiet reflection on behaviour, an act of contrition, relevant readings, prayers and hymns etc. There is a script here. Light and darkness can also be used at appropriate times.

The whole school then assembles outside. If there are too many children, this can be done in year/age groups. The paper bags containing the faults are put into a metal container such as a bin. This is put in a safe place. The middle of a sandpit/highjump pit is ideal. A lit match is dropped into the bin.

There is often a tangible feeling of relief when the children see their faults going up in smoke. They feel they have left that fault behind and can start afresh. Watching the smoke rise upwards can also lead to a lesson on early sacrifices which were often in the form of burnt offerings.

If this is done a couple of days before Ash Wednesday, some of last year's palms could be added to the fire. The local priest could supply some. The resulting ash could then be used in the Ash Wednesday service.

PRAYER BOX

A shoe box can be covered in attractive wrapping paper and decorated with pictures cut from Christmas cards etc. Children can do this. The box can be kept in a special place. The children can then write their own prayers and put them in the box.

They can choose whether or not to write their name on the prayer. They can also write 'private' if they do not want the prayer read out.

Prayers not marked as 'private' can be chosen at random and the children can copy the teacher who reads it out a line at a time.

Children often think about what they are saying with these prayers, more than if they repeat the same prayer every day.

ADVENT WREATH

A few days before Advent, announce in assembly that you would like some help with making an Advent Wreath. Ask the children to bring in a piece of seasonal greenery: holly, ivy, conifers etc.

With one of the older classes, make a circle out of wood. If this is too difficult, nail several short pieces of wood together to make an octagon. Once covered in greenery the angles will not be noticeable.

Hammer four upward pointing nails through the circle. Even better, attach four hollow square or circle shapes to the ring. These are to hold the candles. The frame can be painted green, but this is not really necessary.

Wrap a long length of wire loosely around the ring.

Start weaving the greenery under and over the wire, starting with the conifers. Short pieces of greenery, (up to 40 cm), work best. Soon the ring will be thickly covered on both sides with greenery. The wood and wire will not be visible at all.

Insert the four candles, one pink and three purple. If the candles are too narrow for the holders, wrap foil around the base of each candle. Pink and purple ribbons can also be hung from the base of each candle.

The wreath can be left on a table, covered in a festive cloth. Alternatively, a chain can be attached to the wreath and it can be suspended from a convenient place.

At some point during each assembly in Advent, a child from each class can be asked to light the correct number of candles. As more candles are lit and the candles become shorter, the children realise that they are getting nearer to Christmas. Their sense of excitement grows.

The wreath can be a focal point during an assembly, service, or Mass at the end of term. All four candles can be lit, although many schools will have broken up before the last week of Advent. A white candle could be placed in the centre to stand for the coming of Jesus.

PASCHAL CANDLE

Your local church may have a Paschal candle, which is too short for church use, which they could donate to you. If not, church candles can be bought even in garden centres today.

A Paschal candle is white and is usually several cm thick.

Insert five large pins into it, in the shape of a cross, to stand for the wounds of Christ. These could be pushed through a small gold-coloured circle to make them more noticeable.

Draw the signs for Alpha and Omega, (beginning and end), above and below the cross, and write the present year.

This candle, with a ring of flowers at the base, forms a striking assembly focus for the several weeks between Easter Sunday and Pentecost. Children can be encouraged to provide the flowers and to light the candle during assembly.

If the heavy candle could topple over, insert its base into a container of sand. The container will be hidden by the flowers.