South Africa, Japan and Mexico classes visited St Mary's Church on Friday morning for worship. We began our service by singing 'Jubilate Deo', which means 'Be joyful in the Lord' in Latin.
Fr Paul spoke to the children about the importance of November as a month of Remembrance. November 1st is All Saints Day, where we celebrate famous Christians who showed faith in Jesus and inspired others to follow him. We talked about the saints’ days which are acknowledged on different dates throughout the year and were able to see the school banners which are currently on display in church. We also looked at the statue of St Joseph and pictures of St Richard, the Sussex Saint, and St Mary, Patron Saint of both our church and school.
November 2nd is All Souls’ Day, which is a day of prayer when we remember loved ones who have died. Fr Paul shared a Bible reading which was delivered at the All Souls service earlier this week. We then spoke about Remembrance Day on November 11th where we remember those who sacrificed so much to serve their country and are still showing courage in conflicts around the world today.
As we went out into the churchyard, a butterfly landed on Fr Paul's robes and we took time to reflect on this as a symbol of hope. Finally, we looked at the War Memorial where a section of the Remembrance Sunday service will be held next weekend. We finished our service with The Lord's Prayer.