Children's Liturgy Sunday September 6th 2009

CREATIONTIDE.

We were delighted to be together again after the Summer holidays and we talked about the wonderful places we had been and the lovely things we had seen. Someone had visited an enormous chocolate shop; someone had seen an alpaca and someone had caught crabs. One of the leaders had caught crabs- 10 of them- using a line, for the first time in her life. She returned them to the sea!
We realised how much there is to enjoy everything that God has created in nature. Also, now is the time when farmers are busy gathering in their crops- Zoe knew this was called the harvest. This will be the food we need in fthe future.

We talked about how much our future world depends on what we do today- including the futures of all our brothers and sisters in other countries.

If we spend our time buying lots of things, thinking we need to own more and more, we build more and more factories to make goods. These factories produce lots of waste gasses- mostly carbon, which damage the atmosphere- the air- around us. The earth has a layer high above us called the ozone layer, which acts like a sun-shield, protecting us from the sun's rays. When this layer is damaged by the gasses which manufacturing processes create, the world gets hotter and the weather patterns all begin to change.

In this country, we don't always notice straight away. If we have a poor harvest, we are able to buy food from elsewhere. We import food from all around the world, using up the earth's resources in fuel for aeroplanes and boats to bring it here. In poorer countries, a bad crop spells disaster. We remembered the children at Mother of Peace Community in Zimbabwe. There, the food which is eaten is grown nearby. If it doesn't grow, there can be no slipping out to a supermarket to buy from elsewhere.

In any case, having lots of possessions does not make us happy. We are happiest when we are sharing our lives with others and when we are enjoying God-given beauty in our world and in our wildlife.

Sometimes churches hold Harvest Festivals at this time of the year, to thank God for all that is given to us. People take food they have grown in baskets to place on the altars in the churches. We thought we would do something a little different. We would draw our parish baskets, but would put in them the actions we are taking in order to take care of God's world and to protect it for everyone else, including the people who will come after us.

We would look at a new version of the Lord's Prayer. When we say 'forgive us our trespasses', we would think about the things we have done which harm our world. We would say sorry for not making sure that everyone has clean water and enough to eat; that some animals are dying out. We have been selfish in wanting to own things, throwing lots away without thought. Then we could show we were sorry by beginning to live in a simpler way and trying to work out how to care for the planet.

Here are our friends in Zimbabwe.

On our Parish Basket Creationtide sheets, there are some basic ideas for saving energy and other resources. Someone remembered to suggest not leaving the cold-water tap running, when we clean our teeth; not leaving lights on or our T.V.s on standby- which many of us do. We could buy food, which has grown near to home; and we could try growing some ourselves. We started today, by sowing some salad seeds in pots, which we took back into church. We also took our parish basket leaflets for all the families. Some children gave out the leaflts during the hymn after Communion. Someone had already taken a box of leaflets to the Rosary church, which some of our parish families attend.
On October 4th, we will see just how much our parish cares about our world. We hope some people will have bright ideas for us to do more in future to value all we are given.

Children's Liturgy Sunday September 13th 2009

CREATIONTIDE WEEK 2

We talked about CARBON FOOTPRINTS.
Your 'carbon footprint' is a way of thinking about the effect you have on the planet, especially the atmosphere- the air around us. It stands for the total amount of 'greenhouse gasses' you produce, measured in units of a gas called carbon dioxide. 'Greenhouse gasses' change climate as they increase the amount of harmful sunlight which reaches the earth, making it warm up. When we make something in a factory, burn fuel in travelling or use energy such as gas or electricity, we produce greenhouse gasses. We are harming God's creation.

We talked about the ways we could take care of the world. Only two people have filled in their Parish Basket leaflets. Paula, who cleans the church, told us about using water and newspaper to clean windows, instead of harmful chemicals in manufactured cleaners. She also uses lemon juice and bicarbonate of soda as cleaning agents instead of buying bottled cleaning materials. Just think, if you buy a bottle of cleaning fluid, chemicals will have been used to make the cleaner, chemicals which then get into the water supply when you pour them down the drain; a factory will have used resources to make the bottle; petrol or diesel will have been used up in taking the product to the shop; lorries are manufacted to transport goods; you will have used up fuel getting to the shop, if you didn't walk; the shop will be heated or air-conditioned ...and so on.

