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Looking at Prayer in Collective Worship
Contents
- What is Prayer?
- Is there a legal position in Collective Worship?
- What is appropriate prayer in Collective Worship?
- The Educational Aims of Collective Worship
- What about a time of reflection instead of prayers?
- Types of Prayer
- Examples of Reflection
- Formal Prayers a) Using Collects b) Response Prayers
- Famous Prayers
- A School Prayer
- Creative Prayer - Involving Children in Prayer
- Grace at Meals and Prayers at the End of the Day
- What about using Prayers of Different Faiths?
What is Prayer?
Much has been written about prayer, Christian bookshops contain hundreds of books on this subject including collections of prayers and advice on techniques of praying. It is an inescapable pointer; prayer stands at the centre of the life of a believer who is in relationship with God. Let's look at Christians talking about the subject:
"Prayer is being with God, talking to him, doing things in his presence, growing up under his parenthood, treating him as a Father. Above all, it is the way our relationship with God finds expression, and so becomes one of the most important ways that relationship develops and grows… Prayer is not ... an emergency hot line … a catalogue order line ... or a demand for emergency services. It is a conversation that demonstrates a loving relationship with a growing child and a generous and forgiving parent. It matures and changes as we mature and change." Gillian Raymond
"There is no point in pretending that prayer is straightforward. It isn't. it is a mystery. It is a finite human being in relation with the infinite. But it is also the Christian belief that God is like a father and that we can approach God as a child, filled with trust, faith and expectation …Our hope is always that children may become aware of the love God has for them, and thereby grow in their relationships with God and with the rest of humanity. How good if they can discover that although prayer often feels as though we are moving towards God, in truth it is God who comes toward us with wounded hands of blessing." Christopher Herbert, Bishop of St Albans.
Every believer will tell you the same thing; prayer is central to a relationship with God, in "simple" terms, it is talking to and with Him, and in any relationship communication is vital. This clearly makes prayer a key feature of corporate worship, the worship of the believing community, but what place does it play in collective worship where the gathered community is not a faith community (even in a church school)?
Is there a legal position on prayer in collective worship?
In Church Schools the act of collective worship is Christian, based on the school's founding Trust Deed, and the Ethos Statement in the school's Instrument of Government (I999). It therefore follows that Christian prayers form an integral part of the act of collective worship, just as they do of all Christian worship, and the school may choose to include formal Christian prayers from the liturgy of their founding denomination in its worship. Collective worship in a Church School is the responsibility of the Governors of the school, in consultation with the headteacher, and they will be expected to have an opinion on the type of prayer used in assembly.
The 1988 and 1993 Education Acts state that collective worship in Community Schools should be "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character". The Acts and DFEE Circular 1/94 went on to advise that this meant the worship should reflect the broad traditions of Christian belief whilst not being distinctive of any particular Christian denomination and that, although the worship need not contain only Christian material, it should nevertheless contain some elements which relate specifically to the traditions of Christian belief and which accord a special status to Jesus Christ. Worship was further defined in the Circular as being concerned with reverence or veneration paid to a divine being or power. For many teachers these definitions sit uneasily with the requirement that collective worship should also have regard to the family backgrounds, ages and aptitudes of pupils. What if the pupils belong to a faith other than Christianity, or come from atheist or agnostic families?
Although neither the Acts nor the Circular mention prayer per se, it may be assumed that the definitions of worship cited above include it - indeed, it would be difficult to see how these statements on reverence and veneration in particular could be fulfilled without incorporating prayer. This introduces the question of what approach to prayer is suitable for collective worship if the criteria on appropriateness and inclusivity are also to be fulfilled.
What is appropriate prayer in collective worship?
Some teachers are unsure about asking pupils to participate in prayers in collective worship, because they do not wish to be seen to assume a level of religious commitment in the children which is clearly not present. This is, in some ways, even more of a dilemma in primary schools than secondary schools, as the older pupils will refuse to join in with prayers they see as inappropriate, whilst younger children, eager to please, will join in prayers with enthusiasm, but without understanding. There is also the problem that teachers who do not themselves have a faith commitment, or feel unhappy about praying publicly, will often deliver prayers in a somewhat perfunctory manner which sends out further messages to the assembly about the validity of offering prayer.
One of the keys to praying appropriately in collective worship is to use the language of invitation rather than compulsion:
- Pupils and staff need to be aware that the traditional Hebrew ending to a prayer - "Amen" - simply means "so be it" and that by saying the Amen at the conclusion of the prayer, they are accepting what has been said and making it their own. If they do not wish to accept the prayer that the worship leader is offering on their behalf, then there is no compulsion upon them to utter the response.
