Assembly: Caring for God's creatures, the example of St Francis

The following assembly is adapted from an assembly produced by the Revd Guy Donegan-Cross

Aim

To explore the idea that animal conservation is part of stewarding God's world.

Preparation and materials

(Optional) Power point (or failing that OHP) images of extinct animals & the Genesis creation story [I scan these images from a children’s Bible – The Beginner’s Bible is ideal] – focusing on God’s creation of animals, and his instruction to Adam to care for them, plus an image of St Francis.

Assembly

1. Show images of recently extinct animals, & ask the children if they know what these creatures have all in common (now extinct)
2. Tell story of the creation of the world:
   In the beginning, the world was empty. Darkness was everywhere. But God had a plan.
   God separated the light from the darkness. ‘Let there be light!’ he said. And the light turned on. He called the light ‘day’. And he called the darkness ‘night’ This was the end of the very first day.
   Then God said, ‘I will divide the waters.’ He separated the waters in the clouds above from the waters in the ocean below. He called the space between them ‘sky’. This was the end of the second day.
   Next, God rolled back the waters and some dry ground appeared. He made plants of many shapes and colours. He made mountains, hills and valleys. This was the end of the third day.
   God put a shining sun in the sky for the daytime, and he put a glowing moon and twinkling stars in the sky for the night time. This was the end of the fourth day.
   On the fifth day, God made fish and squiggly creatures to live in the ocean. Then God made birds to fly across the sky.
   On the sixth day, God made animals to creep, crawl, hope and gallop. Then from the dust, God made the most wonderful creature of all – a person. God named him Adam. And told Adam that his job was to look after the world God had made, and to care for all the animals.
3. Make the point that just as Adam was told to care for the animals, so we also have a responsibility to look after all the creatures we find on the earth. But due to human actions, hundreds of animals face extinction if we don’t do something to protect them.
4. Tell the children about St Francis, who lived a long time ago (800 years). He loved animals and had a special relationship with them. He would pick worms up off the road so they would not get trodden on!
5. Tell the following story: One day, Francis and his friends were walking through the the Italian countryside, when suddenly, Francis spotted a great number of birds. There were doves, crows, every variety of bird you could think of. Francis, exited at seeing such a site, left his friends in the road and ran after the birds, who patiently waited for him. He greeted them in his usual way, expecting them to scurry off into the air as he spoke. But they didn't move. Amazed, he asked them if they would stay for a little while to hear about God. He said to them: 'My brother and sister birds, you should praise your Creator and always love him: he gave you feathers for clothes, wings to fly and all other things that you need. It is God who made you noble among all creatures, making your home in the thin, pure air. Without sowing or reaping, you receive God's guidance and protection.' At this the birds began to spread their wings, stretch their necks and gaze at Francis, rejoicing and praising God in a wonderful way. Francis then walked through the middle of the flock of birds, touching their heads and bodies with his tunic. Then he gave them his blessing, making the sign of the cross over them. At that they flew off and Francis, rejoicing and giving thanks to God, went on his way. Later, Francis wondered aloud to his companions why he had never preached to the birds before. And from that day on, Francis made it his habit to tell all birds, animals and reptiles to praise and love the God who made them. And many times during Francis's life there were remarkable events of Francis speaking to the animals.
6. Conclude that Francis looked after animals because he believed one thing: that everything in the world belongs to God, and so all animals need looking after, especially the ones that may disappear.

Time for reflection

Ask the children to shut their eyes and imagine their favourite animal or bird - its shape, its colour, its movement. In their own words they can quietly give thanks for it.

Dear God, Thank you that everything belongs to you. Help us to care for the creatures you have made. Amen.