Prayer and Liturgy

Prayer and Liturgy at St Gerard's Catholic Primary & Nursery School

At St Gerard’s we strive to provide high quality experiences of prayer and liturgy that support pupils’ spiritual development. These communal acts of prayer and the liturgical celebrations of the Church form part of everyday life in our school. Every child is given the opportunity to pray by giving praise and thanks to God using traditional prayers of the Catholic Church and many other sources of prayer. We encourage the children to nurture a relationship with God through words, symbols, song, gestures and silence. Prayer is such an integral part of school life and takes place in a variety of contexts other than those specifically structured.

Central to our prayer life in St Gerard’s is daily Prayer and Liturgy in each class and Key Stage Prayer and Liturgy that takes place each week. Children participate in a variety of ways including praying, reading and singing. They also contribute to the preparation of displays to emphasise a specific focus of the worship. Other opportunities for prayer arise within the classroom at the start of each day, before and after lunch and again at the end of each day. Prayer in the classrooms and in assemblies always includes use of symbols and a focal point for prayer which is appropriate to the liturgical season, for example, Advent, Lent, Easter or Ordinary Time. During all these times of prayer, both staff and pupils are involved in leading and participating. The children are fortunate to be able to experience the richness of the liturgical life of the church in many ways throughout the year such as the Stations of the Cross during Lent and a joyful Carol Service at Christmas.

Our worship focus areas:

Worship Warriors

We have a fantastic group of Worship Warriors who support with whole school worships and assemblies. They creating focuses, choose scripture and ensure that children are given opportunities to fully participate. They live out Jesus' mission through their leadership.

Whole School Celebrations

In addition to Prayer and Liturgy, we also have a variety of masses that take place throughout the year. These are celebrated by our parish priest, Father Mark Moran, in order to further help their understanding of the richness of the Eucharist. Every year, we begin with a Welcome Mass for the whole school and this is an opportunity for children from Reception to Year 6 to come together and celebrate the beginning of a new school year through prayer, song and communion. We also have masses and services throughout the year to mark key events such as Advnet, Ash Wednesday and Lent.