Collective Worship
Worship at St Matthew's school
Living out our vision through Collective Worship
Collective Worship in our school is a highly valued time which is a specially set apart time in the school day. The whole school community gather together in a time that is honouring and worthy to God. The planning of our Collective Worship ensures that the school community has the opportunity to arrive for worship prepared with the right attitude, engage with their own spirituality and learn from Biblical teachings and leave feeling refreshed and inspired. Our Collective Worship is timetabled to be at the beginning of the school day, so all who worship with us can go forward with their day fuelled by the love of God and teachings of Jesus and sharing that love by valuing all of God’s children. We believe that all people, are made in the image of God and are unconditionally loved by God. All people, child or staff member with a Christian faith, a faith from another religion or who hold no religious beliefs are fully embraced and valued during Collective Worship. Everyone is equal and we treat each other with dignity and respect. Our school is a place where everyone should be able to flourish in a loving and hospitable community.
Worship can be an energetic praising time, but can also be a time to breathe; a time when all who come together can find a
space in stillness and quietness to reflect on their own spirituality, values and place in the world. Just as breathing is vital to
survival, worship is a significant and sacred time in school; ensuring the valued time allows all to ‘breathe’ through our collective
worship.
Collective Worship gives the school community the opportunity to:
❖ Engage in an act of community, with the community involved in the planning, leading and evaluation of collective
worship to improve and develop practice.
❖ Express praise and thanksgiving to God together.
❖ Reflect on the character of God and on the teachings of Christ through Biblical texts.
❖ Affirm Christian values and attitudes.
❖ Celebrate special times in the Christian calendar
❖ Experience and respond to Anglican traditions and practices, appreciating that Christians worship in different ways.
❖ Explore the big questions of life and respond to national events, appreciating the relevance of faith in today’s world.
❖ Foster respect and deepen spiritual awareness through experience of prayer, stillness, worship and reflection.
❖ Share each other’s joys and challenges through valuing all God’s children.
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God. It is He, who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100: 1-4
Our whole school community involves all pupils as well as staff, unless pupils have been withdrawn by parents/carers or unless
staff members have exercised their right to withdraw from acts of worship. It can also include church visitors and members of the
clergy, parents and carers, visitors and members of the local community.
At the end of each school day we thank Our Lord for the day He has given us and the love that He has shown us by using our school prayer to talk to him.