Collective Worship

St Philip’s Church of England Primary School and Collective Worship  

Intent

We want our Collective Worship to be inclusive.  We want it to offer a qualitatively different experience to other parts of our school day.  We want to explore and promote our Christian Values.  We want to share God’s love for us and allow Jesus’s light into our lives.

Leadership 

We have a designated leader who is responsible for organising Collective Worship.  We want lots of staff and visitors to contribute and lead our worship so that we can hear a variety voices, experiences and perspectives.

Our School’s Church

We work with our school’s church, St Philip and St James’ Church.  A chaplain from the church works with us one day a week.  Part of her role is to contribute to our worships.

KEY ELEMENTS OF OUR COLLECTIVE WORSHIP

1. Moment of Calm

To prepare for our Collective Worship, we take part in a ‘Moment of Calm’.  In our classes, we say these words…

2. Arrival

We are led into Collective Worship by our Year 6 Leaders.  We enter the hall calmy and listen to music which is specially chosen by our Music Lead each term.  We use low level lighting to create a calm feeling.  This helps make the hall seem like a special place –it’s so different from when it’s used for our lunches or PE lessons.

3. Welcome

A bell is rung to signal the beginning of our worship.  The leader says, “We welcome everyone to our Collective Worship” and we say back, “Welcome everyone”.  We begin our worship with these words because it reminds us that children and adults of all faiths or none are included.

4. Preparation

We get ourselves ready by repeating the leader’s words, “We are focused, we are listening, we are calm.”  These words help us think of Collective Worship as different to other parts of our busy and active day; it’s a chance to be still and reflective.

5. Candle

The leader lights a special candle, saying, “We light this candle as a symbol of Jesus’s light in the world.”  We say back, “God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.”  The flame is a beautiful focus point for our act of worship reminding us of Jesus’ love and giving us hope.

6. Our Christian Values

We remind ourselves of our Christian Values.  We say with the leader, “Respect, Perseverance, Kindness, Forgiveness, Hope, Honesty, and Love which encompasses them all.”

7. Worship Song

During our worship, we sing one of our songs –when we asked children what their favourite part of our worship was, many chose the songs.  Sometimes, we have a pianist to accompany our singing; sometimes, we use videos.  Our Song Leader will introduce the song and thank us for joining in at the end.

8. Theme

The theme of our Collective Worship varies.  It is usually connected to one or more of our Christian Values.  To help us explore the theme, we use a variety of resources.  It might be a book, a story from the Bible, a video or a picture. 

9. Reflection

There are times during our worship when we can discuss, explore and reflect on the theme of our worship.  Children and adults are prompted by one or two questions and invited to share their thoughts and ideas if they wish to.

10. Our Christian Values

We think about which of our values have been illustrated by what we’ve shared.

11. Conclusion

The leader reminds us of the worship’s theme.  He or she thanks us for our reflections and thoughts.

12. Prayer

We end our worship with a prayer.  It’s an opportunity to communicate with God, to be thankful and reflective.  To make it our own prayer, we can say ‘Amen’ at the end.

13. Dismissal

The leader extinguishes the candle saying, “May the light of Christ…”  We respond, “…shine in all our hearts.”  The leader rings the bell.  The exit music begins.  Our Year 6 Leaders guide classes back to their classrooms.

For more detailed information on Collective Worship please see our Collective Worship Policy