Prayer and Liturgy

The Nature of Prayer & Liturgy

We believe that Christian worship in a Catholic school celebrates God’s presence in our lives. Prayer & Liturgy is concerned with giving glory, honour, and praise and thanks to God in response to the eternal invitation to enter into relationship, made possible through the mission of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit.

The Place of Prayer & Liturgy in the School

As an integral part of the Catholic school environment, prayer & liturgy considers the needs of all who participate in it. Worship is inclusive for everyone in our school community.

The Aims of Prayer & Liturgy

We believe that Prayer & Liturgy in our school aims to provide opportunity for all pupils and staff:

To come together to worship God
To contemplate something of the mystery of God
To reflect on spiritual and moral issues
To explore their own beliefs
To respond to and celebrate life and reinforce positive attitudes
To experience a sense of belonging and develop community spirit
To develop a common ethos and shared values
To enrich religious experience
To grow in liturgical understanding and development
To reinforce prayers which are part of the Catholic tradition
To encourage participation and response, whether through active involvement in the presentation and planning of worship or through listening and joining in the worship offered
To take time out ‘to wonder at’, ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to’
To acknowledge diversity and affirm each person’s self-worth

The Programme of Prayer & Liturgy in the school

Prayer & Liturgy is organised in a variety of ways:

The Mass is at the centre of all liturgical worship at Holy Cross and is celebrated at school on a regular basis.
Prayers are said in the classroom.
Pupil participation is most important: children contribute, organising their own collective worship in the classroom, appropriate to their age, regularly.
There are many opportunities for children to write and lead prayers in class and school assemblies.
Hymns are an important part of the prayer life of the school, and a weekly hymn practice is timetabled for the whole school.

Resources

Each class has its own prayer area displaying religious artefacts, books, children’s prayers, candles and a crucifix, etc.

Class teachers use the diocesan prayer & liturgy planner to support children when leading acts of worship: Gather, Listen, Respond and Go Forth.

Christ at the Centre

Prayer and Worship in a Catholic school is concerned with giving glory, honour, praise and thanks to God. It is our loving response, in word and action, to God’s invitation to enter into relationship with Him, made possible through the work of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit. It is an integral part of the life of the Catholic school, putting Christ at the centre of education, helping to create and sustain the Catholic ethos, making it tangible.

It is a Legal Requirement

The legal requirement (Section 70 of the 1998 Education Act) is that ‘subject to the parental right of exclusion or other special arrangement each pupil in attendance at a school shall on each school day take part in an act of collective worship. This can take place at any time during the school day and can be either a single act of worship for all pupils, or separate acts of worship for pupils in different age groups or in different school groups.

Simply holding an assembly that includes a prayer said either by the teacher or everyone present does not fulfil this requirement. However, in a Catholic school it is more than just a legal requirement. It is an integral part of school life, which contributes to its distinctiveness.