Submitted by
S. Daly

Age Group
9-12

Aim
To mark the beginning of Lent and our preparation for Easter

Faith Group
Christian

Resources
Ashes

Time of Year
Ash Wednesday

Other Details
This is a slightly more advanced version of the previous assembly

Script
PRIEST: When we love someone, we want to be close to that person.
God loves us and wants to be close to us, like a father.
We also love God and want to be close to him, but sometimes we are so busy that we forget this. We need to stop for a while - to think about and renew our relationship with God.

CHILD: Lent is a special time when we can stop and think about this relationship. When we do this, we are like Jesus who went into the desert for forty days. He did this so he could think deeply, about God his father.

PRIEST: We are not asked to go into the desert, but we are asked to spend
the time of Lent thinking deeply about ourselves and our love for God. We can only do better in the future if we think about what we have done in the past.

CHILD: Here is a story which explains this.
Jane and Paul are both good at swimming. They hope to become even better - and maybe, one day, be selected for the British team. They train hard every week. They belong to the county swimming club. The swimming coach at the club likes using a video camera. He makes a film of Jane and Paul swimming - and then he plays it back to them. When they watch the film. Jane and Paul are able to see their strong points and their weak points.
Their enthusiasm is strengthened - and they decide to train even harder to reach their goal.

PRIEST: Lent is like that video; it gives us a chance to look at ourselves and find out more about our strong points and our weak points.
So today, on this first day of Lent, as we receive the Ashes, let us decide to use this time fully, to renew our relationship with God.

DISTRIBUTION OF ASHES

CHILD: I am like the sky,
Cloudy one day, bright the next.
Which is the real me?
Sometimes sad, sometimes happy,
Sometimes weak, sometimes strong.
Who is the real me?

PRIEST: Teach us, 0 God, to look at ourselves.
Help us to realise what is good about us and what is not good.
May we thank you for the good things
And ask your forgiveness for the bad.
With your help, we can grow
To be all that you want us to be.
Amen.