Leven Valley School

Following the assembly at Our Lady's I this morning I went straight down to Leven Valley school and did the same thing again.

Our Lady's

This morning I went to Our Lady's school to do the assembly about friendship.  After singing So Many Ways I asked two friends out and they shared a bar of chocolate.  I then asked them if they enjoyed it and if they would help each other to clean the toilets they both agreed.  The point was that we need to stick with our friends through the good and bad times.  I then read a short version of the Ruth story and explained that both Ruth and Naomi stuck with each other through good and bad times.  I then got them all to stand up and shake hands with someone who was a good friend and say to them thank you.  We finished with Shine as it says that we should shine from the inside out so the world we see that Jesus is in us.  I then closed with a prayer.

Penny Bridge School

This morning Sarah and I went over to see the children at Penny Bridge School and to take their assembly.  We decided to do the friendship assembly that we have been doing this month in our other schools.  So to start off the assembly we sang So Many Ways to Praise the Lord then we called out two friends and to one I gave them some chocolate while the other sat and chatted to Sarah.  Then they shared the chocolate which was a good thing to do then I reminded the girl with the chocolate that she had to clean the toilets after the assembly and as I pull out the various cleaning materials the children laughed while the girl took everything I was saying on board.  The catch came when I asked her friend the one who she had shared the chocolate with if she would like to help too - I got a big YES from her.  Sarah explained that good friends stick with each other through good as well as bad times she then told the Ruth and Naomi story and afterwards recapped what good true friends do for each other.  We then got the children to stand up and shake the hand of a friend and say thank you to them for being a friend.  To close we sang Shine then Sarah said a prayer.

Broughton School

This morning Sarah and I were also at Broughton School for their assembly.  We decided to do the assembly on the theme of friends and friendship.  So after singing So Many Ways I retold the story from Mark 2:1-12 of Jesus healing the man that was lowered through the roof to Jesus' feet.  I used my square to cross prop to tell the story moving it as I told the story into different shapes.  After the story Sarah explained that without the friends of the paralysed man helping him he would never have seen Jesus and therefore never have been healed.  They needed to do a lot in order to help him even get to Jesus.  She encouraged the children to be just like the four friends.  Then she asked them all to stand up and on the count of three they were to move around and shake the hand of a person who was a good friend to them and say thank you for being my friend.  Then we sang Shine and Sarah closed the assembly with a prayer.

St Peters

This morning Sarah and I went over to St Peters for the assembly.  We had decided to continue the theme we started last time about friendship with another example from the bible.  So after singing So Many Ways I told the story of Jesus healing the paralysed man who was lowered through the roof by four friends.  To tell the story I used my square to cross prop and moved it around as I told the story.  Sarah then added to the story by saying how hard it must have been for the men to carry their friend first through the town, then up the stairs, cut a hole through the roof and then to lower him down to the feet of Jesus.  Sarah linked this action to shining out for Jesus which introduced our next song Shine.  Following the song Sarah closed with a prayer and then the Lord's Prayer.

Crosthwaite School

This afternoon we travelled over to Crosthwaite School for the assembly.  The assembly started by the vicar teaching the children a prayer which he encouraged the children to sign as they were led by a year 6 pupil.  We started the assembly then by singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord.  Following the song we called out two girls who are best friends while I instructed one of them Sarah talked with the other then they shared a bar of chocolate together.  As they enjoyed the chocolate I spoke to the girl I had given instructions to saying that she had agreed to help clean the toilet when she had finished the chocolate and I invited her friend to join in as well.  There was a certain amount of hesitation but she said yes in the end.  Sarah then explained that when we have friends we should be willing to share the good bits along with the bad bits of our lives.  She then went on to tell the story of Ruth and Naomi.  Then we got the children to stand up and shake the hand of someone they thought of as a best friend saying thank you for being my friend.  I then rounded off the exercise and reinforcing what Sarah had said which led into us singing Shine.  Sarah then closed the assembly with a prayer.

Vicarage Park School

This morning I went over to Vicarage Park School, Kendal to take the assembly.  The theme I was given was compassion.  So after singing So Many Ways to Praise the Lord I showed the PIXAR animated clip 'Birds on a Wire'  which has several birds all chatting on a telephone wire, when a bigger bird wants to join in.  The bigger bird is very different to the others and they therefore make fun of him and laugh at him.  Then when he comes to join them they complain to each other and force him to get off by pecking at his feet.  He does eventually fall off but in so doing he catapults the other birds upwards.  Then as the clip ends the big bird is on the floor and all the other birds drop down besides him but they have lost all their feathers and now need to shelter under the big bird for warmth.  After the clip I showed some still images from the movie and talked about the reaction of the birds to the bigger bird saying that they were not showing him kindness, love or compassion.  I said that we can sometimes be like that with other people who we perhaps see as being different.  I then displayed the bible verse 'Love one another as I have loved you' and explained that Jesus wants us to be compassionate and loving, caring and kind to everyone we meet.  To close we sang Wonderful Lord and in the middle I said a short prayer.