All this week we are going to sensitively talk about something that is for many, really difficult, so please be honest if you find anything hard, or if anything we talk about is something you don’t want to do. Please also be kind and supportive of each other.
The word for this week is Remembrance.
Throughout the whole month of November we remember loved ones who are no longer with us. We focus especially this week on those who have died in conflict and those who have died in our community. This month also includes All Souls’ Day , a day when the church invites us all to remember, to pray for, and to honor those who have died.
All this week we are going to sensitively talk about something that is for many, really difficult, so please be honest if you find anything hard, or if anything we talk about is something you don’t want to do. Please also be kind and supportive of each other.
When we loose people it hurts. Our faith does not ask us to ignore this pain. Instead, it “acknowledge[s] the reality of suffering while gently pointing toward hope”. It gives us a promise: that “God is near to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18 ) and that “nothing can destroy the good that has been given”. This week, we will make space for our prayers, our sadness and our community, and we will hold on to the hope of the Resurrection.
Day 1 – The promise…
We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.
Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John
R./ Glory to You O Lord
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms… I am going there to prepare a place for you… I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
R./ Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ
The promise that Jesus gives us is one of hope – he will look after us and there will be eternal life in him. This is still something that is really hard to understand and believe. Have a think about what you can do to remember, honour and pray for others this week.
Discussion Questions:
How can we honour and remember those who’ve gone before us?
Why should we remember?
Click below to “Add Comment” and capture some of what has been said in your form for others to see or add them to your form scrapbook if you have one!
Lord God, Bless those who mourn, with the comfort of your love, that they may face each new day with hope and the certainty that nothing can destroy the good that has been given.
Amen.
Day 2 – Remember who you are..
We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.
Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen
When Jesus gathered the disciples before his death, he told them to remember him by doing what he had shown them. Remembrance is an action not a thought. There are symbolic things we can do remember like wear a poppy or stand in silence, but the fullness of remembrance is to live our lives in a way that honours those who’ve gone before us.
We remember those who died in conflict by working for peace, we remember those who loved us by loving others and we remember Christ by trying to be like Christ.
In this clip Mufasa has lost his Father, but in doing so lost who he was as well, he is running from the challenges ahead of him…
How can we remember those who have died in the way we live our lives?
Think of ideas and post them in the comments box or put them into your scrapbooks.
Almighty and eternal God, from whose love in Christ we cannot be parted, either by death or life: hear our prayers and thanksgivings for all whom we remember this day. Fulfil in them the purpose of your love, and bring us all, with them, to your eternal joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Amen.
Day 3 – A Visible Sign of Remembrance.
We invite you to start with the Sign of the Cross.
Response: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen
The image of the poppy is an enduring reminder of why remembrance is so important. In your forms we’d like you to make a poppy to share the prayers and thoughts of your class with the school.
Each form will have a poppy upon which we’d like you to write a prayer, or a name, or a message of remembrance.
These poppies will then decorate our chapel for the month of November.
O God of truth and justice, we hold before you those men and women who have died in active service. As we honour their courage and cherish their memory, may we put our faith in your future; for you are the source of life and hope, now and for ever.
Amen.
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