‘The first task in life is this: prayer. But not the prayer of words, like a parrot; the prayer of the heart: gazing on the Lord, hearing the Lord, asking the Lord.’ Pope Francis
Through prayer and worship we give glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is important that our children understand that there is a purpose to prayer. We pray four times a day – at the beginning of the day, before lunch, after lunch and at the end of the school day. We have KS1 and KS2 prayers and each year group has their own book of prayers to learn and say together. Each child is given their own prayer journal when they join the school to write prayers during their time in the school.
Pupils at St Richard Reynolds experience and explore a variety of methods of prayer, such as:
- Traditional learned prayer in a group setting
- Prayer appropriate to the Liturgical cycle
- Prayer from scripture
- Individual, quiet prayer and reflection
- Prayer using different stimulus e.g. images, music, art and nature
- Silent group meditation
- Prayer in song
- Prayer for other (petitionary prayer)
- Imaginative prayer
Collective Worship
Collective worship in St Richard Reynolds Primary School names and celebrates God’s presence in our lives. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into a relationship, made possible through the work of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit. All staff and children take part in daily collective worship. This is part of our daily routine and is embraced as moments in time to come together to celebrate the joy and wonder of our faith.
Aims of Collective Worship:
- To contemplate the mystery of God
- To reflect on spiritual and moral issues
- To explore our own beliefs
- To respond to and to celebrate life
- To experience a sense of belonging and to develop community spirit
- To develop a common ethos and shared values and virtues
- To enrich and widen religious experience in our own Faith and respect other faiths
- To grow in liturgical understanding and development
- To pray using prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition
- To reinforce positive attitudes through living and sharing the Gospel
- To participate fully
- To participate fully to take time out ‘to wonder at’ ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to’ so developing the children’s experiences in Awe and Wonder through the Mysteries of God.