AIM:
To reflect on:
- How the weather affects our moods
- How wild and elemental weather can be seen as the stirring of creation...
- ...and perhaps part of an awe-some energy of the Creator.
This act of worship is an 'occasion' piece for use in suitably bad weather (but not in total school closure!) with a year group in KS3 or 4. It can also be adapted to tutor group use.
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PREPARATION: |
- Make a video clip from the news to illustrate recent / ongoing wild weather.
- Find pupil readers to rehearse.
- Make an OHP for the two poems below (desirable but not essential).
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STILLING (optional in full year group): |
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Close your eyes, and as you try to breathe more slowly, picture a snow scene in the countryside after a fresh snow fall (pause)... the trees, the roads, fields, the moor... try to remember what you might have felt seeing that when you were five or six years old (pause)... sights... sounds in the snow... making fresh footprints... what you felt about it as an infant...
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DEVELOPMENT: |
| TUTOR: |
Did you know that sometimes people overseas joke about how the British are always talking about the weather? Do you think they're right? (Q & A) Why do we do it? (Q & A, then show video clip if available, and / or discuss recent / current weather)
Where were you during all this? (gale / violent thunderstorm, severe snow, etc.). Anyone got a story to tell? (receive some stories before changing emphasis)
Do you think the weather affects our mood? Think about 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' (S.A.D. - perhaps hold a short Q & A) and think about when you were at primary school. Do you remember classes being affected by windy days? (Q & A or group discussion) What weather distracts you most in class now?
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| PUPIL READER 1: |
In 1774 the poet William Cowper (pronounced 'Cooper') wrote this as the first verse of a hymn which is still sung in some churches:
'God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform,
He plants his footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.'
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| PUPIL READER 2: |
Here's a short poem in full, written in 2005:
'Supernovas splurging,
Star births, star deaths,
Planets white hot, ice cold,
Asteroid impact explosions,
Earthquake, tornado and fire,
Creation ongoing, destructive,
Energy unending
No pretending:
God, no cosy God, 'rides upon the storm'.'
(Copyright obtained for use in collective worship)
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| TUTOR: |
Let's think about the recent/current weather and the powerful forces at work in the universe and our own response to the question: is this a small part of the creator God at work?
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(Pause, dismissal)
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PRAYER Optional, for Christian foundation schools: |
'Lord, teach us see you in all things, to glimpse your awesome creative power but also to feel your loving kindness. Amen.'
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