Prayer and Liturgy

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

Matthew 18:20

At St. Richard’s, prayer and liturgy are an integral part of our mission to know, love and follow Christ. Each day we come together, as a class or in key stages, in different ways to deepen our connection with God. Prayer and liturgy can take place at any time during the school day and can be a single act of prayer and meditation for all pupils, or a separate Celebration of the Word in key stages or class groups. All staff and pupils at St. Richard’s are encouraged to plan and lead prayer and liturgy as we all act as witnesses to Christ. Our daily pattern of prayer is outlined below:

Throughout the month of May, we reflected on the significance of Mary in our Celebrations of the Word, Rosary prayer group and daily prayer & liturgies.

EYFS and KS1 have been enjoying taking a lead in their class-based Celebrations of the Word by helping to set up the altar, lead simple prayers and help share the scripture.

All of our children who have made their first Holy Communion and First Reconciliation were offered the chance to participate in Confession with Fr. Kris at our service of Reconciliation.

Y5 and Y6 children attended our special Ash Wednesday parish Mass to receive ashes and mark the start of Lent.  Year 5 have been exploring signs and symbols of Lent and will bury the Alleluia as part of our Building the Kingdom work.

As Lent begins, the children have been planning and delivering some beautiful Celebrations of the Word in their classrooms.

The children in C9 (Y5) planned and delivered a Celebration of the Word for our class on Pilgrims of Hope to celebrate the beginning of the Jubilee year. The children in C9 reflected on what they want to pray for in this year of hope and how we can be pilgrims of hope.

Class 13’s pupils have been really enjoying planning and delivering their own child-led ‘Celebration of the Word’ each week. Jeremy, who has recently planned and led it, says, ‘ The scriptures help us learn about the life of Jesus and I loved sharing this with the whole class. It was great how everyone joined in.’

We had a very special guest in school. Greg Finn, the founder of The Mark 10 Mission, visited us and spent all day helping us to think about and then plan and prepare the most meaningful encounters possible with Jesus through our prayers and celebrations of the Word. It was a really wonderful and prayerful day and we all gained lots from it.

Our wonderful school choir and Mrs Kelly performed their annual Hosanna Rock for the KS2 children and parents in church. It was a fantastic way to celebrate the birth of Jesus in our final week of term.

Year 2 performed a beautiful Christmas Carol service in church for our parents and carers. It was a fantastic service enjoyed by all.