Margaret, who runs the Fair Trade stall, has a solar panel on her house roof. This means that her house is heated mostly by the warming rays of the sun, not by the use of electricity or gas. Her solar panel was installed by a man from Canada, who had used solar panels there in order to transmit radio signals over huge distances to the Arctic Circle.

We may not all be able to install solar panels yet, but we can do little things, like not using plastic bags, which have to be manufactured, then take years and years to break down in the soil after you throw them away. Plastic bags and bottles turn up all over the world on remote beaches, as we spread our rubbish. Someone, who is usually too lazy to go back into the house if she gets in the car without her reusable bags, did actually go back this week, so she wouldn't have to use the plastic ones when shopping at the supermarket. She also used a steamer, so she could cook one vegetable over another in a saucepan, instead of heating up two gas rings on the cooker.

We remembered that in hard times or bad weather, it is the poor who suffer first. In sudden climate changes, people who depend on their own crops may starve. They cannot go to a supermarket to buy food from other countries, even if they wanted to.

What everyone does has an effect on someone else. So far, rich countries have often used the poor. One way we can help is by buying Fair Trade goods.
Using two teddy bears as puppets, two boys hidden behind a sheet acted out a play to explain to the congregation how the Fair Trade organisation helps workers in poorer countries.

For the complete story with pictures, please click on the 'Little Bears' section at the left-hand side of your web page.

Children's Liturgy, Sunday September 20th 2009

The THIRD WEEK of CREATIONTIDE.

Today we talked about carbon footprints again.

Only nine people had filled in their parish basket leaflets, so we decided that when we went back into church, we would ring a bell when we told everyone of the useful things some had written about- and we would sound a hooter when we said that so few in the parish had responded to our request for help! Eve was delighted to get the chance to sound the hooter and everyone thought it was very funny.

Kiera was pleased to be able to ring the bell.
Zoe and Grace had brought their leaflets back.
Zoe had asked her Mum to wash clothes at low temperaures, walked instead of going in the car and saved water.Grace had bought Fair Trade tea, turned off lights, walked to and from school, used reusable bags, had showers instead of baths, saved water when cleaning her teeth, unplugged the television and eaten food her Dad had grown.

Someone in the congregation lived alone, so washed up once a day to save water, cooked all her vegetables in one pan and washed clothes on low temperatures. Someone else cycled to the shops had 2 compost bins, used low energy light bulbs, recycled clothing via the clothing bank, had cavity wall insulation, use up leftovers, had a rain-water butt, grows lettuces and had planted onions for next year, having also cleared a vegetable patch for next year, reuses foil and plastic trays when possible...and uses old tights cut into strips for tying things up in the garden.

Somone else looks for beauty, travels into town by bus instead of car, turns off the heating between May and October, watched only 5 hours of T.V. per week, has insulated his loft, and can't remember the last time he had a bath....because he always takes showers!

So our parish IS getting greener!

If you want to recycle your mobile phone, you can contact Norfolk Wildlife Trust at:

www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

or get further information on : 0800 970 5097

You can obtain bags in which to recycle your mobile on:

www.recycleyourmobile.co.uk

Remove the sim card but leave in the battery.
Or you can give in your old mobile at St. Joseph's School.

We talked about the wonderful world God has given us, particularly beautiful colours and we rehearsed a poem about colour, everyone making a leaf, flower or animal out of coloured paper. We practised waving our paper when our colour was mentioned in the poem.
We realised that God cares about animals as well as people. We heard how people in Bangalore in India are working out how to live alongside the elephants which often try to eat people's crops. People study the routes the elephants take as they are travelling around and try to protect their crops and divert the elephants.

Finally, some of us made a collage out of multi-coloured leaves and flowers.

