Inspired by Christ - worship resource produced for St James CofE Primary School.
Beginning in 2012 we had developed a three-year worship plan for St James school. At some point, either on this website or elsewhere, further information will be made available. The original notes utilised the school's seven core values but in 2024 it was decided to add the value of “Service”. This was after I had retired as Vicar of St James, but I was asked to produce a new module and returned to deliver unit 2.
The notes had arisen in part out of frustration with resources produce for school worship which often handle the Bible in a very superficial way, and sometimes in a completely misleading way.
The aim was not to produce a new resource for teachers on how to deliver worship but to mainly provide a Biblical background (in a common format) for each unit, though sometimes with accompanying suggestions. The teacher, or whoever leads worship, ought to be the experts on delivery but the aim was to help them, and hope that what the children are being taught is faithful to the Word of God.
The half-term for which the unit was intended required about 18 units but there was a change of plan and fewer weeks so the final notes are for 10 units with the expectation that this would be followed by people from the local community who are involved in distinctively Chirstian service to talk about what they, or their organisation do.
In the documents produced for the staff at St James there is a second page to each unit. Here the teacher could fill in an overview of how they delivered the worship to be saved for future use. Many were very good at filling this in, other, including me, did not do it so assiduously. I have therefore made no attempt at this point to add any of that material.
In due course I hope that we will make the whole resource available to others, which we were encouraged to do, twice, by SIAMS, the Church school inspectors.
The title for the worship notes comes from the second half of the school motto “Committed to Excellence, Inspired by Christ.” This was deliberately Christ focussed and consisting of two clauses to reflect St James church vision “To win people for Christ and to build them up in Christ”.
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Introduction - intended to be read by those delivering worship.
Serving God
Unit 1 - Jesus told us to Serve God
Unit 2 - Service and Compassion
Unit 3 - Failing to serve and a Servant Promised
Unit 5- Inspired by Christ - to serve
Biblical Examples
Unit 6 - The followers of Jesus were servants
Unit 7 - Jesus’ giving of Himself
Unit 8 - Proclaiming the way to be saved
Historical Examples
Other historical examples had been considered but the term was too short to need them.
Serving God today
No notes were produced for these as guests, or staff members, were invited to speak about specific ministries of service which are clearly continuing to be Inspired by Christ. (Sadly many ministries which began that way have, with time, been shaped more by unbiblical teaching and secular values.)
Some of the pictures on these files will have copyright restrictions if they were to be published for gain. I can provide copyright information where I have been able to find it.