Prayer and Liturgy
Prayer and liturgy are at the heart of our life and mission at Our Lady and St Werburgh's. We join together communally for whole-school worship several times per week:
Our Monday prayer time is led by our Key Stage 2 children, who deliver an important message based on the teachings of Jesus Christ in the weekly Sunday Gospel.
On Wednesday, we gather together to prepare for the celebration of Mass, sharing and reflecting on the readings and the Gospel of Thursday's Mass. We also sing our praises to God in our weekly hymn practice.
On Thursday, we attend Mass. The whole school celebrate Mass together where we are very well supported by family members and the parish.
On Friday, we gather for whole-school worship led by Mrs Wilson, based upon relevant themes or aspects. This is followed by the sharing in the successes and celebration of the God-given gifts and talents of our children in our weekly Merit assembly, where children are rewarded with certificates for class/ school achievements, including our weekly Merit, Virtues, Golden Book, Golden Table and House Team awards.
Children also have the opportunity to share in, plan and lead frequent, class-led worship, where they are encouraged to reflect upon their curriculum learning and lead liturgies or worship to develop their faith as a class.
Children are actively involved in planning and leading many important liturgies throughout the year such as our Advent and Lenten liturgies, Remembrance, Stations of the Cross, etc. They take an active role in sharing in the Catholic mission of our school, listening attentively, praying reverently and actively living out their faith in their love, joy and service to others.
Child-led Liturgy: progression in skills
The document below outlines the progression in skills and expectations for child-led worship across the school. This enables children to build upon their prior knowledge, to develop the confidence and competence to independently plan and lead a variety of forms of liturgy by the time they leave Our Lady and St Werburgh's.