Prayer & Liturgy

“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18: 20

‘Collective Worship’ is a term used in legislation in this country but is not a phrase we use readily in a Catholic context. ‘Prayer’ and ‘Liturgy are terms more commonly used in our context. Worship at St. Anne’s is more than just a legal requirement. It is an integral part of school life and central to the Catholic tradition.

It is the responsibility of every Catholic school to provide for all its members a vital experience of liturgy, worship and prayer which:

• Names and celebrates God present and active in authentic human experience.
• Is educative.
• Is within our Catholic tradition.

The worshipping nature of our school is expressed in a variety of ways; through prayer, liturgy (both sacramental and non-sacramental) and through daily acts of worship. Collective Worship strengthens our Eucharistic community which gathers to give witness to Jesus Christ

The purpose of these experiences is:

• 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
• 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 reinforce positive attitudes
• To participate fully
• To take time out ‘to wonder at’, ‘to come to terms with’ and ‘to give worth to.’

Through Collective Worship experiences we aim to develop the skills of:

• reverence
• contemplation
• reflection
• interpretation
• empathy
• meditation
• prayer

Check out the files at the bottom of this page for photographs of worship and other key documentation.

Stations of the cross - March 2023

Pupils from Reception to Year 6 have experienced spiritual reflection time during Stations of the Cross to continue our Lenten journey towards Holy Week. We used the beautiful resources produced by Mission Together to listen to the word of God, pause for reflection and think about our own actions. If you would like to use the resources at home, please see the files at the bottom of the page

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Lent 2023

Our school Community attended Mass in Church on Ash Wednesday.  Father Jean Paul blessed our Lentern Reflection bags which we will will be taking home to pray with our families.

Hope- December 2022

At the start of advent, UKS2 came together to remember the Hope that Jesus brings to our world. We reflected on the scripture Jeremiah 29 V 11 and Year 6 wrote and led the prayers. We were joined by parents and grandparents of our Year 6 children for a special moment of reflection as we move into advent and the busyness of Christmas.

Remembrance Day 2022

UKS2 shared scripture, poems and prayers to remember those who lost their lives in war and to pray for peace around the world.

All Saints 2022

Mrs Volynchook shared the 'Golden story' of St Anne and St Joachim to mark All Saints Day with EYFS and Key Stage 1. The children were fascinated to know that St Anne was Jesus' Grandmother and thought about how much our own Grandparents love us and how special St Anne would have been to Jesus. We ended by sharing the Hail Mary to recognise that the love and example St Anne had shown to her daughter, was one of the reasons God chose Mary to be the Mother of his Son, Jesus Christ.

                                                                      Autumn Term 2021:

Week commencing 20.9.21 Gifts and Talents:

Lower Key Stage 2 enjoyed sharing their own gifts and talents and how they can support and encourage others in our own community.  We will be giving gifts of cakes on Friday to support Macmillan Cancer Care - one of our charities linked to our score values.

Spring term 2021

Week beginning 11.1.21

This week's theme for Collective Worship is Good News. For those of you who are completing home learning, having time to be still and reflect ont he word of God is particularly important during these difficult times.

In the files section at the bottom of the page, you will find 4 power points of narrated worships to support you at home. There are video links in the presentations that you will need to click on to access. These will also be posted on Class Dojo each day.

God bless and stay safe.

Advent 2020

1st Sunday of Advent

 As we begin the season of Advent this weekend, we turn out thoughts to the theme of ‘Hope’.

Preparing for a new beginning. This Sunday, the first week of Advent, lights the candle of Hope.

We light the candle and let our hearts be filed with hope, with a confident expectation of what is to come.

This Sunday's Gospel comes from Mark and shares the important message of being ready for when God returns.

Cafod have developed an interactive Advent Calendar again this year which you may wish to use at home as a family in reflecting on the true meaning of the season of Advent. The Calendar can be found in the files at the bottom of this page.

You will also find 2 activity sheets at the bottom of this page from the charity 'Mission Together'. These are to help children to reflect on the meaning of the Gospel and to take part in a craft activity to reinforce the key message. This week's activity is to make a "Stay Awake Lantern".

Y6 and Y5b Bubble Collective Worship on Hope

Monday 8th June 2020

Pope Francis has called all citizens of the world to take a moment today to pause and pray for peace across the world. Our pupils were encouraged to take part and write their own prayer. Lily-May, a pupil in Year 6 wrote this beautiful prayer.

Week beginning 5.10.20

This week KS1 have thought all about "love" in our Collective Worship. We read the story of "Guess how much I love you" by Sam McBratney and talked about the people we love. We responded by taking a paper heart and giving it to someone we love, explaining why we love them.

Week beginning 28.9.20

Nursery and Reception joined together in their 'Bubble' to celebrate the end of our Come and See topic, Myself, with Collective Worship. It was the first time all of the children had been together for worship and we celebrated afterwards with a treat of biscuits in our wonderful outdoor area.

Week beginning 12th October

This week Mrs Crolla held collective worships across KS2 linking with World Mental Health Day. Y3 joined Y3/4 and Y4  joined Y5a to  think about how we can  find strength through Jesus.  We were reminded that we are never alone because Jesus holds us close, especially when we need it. He knows our hopes, fears and things that makes us sad.     

Week beginning 19.10.20

Year 6 joined together in their cabin for collective worship. The theme of our worship was Self-Esteem and we reflected upon the wonderful people God has created us to be! We drew strength from the fact the God loves each of us completely for who we are and even knows the number of hairs on our head! We are fearfully and wonderfully made and should be proud of who we are.

Files to Download