It is really important that we spend some time in prayer every day. This can help us to feel closer to God and can also help us reflect on the things that we are thankful for, sorry for or the things we would like some help with. God is always here to listen to us, no matter where we are or what we want to talk to him about!

There are lots of different prayers and resources that you can explore and participate in each week in your homes. You can do these activities on your own or you can get your family involved too!

There are enough activities to do a different activity each day of the week- one day you might feel like exploring some scripture, one day you might feel like watching a video and on another day you might feel like learning a song! There are so many ways in which we can pray and explore our faith.

We hope you enjoy exploring the resources and have a great week!

Remember to comment in the comments box below to let us know how you are getting on 🙂

The word of the week is Celebrate! 

We are in our 4th week of Eastertide and that means it is still party season! Easter is all about being joyful and celebrating the new life that Jesus’ resurrection has given us.

However, we are experiencing a very strange and uncertain time at the moment and it can be very easy to become overwhelmed with emotions, as well as focus on the things that we have little or no control over. We are missing lots of things- our friends, our family, our schools and our freedom.

BUT it is times like these when our faith is most important. In order to get through this period we need to find the joy where we can. There is always something to be thankful for and to celebrate.

That’s why on our prayer resources this week we are going to celebrate lots of different things- no matter how great or small! We hope this will bring us some joy during this time!

Have a great week and celebrate that God loves you!

We are in our 4th week of Eastertide– let’s see what is going on in the Church’s calendar this week!

Join Tom from the Briars with live guests and prayer every Monday morning at 9:30am, to help us stay connected and start our week in a positive way. If you miss the live stream you can still catch up on NDCYS Live YouTube channel. Hit subscribe and set a reminder for every Monday! We’ll see you there 🙂

Every Wednesday The Briars Youth Service are leading us through a series called ‘Making sense of it all’.

During this uncertain time, it can be easy to get worked up and anxious about what is happening in the world. This is completely natural. Now we have just entered the season of Easter which is all about being joyful and giving praise and thanks to the Lord- how can we marry these two emotions together?

You can take part in the Big Schools Get Together that happened last Friday if you missed it! Get your pen and paper ready for a quiz! Well done to everyone who took part on Friday- it was amazing to hear so many of your team names and shout outs!

Every Friday evening at 6pm, Naomi from The Briars hosts the Friday Night Live show with guests, games, reflection and prayer. You can join us live at 6pm or watch previous episodes on demand on NDCYS YouTube Channel. We hope to see you there at 6pm!

If you would like to reflect and explore some of the Scripture that links this week’s theme ‘Celebrate’ ‘Celebration’ click on the links below!

Psalm 150:1-6 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+150%3A1-6+&version=GNT

John 3:16 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+3%3A16&version=GNT

1 Corinthians 10:31 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+10%3A31&version=GNT

Psalm 118:24 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+118%3A24&version=GNT

Philippians 4:4 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4%3A4&version=GNT

You can explore this scripture in your own Bibles if you have one at home or you can use the below links to search the scripture!

Open Bible

Bible Gateway

We are in our 4th week of Eastertide and that means it is still party season! Easter is all about being joyful and celebrating the new life that Jesus’ resurrection has given us.

Listen to the song below called ‘Celebrate’ which is all about celebrating and praising God!

As you listen to the song, have a dance and spread some joy! Can you think of different actions to go with the song?

The lyrics tell us some of the different ways we can praise God- with our hands up, in the morning, in the evening, by singing or by dancing!

Have a great day and keep smiling because God loves you! 🙂

Dear Lord,

We thank you for everything you do for us.

Thank you for being our best friend.

Thank you for always being there to listen to us.

Thank you for loving and forgiving us.

Thank you for giving us life and everything we have- our friends, our family, our home and our school. 

Lord we thank you.

Response: Lord we thank you. 

Something that definitely needs celebrating this week is the amazing charity work that continues to take place.

Even during these difficult times there are loads of workers who are sacrificing their time and health to care for the vulnerable and in need.

Today we are going to think about what we can do to support those in need.

But before we do this, we have a very special update from our friends in Bunkpurugu…

Building Hope in Bunkpurugu 

It is amazing to see the progress of the school that we are supporting in Bunkpurugu!

How proud does it make you feel that your hard work and donations have helped build a whole school? A place where children can feel safe, shelter, explore and learn.

Think about how fortunate we are to have our own amazing school buildings. It is times like these, when we cannot go into school, that we really miss our schools and appreciate everything we have! Our friends, our teachers, our school books, our playgrounds, our pens and our safe place.

Although we have the school building finished in Bunkpurugu, we still need to continue to fundraise to fill the school with wonderful equipment and resources for the children to learn with!

Have a think about what we can do at home and when we go back to school to continue raising money for the community in Bunkpurugu…

Can you create a poster with ideas of how we could raise money?

We’d love to know any ideas you have- so let us know in the comments below or email us!

Dear Lord, 

We pray for our friends in Bunkpurugu. 

Help us to be kind and generous and share what we have, so that we can continue to make a positive difference to their lives. 

Amen 

In Matthew’s Gospel we hear a list of Jesus’ teachings that today we call the ‘Beatitudes’.

Jesus had been walking with his disciples, he was always teaching them and telling them stories. More and more people began to follow Jesus and listen to his teachings because they could sense there was something special about him.

This was one of those days and people had been following and listening to Jesus. Jesus decided to stop on a hillside with his disciples. This is known as the Sermon on the Mount.

When talking to the crowd on the mountain, Jesus uses the word blessed a lot.

To be blessed is to be happy.  Life doesn’t always go our way, sometimes we get sick or someone we love can get hurt and of course this doesn’t make us happy but being blessed is being full of joy on the inside even if things aren’t perfect because God is in our heart.

During this time it is more important than ever that we pray for everyone in our world.

There are many people who are sick, lonely or have lost someone that they love.

One way that we can support them and care for them is by praying for them.

We invite you to watch the video below which reflects on the Beatitudes during this time and all the people around the world who need our prayers.

 

 

Dear Lord, 

We pray for everyone around the world who is affected by the virus. 

We thank you for everyone who is working so hard to look after the sick and vulnerable. 

We ask that you be with everyone who is struggling, may they find comfort in your love.

Amen. 

Become a Missionary Disciple…

This term, every school across the Nottingham Diocese will be exploring the theme ‘Missionary Discipleship’!

How can we play an active role in the wider community and be the face of Christ for others?

 

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

(Matthew 28:19)

Take a Challenge from below!

  1. Read a Bible story every weekend or ask a grown up to read one to you.
  1. Tell your favourite Bible story to a friend or family member.
  1. Ask a friend to share with you a Bible or religious story that is special to them.
  1. Make a poster about Jesus and put it on your bedroom window so people can see it.
  1. Learn the names of Jesus’ Twelve Disciples. Who is your favourite disciple and why?
  1. Say a prayer for someone who is struggling, ill, or felling sad.
  1. Find a new charity to help.
  1. Ask for help to live stream a Mass. There are links to different Mass times and parishes on our home page!
  1. Look for an opportunity every day to do an act of kindness for someone.

 

10. Be joyful – Jesus loves you!

One of our Chaplains – Joe is going to lead us through a type of prayer called meditation. This may be your first time doing meditation or you may have done it before.

Before you start the video, try and find a space in your house or garden in the quiet where you can relax. You may find it comfortable to sit down or you may want to lie down.

Listen to the words Joe is saying and spend some time in the quiet being still and knowing that God is with you.

 

Every week Issie (Lay chaplain at Trinity and Catherine McAuley Hub) is going to teach us a new song!

 

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!