Children's Liturgy, Sunday September 27th 2009

The FOURTH WEEK of CREATIONTIDE.

Today our subject was water. We talked about how we need it for all life and how lucky we are in this country to be able to turn on taps to get it whenever we want. There are countries where children spend most of their day fetching water. We had a collection of buckets and everyone tried lifting them to see how heavy they were when filled with water.

We also talked about the way some places on earth are changing because people have acted in ways which change the climate, so rivers run dry, or there are sudden floods. Also animals and plants die out.

We wanted to make the adults in church think about what they could do to look after the environment. We have told them about carbon footprints, but not many of them have filled in their Creationtide Basket leaflets.

When we went back into church, one child went in alone first and asked the adults to think for two minutes about a lovely place they enjoyed when they were a child. Then, as they thought, the other children walked round the church in silence, carrying buckets of water, which they placed on the altar. This is what we said to them:

Here is a poster which Shivani designed during our liturgy.

Then we told the adults other things we had discovered during this week's liturgy.

We had found out how much water it takes to grow a kilo of fruit, to keep a sheep alive and for the lifetime of a cow! We ourselves are two thirds water!

Gail has filled in her Creationtide sheet. She is a keen gardener and has two compost heaps, so she doesn't burn or throw away waste. She recycles by using old tights cut up into strips to tie up plants in her garden. She has planted a lot of vegetables for next year, so she won't need them to travel to her in lorries using up petrol. They will not arrive wrapped in plastic packaging. She also has a water butt to collect rainwater.

Here are some more tips for the garden:

During the liturgy, one of the older girls made up this clever acrostic.

We laughed when we read the sheet Bob had filled in- it said he couldn't remember the last time he had a bath....but he takes showers- it uses far less water to take a shower than to have a bath. Bob serves up the teas and coffees after mass. He told us later that several children had pulled his leg about never having baths. He seems clean when he hands out the biscuits!

Here is a poster produced by Peter Coles for UNESCO- if you would like to see a high resolution version, please contact photobank@unesco.org

Children's Liturgy, Sunday October 4th 2009.

The FIFTH WEEK of CREATIONTIDE:

The Feast of SAINT FRANCIS.

Today, all the Creationtide baskets were placed round the altar. Here are some of them:

We wanted to remind everyone about the things we had asked them to think over during all the weeks of Creationtide. Because today is the Feast of Saint Francis, who loved animals, we thought we would tell a story in a way he would have liked. It is based on a Kenyan Myth.

During the liturgy, the children practised acting out the story, whilst three of them were the narrators. Derry became a wonderful elephant; Leonard a dramatic Rain God; Alex a noisy rooster; Grace a trembling tortoise; Eve a fierce lion and so on. The youngest children carried their soft toy animals, whilst others were a pond, a cloud, trees and greenery.

When we had practised the mime, we talked about how it helped us to think about the way we treat the world as individual people, as groups and as countries.

As we processed back into church, we carried the Saint Francis cross we made last year. It is made out of branches and decorated with birds which we made, also.

We mimed the play and told the story. Here is our prayer which came at the end:

Here are our animals round the pond:

and the baskets round the altar:

Next, we asked Father John to read out the nominations for the Greenest Person in the Parish. The nominations were as follows, in no particular order:

Bob Cave, who cannot remember the last time he had a bath.....because he takes showers;
Paula Taylor, who cleans using natural materials;
Gail Gray, who has two compost heaps;
Margaret Grieff, who has a solar panel;
Rita, who cooks all her vegetables in one pan.

And the winner was.....Paula Taylor! She was asked to come forward for her prize.

Fr. John told her that all the parish ideas will soon be appearing on the children's website under a new section called:
"PAULA'S PARISH POLISH".

