Worship and Prayer

Prayer

Prayer is an important part of school life within St John's. 

Prayer lies at the heart of life for most people of faith. Within Christianity, life is lived in relationship with God and prayer is a way of seeking to deepen that relationship and to follow the way that Jesus taught. As a Church school we attempt to give children an invitational experience of faith and prayer is therefore an important aspect of this. Children at St John's are invited to pray as a way of encountering God and coming to a greater sense of purpose in their lives.

It is important that children do not see prayer simply as a time when they can ask for something they want or for things to happen. Children who do not wish to pray are taught to show respect for those who do, and similarly those children’s own wishes should be respected by others. Despite this sensitivity, it remains important for St John's as a Church school to reflect and promote our Christian foundation through prayer.

Prayer in this context may become:

• A time where we encounter the Christian story and perhaps be transformed by it
• A celebration of what is of ultimate worth in our lives (for some Christians this is God)
• A time where people can develop an understanding of Jesus and the Christian understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• A time to reflect

Opportunities for prayer and reflection are central to acts of collective worship at St John's. Prayer in worship can take many forms. It can be collective, personal, formal, created by the children themselves, silent, meditational, sung or spoken.

Saying Grace
We have several versions, some written by the children. 

We say grace every lunch time together before we eat our lunch.  Thanking God for the food we are about to eat.  

Collective Worship

As a Church school, Collective Worship is an important time during which we can share in celebrating God's love and learning more about our Christian faith.  Through stories, songs, games and prayer, we aim to help the children to develop their spirituality, as well as becoming more understanding of the beliefs of others.

A welcome and school prayer opens each worship, and is always child led:

"God...

Be with this school as we learn to grow strong together, hand in hand, in our journey along the paths of justice.

Lead us to the gift of love, the strength of friendship, and the power of respect for our neighbour.

In all our challenges, guide us to trust in you to show us the way.

Amen."

This is followed by that same child adressing God directly, and a candle is lit at each stage:

"God, we have gather in the name of:

God the Father,

God the Son,

God the Holy Spirit,

To worship together and think about our way of..."

Depending on the term, a value (LOVE, HOPE or TRUST) is added in here.

The Christian values we promote through collective worship are important for all of our pupils to learn, whether they come from a Christian background or not.  Parents do have the right to withdraw their children from Collective Worship, but we encourage the involvement of all pupils so that their sense of belonging as a member of our school community can be strengthened.

We are fortunate to be supported by our church community in our Collective Worship.  Clergy and other church members regularly lead worship along with our Open the Book Team. 

Each collective worship is then closed by a child:

"God bless our school, that working together and playing together we may learn to love you and love one another. Amen."

Then the candles are put out at each stage.

"Together we walk through the door with... in the name of:

God the Father,

God the Son,

God the Holy Spirit,

Let us bless the Lord (Thanks be to God)."

There are many opportunities for parents, family and friends to join the school in Collective Worship throughout the school year. The school leads services at Church once a term including other special services such as Christmas, Harvest and Easter. We also hold a Carol Service each year where families and staff from school come together to worship together at this special Christian time. 

 Click here to see what we are focusing on each week in worship