Ronni Lamont - Primary School Assemblies for Religious Festivals

First published in Great Britain in 2012

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

36 Causton Street

London SW1P 4ST

www.spckpublishing.co.uk

Copyright SPCK 2012

The authors of the individual assemblies included in this work have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as such.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

SPCK does not necessarily endorse the individual views contained in its publications.

The authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the external website and email addresses included in this book are correct and up to date at the time of going to press. The authors and publisher are not responsible for the content, quality or continuing accessibility of the sites.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9780281066971

eBook ISBN 9780281066988

Typeset and eBook by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong

Contents

Ridvan: Baha Ullahs time in the Garden of Ridvan
(sunset 21 April to sunset 2 May)

Bodhi Day: The enlightenment of Buddha
(8 December)

Magha Puja: Fourfold Assembly day
(usually February/March movable festival)

Wesak: Birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha
(April/May movable festival)

Candlemas: Jesus presentation at the temple ceremony remembered
(2 February or nearest Sunday)

Corpus Christi: The body of Christ
(Thursday after Trinity Sunday movable festival)

Lent: Jesus fasting in the desert
(spring movable festival)

Ascension Jesus says goodbye to his friends and ascends into heaven
(Thursday, 40 days after Easter movable festival)

Pentecost: Beginning of the Christian Church
(Sunday, 50 days after Easter movable festival)

Diwali: Festival of lights
(October/November movable festival)

Ganesh Chaturthi: Birthday of the elephant-headed god
(August/September movable festival)

Holi: Festival of colour
(February/March, movable festival)

Janmashtami: Birth of Krishna
(August/September movable festival)

Raksha Bandhan: A festival for brothers and sisters
(usually August movable festival)

Vasant Panchami: A new beginning
(January/February movable festival)

Al-Hijra: Muhammads migration from Mecca to Medina, Islamic New Year
(varies movable festival)

Eid ul-Adha: Festival of sacrifice
(varies movable festival)

Eid ul-Fitr: End of Ramadan
(varies movable festival)

Ramadan: Month-long fast
(varies movable festival)

Mahavira Jayanti: Mahaviras birthday
(March/April movable festival)

Paryusana: A time to pray and learn
(August/September movable festival)

Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement
(September/October movable festival)

Sukkot: Feast of Tabernacles and Harvest
(September/October movable festival)

Hanukkah: Festival of Lights
(December movable festival)

Tu bi-Sebat: New Year of Trees
(January/February movable festival)

Birthday of Guru Nanak: Celebration to remember teaching of equality
(October/November movable festival)

Hola Mohalla: Celebration of valour and defence preparedness
(March movable festival)

No Ruz: Zoroastrian New Year
(21 March movable festival)

Zartusht-no-diso: Remembering the first Zoroastrian prophet
(26 May/26 December movable festival)

Alan M. Barker is a Methodist minister who has worked in Lincolnshire for the past 25 years. Currently serving in South Holland, he helps to lead assemblies/collective worship in six local schools. A longstanding, popular contributor to SPCKs assemblies website at , Alan also enjoys photography and the countryside.

Emma Burford trained as an actor at Rose Bruford College and then as a drama teacher at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She spent two years as a professional actor and now teaches drama at a secondary school in Putney. Emma writes assemblies and full-length plays for children of all ages and is resident playwright at the Shine Youth Theatre in south-west London.

John Challis trained as a photographer and was general manager of a photographic retail company in the early 1990s. He later studied for ordination at St Stephens House, Oxford, and has served the Church of England as a deacon and priest in Crawley, West Sussex, Buxted and Hadlow Down, East Sussex, and Upper Beeding with Bramber and Botolphs, West Sussex. He has been a school governor for over ten years in four schools and has three children, two dogs, one cat, twelve chickens and a long-suffering but very supportive wife, Jenny.

Laurence Chilcott lives in Porthcawl, Wales. He spent 38 years in the teaching profession, 12 as a headteacher at a school in Bridgend. Now retired, he volunteers at a local school, is an active Rotarian, sings in a mixed choir and is the secretary of a Baptist church. Any spare time is taken up with walking, gardening and entertaining his grandchildren. He enjoys sharing some of the many assemblies he gave over the years on SPCKs assemblies website at and hopes to continue to do so in the future.

Gordon Lamont is a freelance writer, radio producer and consultant. Much of his work is with the highly respected BBC Learning Division. Gordon is an agnostic who values assemblies as times of celebration and reflection on both personal growth and the big issues of life. He is the founding editor of .

Ronni Lamont is a freelance writer and trainer who specializes in childrens spirituality. Previously a teacher of science and dance at a secondary school, she then enjoyed 16 years in parish ministry as an Anglican priest. The editor of SPCKs assemblies website at , she now writes far fewer assemblies than she did previously!

Rebecca Parkinson lives in Lancashire with her husband Ted and their two children. Since graduating from Nottingham and Manchester Universities, Rebecca has worked as a teacher, science teacher adviser and university lecturer. She writes regularly for SPCKs assemblies website at and is the author of a number of childrens books. Along with her husband, Rebecca also leads the youth and childrens work at a local church. In her spare time she enjoys any type of sport, especially netball, badminton, kayaking and other outdoor pursuits.

Manon Ceridwen Parry is the rector of Llanddulas and Llysfaen, near Colwyn Bay, and also Director of Exploring Faith for St Asaph Diocese. Throughout her ministry she has taken assemblies in a variety of church and community primary schools, in both English and Welsh. She also writes poetry and has had several poems published in literary magazines and journals.

Helen Redfern loves writing assemblies and stories that communicate, inspire, stimulate and challenge. Having five children of her own keeps her in touch with popular culture and the big issues currently engaging childrens interest. She has enjoyed delivering her assemblies at her local primary school.