All Change (1): We can change how we look but underneath we remain the same.
AGE: Infants and Juniors |
THEME: All Change (1): We can change how we look but underneath we remain the same. |
BACKGROUND: |
| In this act of collective worship, pupils are encouraged to reflect on the ways in which they can present a range of public images. But only they know their true self and, Christians would add that God knows them also. |
PREPARATION: |
| Before the start of the collective worship, provide a group of volunteers (this could be staff or pupils) with dressing-up clothes - especially hats, scarves, dark glasses - and challenge them to disguise their appearance. |
DEVELOPMENT: |
| 'Make-overs' seem to be all the rage at the moment, whether it's a new look for our homes, our gardens or ourselves. Invite the pupils to think about how they can change their appearance e.g. having a new hairstyle or a new set of clothes. Do they feel different when their appearance is changed? Why might they want to change the way they look? Invite your group of volunteers to join you in their disguises. See if the pupils can recognise their true identity. When their identities have been revealed, ask your volunteers if they felt different when they were wearing their disguises. Think about the simple ways in which, every day, we change how we look just by using different facial expressions. If appropriate, ask groups of pupils to demonstrate different faces e.g. happy, sad, afraid, surprised etc. and explore the ways in which we all have masks to try to hide our feelings or to show our feelings. Discuss when and how pupils try to hide their feelings. Think about why we might want to hide our feelings from others. Introduce the idea that whatever our outward appearance, only we know who we truly are. Whatever face, or mask, we may be wearing, beneath it, we remain the same person. We know what we are really thinking and feeling. And, for Christians, this idea has special meaning, because they recognise that God knows them also. They would say it is God, who knows what is truly in their hearts. |
PRAYER: |
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Loving God Help us to know and to love who we truly are. As we grow and change, be with us, especially when things feel strange and different. Amen |
MUSIC: |
| 'There are hundreds of sparrows', no 15, Come and Praise 1, pub. BBC Education, ISBN 0 563 32067 2 Or, 'I will bring you the best gift I can offer', no 59, Come and Praise 1, pub. BBC Education, ISBN 0 563 32067 2 |
FURTHER IDEAS TO DEVELOP: |
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