Transcript Slide 1
I enjoyed this morning’s RE lesson as all the activities were very active, not just written tasks. I think the best part was the big question activity, also I learnt a lot today; this have got to be one of the best RE lessons ever! The RE lesson was good because we got closer to God and it was fun. The lesson was relaxing and calm and made you feel peaceful. I think this is the best RE lesson so far. Without your light I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have these friends, I wouldn’t be in this school, I wouldn’t be this happy. Your light brings joy to my life and the lives of others. Your lights is what I live for and everything I need Dear Lord, Please send Jesus back to us, we need his light Amen Dear Lord, Come, Save us Stop war Stop sadness Stop hunger Wipe away our sorrow We are waiting Jesus Dear God, Save your people who need rescuing and bring happiness this special time of year to the people who need it. Amen P.S . Let it snow! Where are you? Do you live in the modern world? Where do selfish prayers go? Why did you let my sister get cancer ? Thank you for my LIFE I am thankful for my family and friends as they will love me no matter what I liked thinking about the mistakes we made and rubbing them off the board like you are making a fresh start .. It helped me...especially when we wrote about our worries and put it in the green box and you said you were going to burn it so God will get it. That helped me a lot to let my worries out and I felt much better because I felt awful at the time so thank you http://www.stopthetraffik.org/ I liked the tent with bean bags and cushions because it was nice to look at the picture of Jesus quietly ...it also made me think more about others.. It helped me to open my eyes.. to realise what’s going on around me Dear The NonExistent Solve world hunger I dare you! This showed that God brought light to the world and that he would take my prayer and let it shine Dear God Please help me find my dad when I’m older Lord please let people know they are beautiful just the way they are It was like watching all your prayers go up Most of these ideas, and many more, are available free at this website www.prayerspacesinschools.com In this part of the PowerPoint, all instruction cards are immediately followed by set up notes which can be laminated together on the back of the instruction cards for future reference. If appropriate, following the set up notes, there are additional slides for display with that particular station “ If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Write it on the cardboard ...... Big Question set up notes: This activity allows pupils to express the questions they’d like to ask God. It’s really simple and usually one of the favourites. Some of the questions will be simple, others silly, others profound and even heartbreaking. It’s important that any question is accepted (with the obvious exception of offensive material) and that pupils don’t feel like there should be ”an answer” to their question. Sometimes we just don’t know. If you can , transfer these questions to the staff room at the end of your prayer space – the staff will be moved by, and interested in what their pupils are expressing. Equipment: •String • Bits of Cardboard •Somewhere to hang them such as tree branches Look at the pictures and words on the wall. If there is something you want to say sorry to God for, write it on the blackboard. Now read the Bible verse on the wall and then wipe the slate clean. Believe that God has forgiven you. Being Sorry set up notes: Images and words to help people consider things to be sorry for. Equipment: •Images of people doing things wrong (ie arguing) on the wall •Words to go with the images (e.g. anger, frustration). •Mini Blackboards •Chalk •Separate card with Acts 3.19 on wall Being sorry Being sorry Being sorry Being sorry Acts 3:19 (The Message) Being sorry Read the newspaper headlines about problems in the countries around the world. Write prayers on the post it notes and stick them on or near the country you are praying for. Pray for the world set up notes: Display the world map and any information and newspapers along with the pens and post it notes. This is a great place to include information a bout the charity work the school is involved with, partner schools in other countries or other overseas links the pupils may have. Pupils will more readily identify with overseas connections they already know. You could also display recent news articles connected to the countries to encourage prayers for those situations. Equipment: • Large world map • Post it notes • Pens • Newspaper headlines What makes your life good? What are you thankful for right now ? Write one thing you are thankful for on a heart shape and add it to the board. Set up notes: Arrange the noticeboard/ cross shape somewhere easily reachable so that people can read what others have written. You might want to decorate the board in bright colour or with images of things to be thankful for (this is especially helpful with younger age groups). Have heart shaped notes and pens nearby with the instruction card. Students write on the heart shaped notes things for which they are thankful. You may want to cast an eye over what’s posted from time to time to check for anything inappropriate. On or two inappropriate posting can inspire others to copy. Equipment: •Notice board or cross shape •Heart shaped pink paper cut outs Human Trafficking is forcing, tricking or threatening people to work for little or no pay. The person cannot leave, even if they want to. Read the information about Trafficked chocolate. What does Victor say? Write a prayer or your thoughts on one of the paper strips. Or you could just write your name as a way of saying “I believe this is wrong”. Add your link to the paper chain. Stop the traffic set up notes: Students read a story about Trafficked chocolate printed out on cards. They are invited to respond by writing on paper strips with the STT Logo. Then staple to form paper chains. Set up the space