w/c 15th May

Our reading this week is John 14: 15-21

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

¹⁵ “If you love me, you will do what I command. ¹⁶ I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever. ¹⁷ The Helper is the Spirit of truth. The people of the world cannot accept him, because they don’t see him or know him. But you know him. He lives with you, and he will be in you.

¹⁸ “I will not leave you all alone like orphans. I will come back to you. ¹⁹ In a very short time the people in the world will not see me anymore. But you will see me. You will live because I live. ²⁰ On that day you will know that I am in the Father. You will know that you are in me and I am in you. ²¹ Those who really love me are the ones who not only know my commands but also obey them. My Father will love such people, and I will love them. I will make myself known to them.”

Prayer for the week:

Dear God,
Thank you for the wonderful world that we live in.
Thank you that you didn’t make a world that is dull and boring, but one that is bright, colourful and full of amazing variety.
Please help us always to take care of this amazing world.
Amen.

In School:

We used the images below of birds, flowers, fruit and animals to think about things that are all different yet all the same. We linked this to our knowledge of the Trinity - 3 distinct beings (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) yet all the same (God). 

We then thought about how the different species were adapted to their environment. 

We considered how Christians and people of many different religions believe that God made the world. They believed this happened in may different ways, but ultimately God was involved in its creation.

We have tried a visualisation this week:

'Imagine what the world would be like if God had only made, say, a robin rather than the wide variety of birds that we have around us. Imagine if the only flowers we could see were daisies and the only animals were cats. Imagine what it would be like if the only food we ever ate was banana.'

Whilst listening to an instrumental version of 'All things Bright and Beautiful' we had some time for quiet reflection guided by the following ideas:

- Think about your favourite animal.
- Think about your favourite bird.
- Think about your favourite flower.
- Think about your favourite food.
- Thank God for the wonderful variety in the world.

This week we have also thought about Ascension day. We have created art work of our ideas of what the Holy Spirit may look like. These are on display in the school hall. 

Questions to think about at home:

Where is your favourite outside space?

Would you prefer to be up a mountain, walking in the woods or looking at the sea?

How do you feel in your favourite outside space?

Have you ever felt close to God when you have seen great beauty in nature?

Challenge: Look for beauty in nature. Look closely at a flower or insect. Thank God for creating the beautiful world