Submitted by
S. Daly

Age Group
5-14

Aim
To appreciate true friends
To learn to be generous to our friends

Faith Group
Christian

Resources
A box of toy money
A cake

Time of Year
Any, or the start of a new school year

Other Details
This assembly could follow a 'friendship week' as mentioned in number 2 below

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

2. Last week, (name) class had a Friendship Week.
We tried extra hard to be friends with a secret person. At the end of the week, we revealed who the person was.
We found that it is sometimes difficult being friends. You have to work at it. You cannot force someone to be your friend, but if you are friendly, they rnay be friendly in return.

3. We also found that it is always difficult not being friends. Being lonely makes people feel very sad.
If you do not have friends, you have no-one to play with. You have no-one to talk to. You have no-one to help you.
Making friends can be an effort, but it is worth it.
Here is a play about an old lady who knew lots of people and had one real friend.

NARRATOR 1: Rose was an old lady. She lived on her own. She used to sit outside her cottage and watch the people of the village walk by.
She knew them and they knew her. She used to hope that they would stop and speak to her, but they never did.
There was only one person who used to speak to her. Her name was Anna. Anna had a family to look after and was very busy, but she still used to stop every day to have a chat with Rose and sometimes she used to give her little presents.

ANNA: Good morning, Rose. How are you today?

ROSE: Hello, Anna. I didn't sleep very well last night, but I'm feeling much better now thank you.

ANNA: I did some baking last night and I've brought you a cake.

ROSE: Oh, thank you. I'll have that with my tea today. Goodbye.

ANNA: Goodbye.

NARRATOR 2: Next day, Rose saw the postman.

ROSE: I don't suppose you have any letters for me?

POSTMAN: As a matter of fact, I have. Here you are.

NARRATOR 3: Excitedly, Rose opened the letter. She didn't get many letters. She read the letter out loud. It was from the local bank manager.

ROSE: Dear Rose, Sadly your great aunt has died. She has left you some money in her will. If you call at the bank, you can collect it.

NARRATOR 4: Rose set off for the bank straight away. She saw the bank manager.

BANK MANAGER: Good morning. I expect you have called for your money. Would you like to have some now and some later?

ROSE: No, I'd like it all now, please. Put it in this box and I'll count it later.

BANK MANAGER: Very well. There you are.

NARRATOR 5: Rose arrived home safely with her money.
Unfortunately, the postman and the bank manager told a couple of the villagers about Rose's good fortune.
By the next morning, everyone in the village knew about it. Now, when the villagers walked past Rose's house, they all stopped and spoke to her.

VILLAGER 1: Good morning, Rose, my old friend. I'm so pleased to hear of your good fortune. I wonder if you could lend me some money. I'll pay you back at the end of the week.

ROSE: Of course. I'm pleased to help you out. Here you are.

VILLAGER 2: Hello, Rose. How are you? I wonder if you could lend me some money. I want to buy some clothes for my children. They never stop growing, do they?

ROSE: Certainly. Here you are.

VILLAGER 3: It's nice to see you, Rose. Could you lend me some money? My roof needs repairing. It's leaking quite badly.

ROSE: Yes, of course I can.

VILLAGER 4: Hello, dear friend. Can I borrow some money to buy some new curtains? My old ones are falling apart.

ROSE: Of course.

VILLAGER 5: Greetings, friend. Could I borrow some money to buy my son a birthday present? He wants something really expensive.

ROSE: Of course you can.

VILLAGER 6: Hello, Rose. Could you lend me some money so my family can go on holiday? We need a break.

ROSE: Yes. Have a nice time.

VILLAGER 7: Good morning, Rose. Can I borrow some money to buy some gardening tools? My garden is like a jungle at the moment.

ROSE: Yes. I'm happy to help you.

VILLAGER 8: Hello, Rose. Can you lend me some money to buy some new
animals for my farm? A few sheep would be nice.

NARRATOR 6: Rose looked in her box and got a shock. She had been so generous, there was now no money left.

ROSE: Oh dear! I'm sorry. My friends have borrowed it all.

NARRATOR 7: Just as the last villager went away, disappointed, Anna came along. She stopped to have her usual chat with Rose, but Rose said grumpily,

ROSE: I'm sorry, Anna. I'm too tired to talk to you today. My friends have all been visiting me.

NARRATOR 8: Anna went away feeling a bit upset. Her friend Rose had never spoken to her like that before. By the next morning, all the villagers knew that Rose had run out of money. Rose sat outside her cottage as usual. She was looking forward to speaking with her friends again, but this time the villagers all walked by without speaking - just like they used to do. Rose quickly understood. The villagers had been interested in her money, not in her. Rose was sad. Then along came Anna.

ANNA: Good morning, Rose. How are you today?

ROSE: Anna, I was very rude to you yesterday. I'm very sorry. I know now that you are my real friend. You speak to me whether I have money or not.

ANNA: That's all right. I forgive you.

NARRATOR 9: Rose never managed to get back all the money she had given away, but she was able to recover some of it. With that money, she was able to make life a little more comfortable, both for herself and for her loyal friend Anna.

4. Rose had learnt some difficult lessons about friendship. You cannot buy friends, with money or sweets - and not everyone you know is your friend.
Rose learnt that she knew lots of people, but she had only one really good friend - and when you find out who your friends are, you should look after them.

5. Jesus knew that having friends is important. He had twelve special friends to help him.
They were called the Apostles. Jesus warned the Apostles that being his friend would be difficult. He said that some people would not like them, because they did not like Jesus. He said,

JESUS: You are my friends... If the world hates you, remember it hated me first...
The people who mock and make fun of me, will mock you too.

6. This still happens today. People who believe in God, are sadly made fun of by some people who do not believe in God. We have to put up with this, like Jesus did.

7. Jesus wants us to be his friends. He said,

JESUS: I don't want you to be my staves... I want you to be my friends.

7. He also wants us to be friends with each other. He said,

JESUS: Love one another, as I have loved you.

8. Lord Jesus, thank you for our friends. Help us to be good friends.
Help us to make up when we quarrel. May we never spoil our friendships by being selfish or wanting our own way all the time.
Help us to follow your example of love and kindness, always. Amen.

9. Father, we like having friends. It would make us very sad if no-one wanted to be our friend. Thank you for the friends we have.
Help us to notice anyone on their own, to talk to them and to ask them to play. Amen.

10. There are some new children sitting with us today, in (name) class. They would like to have some friends too.
Dear Father, we are happy to welcome these new friends to our school. Please bless them and help us all to grow up together, loving you and one another. Amen.

11. We will now sing "Whatsoever you do" by W. Jabusch (Celebration Hymnal for Everyone number 799)