Submitted by
S. Daly

Age Group
5-11

Aim
To appreciate the gifts of colour and sight

Faith Group
Christian

Resources
'The Rainbow People', mentioned below, is a very thought-provoking story in a leaflet called 'I have a dream' available from Christian Aid
Christian Aid, PO Box 100, London, UK, SE1 7RT
email - info@christian-aid.org
web site - http://www.christian-aid.org.uk
children's web site - http://www.globalgang.org.uk
Coloured ribbons or paper needed for the story

Other Details
The children could dress in the colours of the rainbow

Script
1. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today's assembly is about colour.

2. When God created the world, he was happy with it. He was like an artist who wants to paint a happy picture. He painted the world with many bright, happy colours.

3. Sometimes you can tell if someone is happy or sad, by the colours they use when they are painting. If someone uses a lot of dark blue, or brown, or purple or black, he or she is probably feeling a bit sad or tired.

4. If someone uses a lot of bright red, or yellow or green etc. he or she is probably feeling quite cheerful.

5. God used all these colours. He wanted to give us a choice.
Colour is important to us. When we buy new clothes, or a bag, or a car etc. we often choose something because of the colour.

6. The world would be dull without colour. Often people won't watch a film on T.V. if it is in black and white.

7. God created colour when he created light. White light is split up into all the colours of the rainbow. Man now uses these colours to decorate homes, to make road signs, to make food look attractive etc. Colour is one of God's gifts to us. Using colour is part of God's plan for us.

8. In this school, (red) is important because it is our school uniform colour. We also have four House colours - (red, yellow, green and blue).
You can often tell what group a person belongs to by the colour of his clothes, for example: football supporters, nurses, soldiers and so on.
Here is a story about some people who grouped themselves according to colour. The story is from a Christian Aid magazine. Christian Aid is an organisation which helps developing countries.

SONG: "I can sing a rainbow".

8. "The Rainbow People" is a bit like three Bible stories joined together. See if you can work out what they are.

STORY - THE RAINBOW PEOPLE - narrated and mimed.

SONG: "I can sing a rainbow".

9. "The Rainbow People" story is like the story of Adam and Eve. God created a beautiful, colourful world. He put man in charge of it, but man was selfish. Men turned away from each other and from God.

10. It is also like the story of Noah. God sent a rainbow as a sign of peace - and a promise that he would not flood the world again.

11. It is also like the New Testament. The stranger is Jesus. We are the people. Jesus came to tell people how to live.

12. The message of the story is that we are all different, but we live in the same world. We should look after each other, as well as looking after the world, our environment. We should share what we have. If a country has too much food, it should be given to a country which does not have enough - and so on. Countries should work together, like the colours in the story.

13. Remember, God did not make England, France, America - and so on. He made the world. He wants everyone in it to work together, as the people of God, one people. Let us pray quietly for a while, asking God to help us to work together...(Silence)...

14. Lord, what a great world you have made: purple mountains, green forests and blue sea. You painted the world with beautiful colours. How wonderful you are. Amen.

15. Lord, we can enjoy the world about us because we can see all the different colours and shapes.
Some people cannot see. We pray for them today. May they enjoy your world, through their senses of smell, touch and taste. Amen.

16. We will now sing "Who put the colours in the rainbow?"