- The prayer should be introduced in such a way that it is clear that prayer is a voluntary and personal activity: "Would you like to join me in saying….", "I am going to say a prayer Christians like to use, and at the end you may wish to say Amen….", "Now, in a moment of stillness, you may wish to pray or think about….". Expressions such as these leave the door open to the possibility of a variety of personal responses, allowing people to pray, reflect, or do nothing, as they wish. Pupils need to understand clearly that they do not have to join in with the worship and prayer - although they do have an obligation not to disturb others who are participating.
- Church schools, with their distinctive Christian Ethos enshrined in their Instruments of Government, often choose to follow the more traditional and didactic approach to prayer in collective worship by introducing a prayer with the standard invitation "let us pray", or something similar. Even where the school is comfortable with this procedure, it is good to revisit the subject of prayer regularly within the collective worship cycle, so that those present are aware of its personal and voluntary nature.
- Nobody should be forced into praying aloud in an assembly if they state they are uncomfortable doing so - pupils or staff.
- It is important to include within the collective worship guidelines that a school provides for occasional worship leaders a clear statement on the approach to prayer encouraged by the school. In this way embarrassing and inappropriate situations in assembly can be avoided.
Language, concepts and expressions of commitment in prayers (and hymns) need to be looked at carefully when you are selecting or writing the prayers to be used in collective worship. Members of the assembly, who may respond positively to a general prayer on, for example, an area of the world in need, may feel confused or dishonest if the worship leader appears to be attempting to coerce them into an expression of personal faith commitment.
The Educational Aims of Prayer in Collective Worship
Collective worship is an integral part of the life of any school and should be carefully planned with educational aims in view. The act of collective worship itself has many different aims, including the aim of educating children into what worship actually is, and its different forms. As far as prayer itself is concerned these aims could include:
- Helping children understand what prayer is and why people pray
- Enabling pupils to encounter the rich legacy of the traditional vocabulary and forms of prayer used in this country and worldwide
- To bring pupils to "stand at the threshold of worship" where they are able to empathise with the feelings of those who pray, and to pray themselves if they wish to
- To help pupils "get in touch" with their own inner life of thoughts and feelings
- For pupils to be enabled, should they so wish, to express their own feelings and inner responses in the words of a prayer, in an appropriate manner and context
- To help pupils make effective use of silence and opportunities for reflection in a busy and challenging day
What about a time for reflection instead of prayers? It depends what you mean by reflection!
It is clear that some schools have moved from praying in collective worship to something called "time for reflection". In some cases this is a guided reflection which is clearly related to the theme of the assembly and creates an opportune space for those who wish to pray, or to consider the implications of the message of the assembly for themselves, to do so, without forcing the issue. In other schools all that is offered is a time of silence without focus or direction. The latter is of little practical or spiritual use, but simply a time for minds to wander or, as Buddhists say, become like "a barrel-load of monkeys"!
Reflection or meditation has its place in worship, including Christian worship, and is thus a valid component of collective worship also. To enable children to participate in moments of natural "centering down" and true reflection is a gift that could live with them for the rest of their life. In contrast, silence for its own sake is just that, a quiet two minutes possibly, but can it actually be worship if it is not offered with that intention? If your school uses the idea of a "time of reflection" consider whether you are promoting this as a moment of worship, or as a useful device to replace the time of prayer which senior members of the school community find difficult to cope with. If the latter, then you must ask whether there are sufficient alternative elements of real worship in your assembly for you to affirm that collective worship is actually taking place.
Worship includes many different types of prayers (see below), and it is rare for any programme of corporate worship to be built entirely around reflection (unless one is on a silent retreat or undergoing a series of spiritual exercises). Similarly, a collective worship programme, which made use only of times of reflection, and did not include spoken prayers, would not be giving those present a full experience of typical elements of worship. Church schools, in particular, need to be aware of this as an issue, and should be offering a rich diet of prayer and worship styles.
Types of Prayer
The Christian tradition has a rich vein of prayer to draw from: meditation, contemplation, the prayers of the Eucharist, the language of the Book of Common Prayer, the Psalms, the tradition of "free prayer", Quaker use of silence etc etc.
It is commonly accepted that these many different forms of prayer can be listed under common headings such as: adoration; confession; thanksgiving; supplication. To help children to learn about prayer it is helpful if they encounter a variety of prayers under these four headings, although, in reality it is most likely that prayers of intercession / supplication and prayers of thanksgiving will fit most naturally into a school's collective worship pattern. Such prayers often relate to subjects close to the children's own hearts, and when a worship leader asks for prayer suggestions in an assembly they most frequently fall under these two headings of thanksgiving and supplication also. The most difficult form of prayer to include within an act of collective worship is actually adoration, as this cannot be manufactured to order but grows out of the pray-ers relationship with God. Offering prayers of adoration to God in the school context may also raise questions of appropriate language in people's minds (see above), although they will amply fulfil the recommendations of Circular 1/94!
