Worship and Prayer Statement

‘God is not a stranger in the Catholic School and prayer is seen as an essential part of each school day, with the celebration of the Eucharist being the most important occasion for the whole school community to express its belief as a faith community.’

Our Catholic Schools – Their Identity and their Purpose Red Book

3^rd Edition June 2010

We aim to:

· Provide opportunities for the development of a personal relationship with God

· Enable the spiritual development of each child to flourish

· Provide a good experience of liturgy

· Enable children to become familiar with the traditional forms of prayer used in the Catholic Church as well as experiencing a variety of formal and informal prayer settings

· Experience a sense of belonging to a worshipping community

Guidelines for Worship and Prayer

At St Ignatius all children are welcomed to participate in daily worship. We gather together at Masses, liturgies, and through whole-school and in-class worship.

Our collective worship is based on the 4-part structure:

· Gather

· Listening

· Responding

· Going Forth

We pray regularly throughout the school day and have opportunity to reflect and be still in our Prayer Garden .

We also have a Prayer Wall, where children are invited to write prayers and add them to the wall to be offered to God.