The church building and Christian worship

Whenever you take your class to investigate a Church they will not see it being used for its prime function; the worship and glory of God. By using simple stilling exercises you can help them to soak up some of the atmosphere of the place, and by drawing attention to the considerable time and care that has gone into the building and preservation of the church (which, in many cases, will be both the largest and oldest construction in your area) you can make them aware of the creative worship of God which has centred on the building for generations. If your school is able to use the church building for its own special acts of collective worship, perhaps at Christmas or Easter, the children will have some ideas to draw upon when discussing the various elements which make up worship.

Do try to obtain the help of your vicar or a member of the congregation if you intend to explore either a service of worship such as the Eucharist or a rite of passage (baptism, marriage) in the church situation. This will guarantee access to the various religious artefacts used in the service, such as the chalice and paten, as well as the expertise of the minister who will be in an invaluable resource in explaining the service to the children.

Church services are full of dramatic symbolism, ritual and movement, but they are also long. If you are, for example, looking at the Eucharist at KS2, do not ask for a service to be staged for you, rather, make sure that the class has at least looked at the Biblical story (the Last Supper) which is the foundation of the act of worship. The vicar could be asked to demonstrate how he would prepare for a service and the high dramatic symbolism of the eucharist itself, explaining throughout what is happening and why. If possible the children may be allowed to examine the holy vessels closely and perhaps even sample unconsecrated bread and wine. The symbolic sharing of food is an important element of worship in many faiths and pupils could be encouraged to search for other examples of this, or even devise a classroom equivalent to celebrate an important event in the life of the school.

Rites of passage may also be explored in the church building itself, but, as with the Eucharist, it is important that the pupils have already had the opportunity in the classroom to discuss at their own level the origins of the rite and why it continues to be important. As baptism itself is a fairly short service, older pupils may enjoy taking part in a re-enactment of a baptism, especially as several may have attended such a service before. However, it is still important that the minister explains what is happening, and why, as he progresses through the ceremony. Marriage services could also be staged; these are particularly popular with KS1.

How does the shape of a Church affect the Worship inside it?

When a class undertakes a church project they will not be seeing the building being used for its chief purpose. If the school uses the church for any of its term time services they may have a better idea of how the building helps or hinders worship and they should be encouraged to think about this. The Class needs to consider such factors as sight lines, overlong distances or excessive heights and the barriers which intervene between the worshippers and the worship leader. Does the building encourage people to consider their neighbours or ignore them? Has the altar been moved down to the nave so that the liturgical action is nearer to the people?

Every church has its own unique acoustical environment which affects all that goes on there. The large dimensions and hard surfaces of medieval stone buildings are ideal for chanting plainsong where sound lingers, but not so well adapted for congregational hymn singing. The organist might like this reverberation, but the priest would probably prefer it if his church does not echo when he is speaking. There are also problems with too absorbent an environment, which leaves each person in the congregation with the impression that they are singing solo. The number of people in a building also affect the qualities of the sound projection as more bodies absorb more sound. The church building could thus become a useful focus for a science project, as well as RE, if some of these ideas are followed up! Look out for amplification or loop systems as parishes have attempted to solve these problems for themselves.