Examples of Reflection
It is important when a time of reflection is used in collective worship instead of more formal spoken prayers that the reflection is given direction and focus, or it is unlikely to be effective and helpful.
One type of meditative prayer which is used in several different faiths, including Christianity, is a type of "breathing prayer". This is a type of stilling exercise, and those taking part must be led through it at a natural breathing rate (or it will feel uncomfortable). First begin by sitting in a comfortable position, focussing on the actual act of breathing, then talk the assembly through a reflection such as the following, based on the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians:
"Breathe in - love…………………Breathe out - hate……………… Breathe in - joy…........ Breathe out - worries………… Breathe in - kindness………….. Breathe out - stupid actions……………Breathe in - goodness…………..Breathe out - anger " etc
Formal Prayers
(a) Using Collects
http://www.churchschools.co.uk/ Collects are an ancient part of our Christian heritage and have been used for centuries in the Anglican church. They get their name from the fact that they are seen as prayers which sum up ("collect up") the theme of the preceding devotion in a service. There is a different collect for each week of the year, so these prayers reflect the cycle of the Church's liturgical year and the themes of the Sunday worship. The collects in the prayer books, as they stand, are probably too adult in their vocabulary to be readily accessible to young children in collective worship - however, if you are interested in pursuing the use of collects in assembly, try accessing the website Ad Collectam magazine pages. The site presents a weekly collect for use with children (it is not simply a rewrite of the Sunday collect but one written in the same style with children in mind). Each week's material on this site also has support notes and activities, and can in itself be the focus of a complete act of collective worship. This is a particularly useful facility for church schools, as regular use of the collects in a collective worship cycle will anchor you firmly in the Church's own cycle of liturgical seasons, readings and prayers. A page of the Ad Collectam website is included here at the end of this booklet.
(b) Response prayers
The use of set responses is common in worship as a way of including a congregation in the flow of a service. This technique also helps people to concentrate on the words of the prayers. This idea may be used in collective worship also, either by setting up a response pattern to introduce an assembly, or on special occasions such as a festival. Examples of response prayers are shown as Appendix One.
Other well known responses which you could incorporate into your own prayers, following on from appropriate sentences of your own devising include:
Lord in your mercy - Hear our prayer
or
Lord hear us - Lord graciously hear us
Famous Prayers
In learning about prayer, and how to pray, it is important that people are exposed to some of the most important prayers of our Christian heritage, otherwise it is possible that they will have only a weak diet of quick one line "arrow prayers" on which to draw in later life, should they feel the need to do so. There are many stories current that when young people come to marry in church many of them can only remember the hymns and songs from primary school days, when it comes to choosing their wedding hymns. Just as such young people have a limited knowledge and understanding of Christian worship and music, they frequently have small understanding of the language of prayer. By sharing with your pupils the vocabulary of prayer, through regular usage of a small number of familiar prayers, they are able to extend their understanding and their reservoir of ideas. Traditional formal prayers are, however, only part of a person's prayer life and simply endlessly repeating the same prayers is to be avoided, in favour of a wide variety of approaches which includes formal prayer.
Without a doubt, the most famous and important Christian prayer is the Lord's Prayer, and if only one prayer is taught as part of a school's collective worship programme, then this must be the one selected. The prayer was offered to the disciples by Jesus himself as a type of "pattern prayer" when they asked him for advice on the proper way to pray (Luke chapter 11 verses 1-4, Matthew chapter 6 verses 7-15). There may be some debate as to whether to use the traditional version of the prayer, or the more modern translation in collective worship . Church schools may wish to discover which version of the Lord's Prayer is normally used in their parish church, and use the same. Both versions of the prayer, and a number of other well known prayers, suitable for use in school, are found in Appendix Two.
A School Prayer
It can be a unifying factor for a school to have their own particular school prayer which is learnt and used by the children. If the pupils themselves are involved in the writing of the prayer, it can be a very special worship focus which conveys something of the heart of the school's ethos to successive generations of the community. The prayer can then be displayed within the assembly hall, perhaps as a prayer banner.
There are several school prayers already available and widely used, including the two below:
This is our school,
Let peace dwell here,
Let the school be full of contentment,
Let love abide here.
Love of one another,
Love of mankind,
Love of life itself,
And love of God.
Let us remember
That, as many hands build a house
So, many hearts make a school. Amen.