Later, she wrote us a letter:
Dear Children and Leaders,
What a wonderful surprise to win the Creationtide survey. I was absolutely shocked. The bag and contents are all so lovely and very useful. I shall look forward to using them all and cooking the lovely marrow. I have hung the little bag made out of newspaper in my kitchen, to remind me to stay "GREEN" and when any visitors remark on it I shall be able to tell them all about St. Joseph's liturgy. Look forward to the website feature "Paula's Parish Polish". I will be very happy to provide more tips! Thank you all.
Love,
Paula Taylor XXX

(Paula normally goes to mass on a Saturday evening, but we had hinted to her friend, Olive, that her presence was needed on Sunday morning. Olive and Olga conspired to get her there ...at some risk to everyone's patience..."Keep your hair on!" she had said at one point. Well done to all three!

Children's Liturgy, Sunday, October 11th 2009.

October 11th 2009

We listened to today's Gospel: Mark 10:17-30. We heard that a man asked Jesus how he might have eternal life. First of all, Jesus told the man to obey God's commandments. Then, knowing the man was rich, Jesus told him how hard it was for a rch man to enter the Kingdom of God. He told the man to give his money to the poor.

There is nothing wrong with being rich, except that it makes us think we can manage on our own. Jesus tells us that it is better to trust God than to be rich.

We made our own gold and silver coins. On them, we have written all the things we thank God for.

Children's Liturgy, Sunday, October 18th 2009.

October 18th 2009

We listened to today's Gospel, in which James and John ask Jesus if they can sit on either side of him when he comes into his glory.(Mark 10:35-45) Jesus tells them they do not understand what it is they ask- he hints that he is to suffer and die. He explains that he has come to earth not to enjoy being important and powerful, but to serve everyone, even to the point of giving up his life for them.

We talked about the way we all like to be important sometimes; or at least to sit next to the most important person, so we can bask in their glory. Have you ever been to a birthday party and hoped you would sit next to the birthday girl or boy at tea-time, so you would be the best, most important friend?

Jesus tells us that whoever wants to come first must be a servant to all, take care of everyone.

We listened to the words of the hymn, 'The Servant King', by Graham Kendrick, trying to explore the meaning of the images in each verse. Then we divided into 5 groups, each group making a poster of their own interpretation of the words.

'From heaven You came, helpless babe
Entered our world, Your glory veiled
Not to be served but to serve
And give your life that we might live

This is our God, the Servant King;
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to the Servant King.

There in the garden of tears
My heavy load He chose to bear;
His heart with sorrow was torn,
Yet not my will, but Yours he said.

Come see His hands and His feet,
The scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered

So let us learn now to serve,
And in our lives enthrone Him
Each other's needs to prefer
For it is Christ we're serving.

Jesus,
You are our great God, far greater than any of us; but you died on the cross for us, because you thought we were worth it. Help us to see that the people around us are great, too, and worth serving as you did.
Amen

Children's Liturgy Sunday October 25th and Sunday November 1st 2009

The CHILDREN'S MASS

Sunday October 25th 2009.
In today's Gospel- Mark 10:46-52- Jesus cures Bartimaeus, a blind man.
In our liturgy today, we talked about God helping us to see and understand the right choices to make as we journey through life. Also, to see and understand new skills, talents and situations.

Today we have all had the pleasure of learning a new song in a different language.

We have learnt a new song to be part of the Children's Mass for next week. In children's liturgy we have been working together to prepare prayers and music to be used in mass. We are looking forward to celebrating a children's mass on the first Sunday of every month.

For our first Children's Mass, we have invited the Leicester Zimbabwean choir to join us. They wanted to come to share prayers for Father David Everitt, from our parish, who has been working with Mother of Peace Community in Zimbabwe. You can read all about this if you click on 'Mother of Peace' at the side of this page. Father David is ill with cancer at the moment, so we are all concerned about him, and want to pray for him.

Some choir members came to our liturgy today to teach us a song in Shona, the language they would speak in Zimbabwe, so we can join in next Sunday. We learnt 'Hosanna Kudenga', which means 'Hosanna in heaven'.

Jesus, thank you for all your gifts. Thank you especially that we can see the world around us and that we can learn new skills. Amen

Jesus, sometimes when things get difficult, we cannot see what we should do. Help us to remember that you are with us at these times. Help us to see things clearly again. Amen

On November the first, we celebrated our first Children's Mass.
We were delighted that Fr. David was well enough to be able to join us, in spite of it's being a very wet and windy day!