and display the stories around – you could hang them from a poles lay them on table or the floor, or stick them to the walls, Start some paper chains so that student can reach to add their link. Put some paper strips, pens and stapler on a table. Equipment: • Stories from Stop The Traffik chocolate • Stapler • Pens • Somewhere to hang the chains. Stop the Traffik Chocolate unwrapped Over a third of the cocoa that makes the world's chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast, Africa. It's highly likely that the beans that make your favourite chocolate bar come from here. Thousands of boys as young as 10yrs old, from the Cote D'Ivoire and neighbouring countries, are trafficked to pick and harvest these beans. Their freedom is taken and they are forced to work long hours on the cocoa plantations without receiving any money for their work. They are beaten and work in dangerous conditions using machetes to open the cocoa beans. Victor, trafficked from Mali says: "Tell your children that they have bought something that I suffered to make. When they are eating chocolate they are eating my flesh" Stop the Traffik "We want traffik free chocolate!" Since 2007, STOP THE TRAFFIK have been raising awareness about this issue and together with activists from around the world we've been campaigning to the chocolate industry to say "We want Traffik-Free Chocolate". Join our campaign and enjoy chocolate without the bitter aftertaste. The first step is to change your buying habits. Think about it, if your chocolate bar is Traffik-Free the manufacturers are going to tell you, so look for labels like Fair-Trade, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified. Together we're changing an industry We have already seen change, bowing to STOP THE TRAFFIK's campaign and consumer power, five major chocolate manufacturers (Verkade, Swiss Noir, Cadbury, Nestlé and Mars) now supply us with traffik-free chocolate bars. However, there is still more to be done. We will not stop until trafficking has been eliminated from all chocolate supply chains and every bar is traffik-free. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa15686731 A challenging video to watch Stop the Traffik Look in the mirror. What do you see ? What are the things you like. What are the things you don’t like ? Do you know that you are beautiful in God's eyes ? Tell yourself that as you look in the mirror, Or maybe read out some of the things written around the room as you stand. Mirrors set up notes: Create a space for this activity which is quiet and relatively secluded in relation to the rest of the space. Hang the mirror and make sure the area is well it so pupils can see themselves in the mirror but not so bright so to be uncomfortable. Hang the positive quotes around the mirror and make sure the instruction card is clearly visible. You might like to print the instruction text reversed so pupils have to look in the mirror to read it. Encourage students to use this area on their own, looking in the mirror, identifying positive aspects of themselves and absorbing the quotes and works displayed around. It's not really a spectator sport ! You’ll find this is one of the activities the students struggle with the most but that's’ exactly why it’s worth including . Equipment: • Full length mirror • Positive quotes about image / self beauty Genesis 1:27 God created humans in his own image and God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Mirrors Luke 12:6-7 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows Mirrors The Call of Jeremiah Chapter 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you." Mirrors Psalm 139:13-16 You shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb Mirrors Body and soul, I am marvellously made! I worship in adoration— what a creation! Mirrors You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; Mirrors You know exactly how I was made, how I was sculpted from nothing into something Mirrors Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Mirrors God says ‘You are precious and honoured in my sight’ Mirrors God says 'I have loved you with an everlasting love' Mirrors What’s on your mind? What are you worried about? What do you need? Are there things you want to see changed? Maybe there’s something you want to say thank you for? The bubbles in the lamp represent our thoughts going up to God, who hears all our prayers. Write the things you are thinking about on the paper and lay them round the bubble tube. Bubble lamp set up notes: Set up the bubble tube and leave post it notes and pens around the area. Make sure the power cables are safely taped down, and that the instruction card is clearly visible. If you can, use the fabric and alternative lighting to create a low-lit environment, which will be a calming and relaxing place for people to sit. Cushions, beanbags and other comfortable seating will add to this. You might also want to cover the floor in lining paper for people to use to draw or write prayers on. Encourage people using this space to remain quiet and reflective and not to distract others. Equipment: • Larva Lamp/ bubble tube • Post – it notes • Pens This is a special place – some might call it “Holy”. For hundreds of years people have discovered that being peaceful enables them to be more aware of God. In our busy work, this isn’t easy. This is a place to be still. To be a peace. There is no need to talk, no need to do anything. Just “be”. Be still set up notes: Set up the Gazebo frame and use the drapes to create a space which is almost completely enclosed, allowing for some level of privacy for those inside. Make sure that the entranceway cannot be closed completely to discourage inappropriate activity and ensure the personal safety of students in the space. Use the white lights to light the space and create a focal point. Arrange the beanbags around this so that pupils can sit and be still. It may help to limit the number of people to a maximum of two. More than this can be distracting. You may need to supervise the entrance – people can tend to