Church Walk Primary School

Today I went along to do the first assembly of this new term at Church Walk Primary School, it was also the first Operation Christmas Child assembly of this year so I was joined by Lisa.  After singing God's Love is Bigger than a Burger Lisa introduced the theme of the assembly and showed a video clip from a McDonalds advert which has the opening scene of two children and the words Love is not a big thing, the ad continues and we watch the children grow up they are in fact brother and sister finally the boy now a man comes to get married and his sister has been their with him all the way through and they have done little things for each other the whole lives, the ending phrase then says Love is a thousand little things.  Lisa used this idea to explain that when we send a shoe box it is like love being a thousand little things.  We as individuals can't change the world but our act of love can change the world of a child that receives a shoe box.  I then talked about how and what to pack into a shoe box and explain that when we do we Shine from the inside out - cue song.  Lisa closed the assembly with a prayer.

Flookburgh School

This morning Sarah and I made our first visit of the new school year to Flookburgh School.  It was really great to see all the children and staff again following the summer holidays.  To start our assembly off we sang Be Happy.  I then showed the children a collection of objects I had taken with me things like a cycle hat, wet suit, gloves, snow shoes, hard hat etc  I got some of the children to either hold our wear the item, I asked if anyone could see the common connection between my rather odd collection of items - the answer was they all protect us in some way.  Sarah then read the account of Jesus calming the storm and I then explained the link between the objects and the story - they do all protect us and Jesus protected the disciples n the boat - and we do from time to time have up days when we are very happy and down days when we are not so happy - a bit like a storm at sea (link to bible passage) When faced with the storm the disciples called upon Jesus to help them - and so can we call on him when we need him to help us in some way.  I then explained we were going to sing Wonderful Lord which continues the theme of Jesus looking after us.

OT BX 2 Low Furness School

This afternoon I did the second lesson of Old Testament Bible Explorer with the year 5 and 6 children at Low Furness School.  We were in Egypt to start off with Moses and the children of Israel, I am trying very hard to call the people by their many names like Jacob's family, Josephs family, Hebrews, Jews, the Jewish people so that when the children hear these terms in other places they will know that they are one and the same people.  So we had Moses today and all about God bringing the people up out of Egypt towards the promised land.  We covered the Red Sea crossing, the Law, the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant, as well as the counting of the people, the spies sent into the land and then the forty year trek in the wilderness and finally the law a second time to a new generation of people and the death of Moses.  Next week the people move into the land under Joshua and then the Judges ending with Ruth.

St Peters

This morning I went along to St Peters for the first assembly of the new school term.  It was really lovely to see all the children again as well as their new headteacher.  I started the assembly with Be Happy, then opened a bag containing a lot of different things to wear.  Although the items were all different there was a common link between them so I asked the children to think about that as I removed the items from the bag and got some of the children to wear or hold them.  I had a wet suit, hard hat, gloves, snow boots, high viz jacket, ear defenders etc.  The common link was protection as one boy pointed out.  I then read the account of Jesus calming the storm and after explained the link between the items and the story - they all protect us in some way and help keep us safe and Jesus was in the boat and protected the disciples also.  I also explained that in life things can go really well for us and we are on a high and are happy (link to song) but there are times when we are not so high and things get us down and we are sad.  It is a bit like the waves on the sea and when a storm blows up I asked the children what the disciples did when they were in the storm - they asked Jesus for Help and he came to their rescue and saved and protected them, he can do that for us too when we are facing a difficult time for whatever reason.  I linked this to Wonderful Lord which we sang to finish off before closing with the Lord's Prayer.

Penny Bridge Academy

This morning I went along to Penny Bridge Academy to do the first assembly of the new school year.  After saying good morning and asking if the children had had a good summer we sang Be Happy.  After that I showed the children a collection of items that I had taken with me, there was a wet suit, cycle hat, 2 hard hats, gloves, snow boots, life jacket I had other things to.  I asked a few of the younger children to help hold the items.  I asked the rest of the school if they could see a connection with the items - someone said safety which was a good answer but not what I was thinking off - someone else then said protection.  I then read the calming of the storm story from Andy Robbs book 50 Weirdest Bible Stories.  Then I explained the connection between the story and the items - in life we sometimes have good days when we are so happy (link to song) and some days when we feel a bit sad and down - it is a bit like the waves on the sea in a storm (link to story).  When faced with the storm the disciples called HELP! - Jesus who was asleep at the time in the boat got up and calmed everyone down, as well as the sea and wind.  So I encouraged the children then whenever they find themselves in a down situation to do as the disciples did and call out help to Jesus.  I then linked this to the song Wonderful Lord.

Leven Valley School

This morning Sarah and I did our first assembly of the new school year at Leven Valley School.  We started with Be Happy before I emptied a bag of items in front of the children.  I did tell the children that all the items were different but had something in common there was  hard hats, cycle helmets, high viz jackets, life jackets, wet suits etc.  I asked the children what was common with the items - protection - they all help protect us in some way.  Sarah then read the storm of Jesus calming the storm and after I linked the items to the story in that in life we have ups and downs like in a storm and when we are down we might need someone to help protect us like the disciples did and Jesus was there to do that for them and he is still here today doing the same thing we only need to call to him.  I linked this also to Wonderful Lord which we sang to finish.

Our Lady's

This morning Sarah and I made our first visit of the new school year to Our Lady's in Dalton.  It was really good to see all the children again and the little ones from nursery joined us too.  We started our assembly time with Be Happy.  I then unpacked a bag full of rather odd items some I put on others got a laugh from the children I gave some of them to the children to wear.  All the items had a common theme though we had hard hats, cycle helmets, high viz jackets, life jackets, wet suits etc.  I asked the children what was common with the items - protection - they all help protect us in some way.  Sarah then read the storm of Jesus calming the storm and after I linked the items to the story in that in life we have ups and downs like in a storm and when we are down we might need someone to help protect us like the disciples did and Jesus was there to do that for them and he is still here today doing the same thing we only need to call to him.  I linked this also to Wonderful Lord which we sang to finish.