Collective Worship

Nature of Worship

“Worship is concerned with reverence or veneration paid to a divine being or power.” (Circular 1/94) Worship is concerned with the honour and glory of God.

Collective worship celebrates the presence of God in our daily lives and community. We give thanks and praise to God.  It is our response to Gods love and to the love of Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

We have daily act of worship for all pupils in Our Lady and St Philomena's. Our worship can take place at different times in the day, in a variety of contexts.

At Our Lady and St Philomena's we seek to be inclusive of everybody however we respect the right of parents to withdraw their child from collective worship if they wish. Suitable supervision is provided for such children but no additional work is set for them in this time.

Collective Worship in Our School

Collective Worship provides opportunities for pupils and staff to come together to worship God.

Collective Worship can be led by pupils, staff or visitors. It can be offered for a class, a year group, Key Stage or whole school.

Worship is seen as central to the life of the school and our response to God’s word.

Collective Worship takes account of all who share in it, these include

• Our community in Church
• Those who experience school as their only experience of Church
• Those from other faith traditions

It is an experience which all can learn and develop from each other. We need to provide time, space and the correct environment for reflection and meditation to take place. The Golden Room at our school is a good resource for Collective Worship.

Collective Worship led by a Year 6 pupil

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.

Romans 12:6