Through a separate Liturgy of the Word for children, we aim to introduce children of infant school age to important aspects of God's message. We try to do this by allowing them to celebrate God's word at their own pace, giving them the opportunity to offer their thoughts and reflections, following the pattern of normal congregational liturgy. We hope that they gain an experience of being part of a community, the parish, and the feeling that their thoughts and ideas are valued by that community. By using symbols and movements of the liturgy we endeavour to help them discover how the Word of God has meaning in their daily lives. We hope that by offering a Children's Liturgy of the Word, we can help support families with young children in the parish.
We would like to extend the invitation to all children of priamry school age to come and join us for Children's Liturgy. If you have any queries please contact one of us and we would be happy to discuss them with you.
Contact Persons:
- At Our Lady of Lourdes: Caroline Grindley – infants Gillian Farrell – juniors
- St Joseph's: Claire Hancock
What happens during the Children's Liturgy?
The children gather in the Church and begin the Mass with everyone else. After the Sign of the Cross and the Greeting, the priest hands the Children's Lectionary to one of the leaders and the children process to the Seed Room Hall while a hymn is sung. The Liturgy in the Hall usually includes the following:
- Time for reflection/penitential rite, using focal point display;
- Gloria (not during Advent or Lent ) ;
- Reading ;
- Gospel Acclamation and Gospel reading ;
- Discussion and focussed activity ;
- Prayer.
The children then join the rest of the people in Church by leading the Offertory procession, often with some visual display from their activity but always with a brief explanation from one of the leaders to link the childrens' celebration with the Sunday Mass. The children gather on the sanctuary for the Eucharistic Prayer which is one of those approved for Masses with children.
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