Year 7 Spirituality Day at St Mark's Secondary School

It was a privilege to be part of welcoming the new Year 7s to their school at St Mark’s this month through an SCM Schools Spirituality Day, and to introduce them to their linked church.

We talked about how the church is here for them and that it is their church, somewhere they can come to find welcome, peace and a safe space.

Then we talked together about what the church is for, who it's for and how it exists to reflect the love of Jesus out into the community. The children spent time designing a new church that is all about putting love into their community.

We finished the day by having a prayer space so everyone could have a quiet moment to reflect as they begin their journey into Secondary School. The prayer spaces have stations to pray and think about how they are part of the community of God's love, to pray for their own communities, to think of people they know who they would like to pray for and to connect each other's names together to show how they all belong to one loving community at school and also with the church. It's a great opportunity for the children to take a moment, think about themselves and how they relate to other people, and a chance for the local church to really bless the school by providing the space and time for this to happen.

It gives the children knowledge that they are welcomed and loved in a space that maybe they thought might not be for them.