All Saints Assembly

Aim

To celebrate the Christian festival of All Saints (1 November) by demonstrating that 'saints' are ordinary people who love God.

Preparation and materials

Pictures of Southampton Football Club, & girl band All Saints. Plus pictures of Christian saints

Assembly

1. Show picture of Southampton Football Club. Ask the children if they know what the nick name of this club is – answer The Saints.
2. Show picture of girl group All Saints. Ask the children if they know what the name of this band is (be careful not to give the question away!)
3. Show selection of pictures of Christian saints - & say a little about then. We call these people 'saints'. Sometimes they were very brave and died because they believed in Jesus, or sometimes they were very good Christians, and set a good example for other people to live by.
4. Say that we also call people saints who are very kind or helpful - we might say, 'She's a real saint'.
5. Explain that for Christians 1 November is called 'All Saints Day' - it's the day Christians remember and give thanks for every saint, and for the example they set for us. It is also an time when we stop to thank God for those people who have helped us in our lives. Say that many people believe that only very special and holy people are 'saints', but we are all very precious and special to God. In the Bible St Paul said that all people who loved God and tried to do right were 'saints'.

Time for reflection

Think about those people in your own life who have helped you. And say thank you to God for them.

Dear God, Thank you for the example of all the special people who have loved you. Help us to love you too, and to remember that we are all special. Amen

Assembly: Jesus Light of the World

I live in a very multicultural part of Walsall, the vast majority of pupils at our local community primary school where I take weekly assemblies are Sikh or Hindu, hence a reference in this assembly to the festival of Diwali.

Aim:

To reflect upon why light is important, and what Jesus meant when he said he was 'The light of the World'.

Preparation and Materials

A collection of sources of light, such as a candle, torch, bike lamp, Christmas tree lights, etc.

Assembly

1. Now that is in autumn, the mornings are dark. How does it feel, when you have to get up and it is dark outside?
2. What types of light can you think of – show them some examples that you have brought along to the assembly. Think about the different uses of the lights you’ve brought.
3. Ask the children to think about why light is so important, e.g. we can see more clearly, so it keeps us safe, guides us, etc.
4. Mention that in a few days time Sikhs and Hindu’s will be celebrating a special festival called Diwali, which is a celebration of light. Say that for Christians the theme of light is also very important. Jesus said something very important about himself, he said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
5. Ask the children what they think it means when Jesus says that his followers will have the light of life? What sort of light is it? Make the point that just as light can help us see more clearly, keep us safe, and guide us, so Jesus can do the same things for us, if we allow him.
   

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.

Assemblies

It was always my hope that this blog would become a resource for others in ministry. With this in mind I've decided to start recording my assemblies on this blog, so that they can be used by others. I cannot claim much creativity, I borrow heavily from a number of websites (two of the best being http://wwwassemblies.org.uk), and http://www.sermons4kids.com/) and sometimes adapt these assemblies to suit my own particular audience.

TRUST

Aim

To explore the ideas of truth and trust.Preparation and materials

Resources

1 blindfold

Assembly

1. Blind fold child, turn them around several times & direct them to a chair & get them to sit down.
2. Ask why it is important to tell the truth. (People can trust you. Bad things don't happen.) One of Jesus' great claims was, 'I am the truth'.
3. Tell the story of Blondini, and perhaps embellish with actions! Blondini was a tightrope walker who used to walk over the Niagara Falls. People came from far and wide to see him. He would carry all sorts of things over the water. One day a famous duke and his entourage visited the Niagara Falls. They watched Blondini walk over and clapped. They watched him walk back and shouted for more. Then Blondini asked, 'Who believes I could take this wheelbarrow over the waterfall?' 'Of course you can!' said the duke and his friends. Blondini took the wheelbarrow over. Everyone was ecstatic. 'Do you believe I could carry this sack of potatoes over the waterfall in the wheelbarrow?' 'Yes!!' He duly did. Then he asked, 'Who believes I could carry a human being over the Falls in this barrow?' 'We all do!' they chorused. After a pause, Blondini asked, 'Who will get in the wheelbarrow, then?' There was an embarrassed silence - the duke suddenly felt he had better things to do. Then a little old lady came out of the crowd and got into the wheelbarrow. Blondini pushed her over the falls and back again, to the astonishment of the crowd. The lady was Blondini's mother.
4. Explain that Blondini had told the truth, but his listeners needed to trust him before the great truth could be demonstrated.
5. Jesus once said, ‘Trust in God & Trust also in Me.' Make the point that we can always rely upon God, because he will never let us down, he always loves us, and that we can always turn to him. Say that Jesus proved his trustworthiness by all the good things he said and did.
6. Trust is a two-way thing. Who do you really trust, and can people trust you?

Prayer

Dear God, Please help us to know who to trust, and help us to be truthful and trustworthy ourselves. Amen.