God our Father. Grant that the family of our school may be blessed by You, help us to care for one another and to forgive one another, to play together and to work together. May we know the love of Christ in our lives and be filled with the joy of his knowledge, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Creative Prayers - Involving Children in Prayer
Often prayers in school are preceded by the words "hands together and eyes closed" and ended with "Amen" - it would be interesting to know how many pupils think "Amen" is simply another way of saying "The end, open your eyes"! How much of a contribution have the pupils made to the content of the prayers, other than passive acquiescence? It is good to involve the children in prayer at a more meaningful level - if they wish to do so - the examples which follow are all tried and tested suggestions used in schools:
- Each day of the week "belongs" to a particular class. The headteacher or worship leader visits the class briefly before the assembly and asks if there are any special topics the children want remembered in the prayers.
- A "Prayer Tree" (either real or manufactured) is left in the corner of the hall or classroom with a pile of leaf shaped cards and some pens. Pupils leave prayers or topics for prayer on the leaves which they tie to the tree. The leaves are collected up and used in assembly on a regular basis. Another version of the Prayer Tree (but not usually so attractive!) is to have three large envelopes as part of a prayer board display, labeled "Thank you", "Please" and "Sorry" and a supply of slips of paper.
- A good quality book is kept as the school's special prayer book. Prayers written in class, or prayers which the children enjoy, are written into the book and used on a regular basis. The book is kept on display, perhaps in the entrance hall, and is clearly valued.
- The worship leader uses "prayer beads" to collect ideas for prayer in the assembly itself ( large beads from the playgroup's toys and a bootlace are ideal!). children are then invited to keep their eyes open in the prayers and concentrate on the bead which "speaks" most to them.
- Several years ago for the national RE Festival many schools joined in making paperchains of prayers which when joined together went completely round the inside of Ely Cathedral! Not only were the prayers appreciated by visitors to the Cathedral, several of the duty chaplains also used the children's prayers in their public prayers on the hour. Although this is not something you would wish to do on a regular basis (!), schools might like to try this exercise at a special time in the Christian year, such as Christmas or Easter. The paperchains could be used to decorate the school hall, and used in the worship, but also be offered to the local church afterwards as a contribution to the worship of the parish community.
- Have pictures/sketches of four faces: one looks upwards; one looks downwards; one looks to the side; one looks straight forwards. Each of these is a prompt for a certain type of prayer - the worship leader shows each face in turn, reminds the school of what they should be thinking about/reflecting upon, and gives them a few moments of quiet to respond as they wish. The faces represent:
- Eyes upwards - to God
- Eyes downward - to ourselves and our own lives and concerns
- Eyes to the side - the needs of our friends and neighbours
- Eyes forward - what will be happening today, tomorrow, next week..
- Have a prayer board as part as part of an established collective worship display in the assembly hall. Create a display of three or four large concentric circles labeled (from the centre) "Our School", "Our Village/Town/ Neighbourhood", "Our Country", "Our World". Over a term write on topics that the pupils think it is important are prayed about. This will also serve as a reminder of what has been happening over the term itself and can be used in some form in an end of term assembly. It is usually not helpful for the display to remain in place for more than a term as it becomes tatty wallpaper, but obviously it can be renewed each term.
Grace at Meals and Prayers at the End of the Day
Sometimes teachers ask whether grace at mealtimes or classroom prayers at the end of the day can replace the daily act of collective worship. These are different and specialised types of prayer which may have their place within a worshipping day in a school, but are not so comprehensive in their content that they can replace the full act of collective worship. Schools which follow this pattern of prayer should regard them as a supplement to the act of collective worship, but never its replacement.
What about using Prayers of Different Faiths?
In church schools, the expectation is that collective worship will be offered according to the school's ethos statement and founding trust deed, i.e. that it will be Christian in content. It is right that here the word Christian is interpreted in its widest sense and that the school should be prepared to use appropriate prayers from different churches and cultures. There will be times when the worship leader may find an attractive prayer amongst the teachings of another faith community which they may wish to adapt to their assembly, or perhaps use as a focus for reflection. Often such prayers will not carry within them any features identifying them as being of a particular faith community, and if such is the case they may be carefully adopted into a Christian context (although it is worth noting that some Christian believers may feel unhappy about this solution). If the prayer clearly belongs to a different faith community because it includes religious vocabulary of a certain faith or non-Christian designations of God, it is probably best avoided.
In community schools the legal requirement is that collective worship should be "wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character"; this opens up the possibility that schools may construct an act of collective worship freely drawing on materials from many different faiths. One would only wish to warn against preparing an act of collective worship which is a total mishmash of all faiths and none, and which could thereby be offensive to members of several different faith communities!
Some well-known prayers from a variety of faith communities follow as Appendix Three.