hang around which detracts from the experience of peace for those inside. Equipment: • Drapes • String of white decorative lights in a glass vase or some type of optic fibre changing colour lights •Bean bags At advent we think about the coming of Jesus as a baby into our dark world of sin. He came to bring God’s light. “In Jesus was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world”. John 1:4,5,9. Write an advent prayer telling Jesus how much we need his light in our world. Then light a candle. As you do so, ask God that his light will shine through you. Light of the world set up notes: Candles in a safe place, like a votive candle stand Somewhere to pin prayers next to candle stand Equipment: • Pens • Paper • Candles and tapers for lighting Advent Prayer Dear Lord Come, Save us Stop war Stop hunger Stop sadness Wipe away our sorrow We are waiting Jesus . Light of the world Write a prayer about anything you want to say to God. Stick your prayer on the window. As the light shines through the window, imagine Gods light shining on your prayer. Prayer window/ wall set up notes: Make sure the window wall is accessible and arrange the post-it notes and pens nearby. People write their own prayers on the post-notes and then stick them to the prayer window/wall. Once this gets going , it will need no introduction or explanation. You might want to ask your team to write a few post- notes to get things started. You may want to cast an eye over what’s posted from time to time to check for anything inappropriate. One or two inappropriate postings can inspire others to copy. Equipment: • Pens • post-it notes Prayer window Prayer window In front of you are some stones. Take one and hold it tightly in your hand Let the stone represent the pain you feel when you remember what the other person said or did. Hold it tight for a moment – you will probably have strong feelings: anger, sadness, a heavy heart. You may long for justice or even revenge. Write your feelings on the stone. What will you do with your hurts? Will you carry them forever or will you choose to let them go? If you don’t feel you can let them go, put the stone back. If you have chosen to let the hurts go, place the stone in the bowl of water. Watch the water cover it and wash the feelings away. Remind yourself that you have chosen to let go. You may need to remember this moment in the days ahead. Know that as you forgive, so you are also forgiven Forgiveness stones set up notes: Create a calm, relaxing area using low lighting, comfortable seating and fabric. Place the bucket of water and a basket of stones in the middle. Students take a stone to represent the hurts they feel and have the option of placing in in a large bowl of water as symbolic of letting go and forgiving, or of putting the stone back if they do not feel ready to forgive. It is important that people have this option so that you’re not boxing them in to a particular response and they feel they have made the choice for themselves. Equipment: • Buckets • Stones • Water • Water-soluble felt tips pens . have the capacity for great acts of Relationships can be fragile. Just as we all love and kindness, so too we all have the capacity to cause pain and sadness. As someone once said “ the line between good and evil runs through the middle of every human heart” We can sometimes hurt others by the things we do or the things we say. What hurtful things have you said or done to others ? Other people can hurt us by the things they say or do. What hurt or painful memory are you carrying because of something said or done to you ? The other person may not know or care how you feel – they may never say sorry. We can’t always see justice done, but we can be set free from the hurt. Do you want to take these feelings with you? Or would you rather let them go? To choose to let go of the hurts is to forgive. Jesus said “If you forgive someone's sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?” Extra instructions Take a piece of paper. Write down one word, or just one letter, that, to you , represents each thing that ‘s causing you to worry or feel stressed. This is just for you – it’s completely anonymous. Fold the paper a couple of times and hold it in your hand, as if you are holding onto the stuff you wrote down. Worrying about something doesn’t usually make it any better or make the problem go away. Usually it just messes with our heads and stops us feeling any kind of inner peace. For the few minutes you’re here. This is your chance to put those worries to one side. When you’re ready, relax your fingers and hands. When you want to let the paper go. Drop it into the box in front of you. Letting Go set up notes: Choose a place which is calm and relaxing – you could use drapes lighting and soft furnishing to create somewhere. Put the pens and paper next to the box, within easy reach of the seating. Students read the card and are invited to pray a prayer that gives their worry to God as they drop the paper into the box. Equipment: • • • Paper Pens Box with slot in the lid Life can be so busy. Whether at home, at school, or college, or being with family or friends, we can so easily fill our time with things to do, things to think about and the demands of all the people that fill our lives. Often the last thing we want to do is take a bit of time out just to stop; And it’s even more difficult to take a break when there’s something on your mind that you’re worried about. Be still for a moment and think about the things that worry you. When you hold on to it tightly no one else can see it, no one else can help, no one else can take it away. Imagine that you could give these worries to someone who really cares for you. How does it feel to release your worries this way? Talking to others about the things that worry us can help. Who can you talk to about the things that worry you ? A wise religious man once said “Pray- and let God worry”. Christians believe that God loves people, knows them completely, is more powerful than any worry and is always there to listen. Extra instructions