We were also delighted to welcome the Zimbabwean choir, knowing that their music would be truly wonderful- as it proved to be!

Our children had written bidding prayers. Here are some of them:

Dear God, please help the places in the world where there is fighting and where there is no food or water for people. Help us to share what we have with others and not to fight over little things when we have so much. Amen.

Dear God, thank you for people we love, and love itself. Thank you for giving us trust in you. Thank you for life and for times when we have fun. Thank you for always being by our side and walking with us in hard times. Finally, thank you for our family and friends, who, though we might sometimes find them annoying, help and guide us through life, just like you. Amen.

We prayed for Fr. David and ask anybody who reads this page to say a prayer for him. Fr. John told us about how they first met, when Fr. David had been working previously in Africa and longed to go back. Now he longs to return again to Zimbabwe.

Angel, one of our children, who has been coming to our liturgy for quite a few years, organised a play based on today's Gospel- Matthew 5:1-12.Our children acted the play very dramatically, with Fr. John managing to keep up with them whilst holding the mocrophone- just.

Thank you very much to the Zimbabwean choir for joining us and providing wonderful singing and music.

Children's Liturgy Sunday November 8th 2009

Sunday November 8th 2009.

After hearing our Gospel story today, we have been thinking about the work of Cafod and Christian Aid in the developing countries to help people to build happier and healthier lives.

We asked each other how much pocket money we got. Most of us did not think that we got a lot. But after a discussion, we realised just how much we could buy if we saved it up for a month to help our favourite charities.

We could buy:

50 fruit trees for £5;

Help someone to read for £10;

£10 could buy 80 people a nutritious meal;

£10 could also buy a vegetable garden;

Shelter and emergency kit for £15;

For £15 for a goat, we would also ,in the long-term, be getting milk, fertilizer and off kids to sell off!

Finally, for clean water we could buy buckets with lids for £5.

So no matter how little we can give to help, a small contribution can make a huge difference to a family's life.

Lord Jesus, you spot the kindness of everyone and you see that even the smallest gift is of great value.
Help us never to forget that, and to be generous in the little things we can do and give.
Amen

Children's Liturgy Sunday November 15th 2009.

Sunday November 15th 2009.

In our liturgy today, we have talked about trust. It is important to have people in our lives whom we can trust and it is good to be trusted by others.

We have filled in pictures to show those we trust and why we trust them.

We know we can always trust God to be close to us and help us in times of trouble.

Dear God,
Please help us and guide us when we have to make important decisions.
We know we can trust that you will listen, especially when things are very hard for us.
Amen.

Children's Liturgy Sunday, November 22nd 2009.

November 22nd 2009.

Christ the Universal King.

Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Sunday before Advent.
Pope Pius the Eleventh set up the Feast of Christ the King in 1925, because he wanted world leaders to respect Jesus, and to remind everyone that Jesus must be King of our hearts.
In between World War One and World War Two, many of the leaders of Europe were trying to persuade people to turn away from the churches, or not to believe in God at all. Some countries were ruled by dictators, who tried to influence beliefs about who really mattered, which human beings should be seen as important and who should be used as slaves, or, worse still, not treated as human at all.

In today's Gospel (John 18:33-37), Jesus has been handed over to the Roman governor, Pilate. Pilate asks Jesus if he is the King of the Jews, because he has heard that some people are calling Jesus by this title. Jesus replies that his kingship does not come from this world.
But he agrees he is a king. He says," For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth".
Jesus is saying that he has not come to use the kind of power that Pilate uses, but to tell people about God, because he is sent by God.

To remember this, we made crowns out of paper and laurel leaves.

This one turned out too small, so we gave it to one of Frankie's friends!

Jesus, please help us to use your power by caring about other people. We know that if we try to force others to do what we want all the time, they might not realise that you came to tell us God loves us.
Amen

Autumn 2009