All-age service: To boldly go ....

Background

This service could be held on a Sunday leading up to a new school year, but it could equally well be used in school towards the beginning of term. It focuses particularly on the resources God has given us to cope with new challenges and the confidence this should give us in any new situations we face.

Preparation

You will need to prepare some A4 sized footprints (about 9-10) for the first activity; several large bowls half-filled with water; enough pebbles for each member of the congregation to have one; some leaves, flowers, feathers (enough for everyone to have one) and a large sheet of paper or card with a tree drawn on in pencil. Place double-sided sticky tape inside the picture of the tree.

Hymns and songs

I am a new creation
Father God, I wonder
How great thou art
All heaven declares
Be still and know

Gather

Call to worship

God who made all things:
be here with us now.
God who promised to bless his people:
be here with us now.
God who entered the world as a child to live, learn and grow as we do:
be here with us now.
God, our God, draw near to us and help us to worship you in Spirit and in truth.
Amen.

Opening activity

Draw a number of footprints on A4 sheets of paper. Place them at the front of the worship space to make a path but make some of the ‘steps’ from one to another bigger than others (including at least one ‘unreachable’ footprint). Invite a couple of people to try to make the journey across the steps. Give lots of praise, whether they make it or not. Ask people to think about where they are on their journey. Are they about to take another regular step or a large one. How does that feel? Invite them to join in a prayer of confession.

A prayer of confession

Loving God,
for the times when we don’t trust you to keep us safe:
Lord, forgive us.
For the times when we our worries keep us from seeing other people’s problems:
Lord, forgive us .
For the times when our feelings make us act badly towards others:
Lord, forgive us.

May God, our maker and our redeemer
have mercy upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins
and keep us in eternal life.        
Amen.

Open the Word 

Reading: Genesis 1.26-31

Talk

Project or hold up some images of famous people such as Justin Bieber, Andy Murray, Nick Clegg, David Beckham, Sportacus, Tracy Beaker (or other children’s character) etc. and ask the congregation who each one is. You could split the congregation in two and make it into a competition.

Each image shows us something of what the person is like. It doesn’t show us the whole of the person but enough that we can recognise each of them.

The Bible tells us that God made people in God’s own image. We can see something of God in each one of us. So what is God like?

God is Creator, so we know God is creative, powerful and intelligent. 
The Bible tells us that God has promised to be near us and to hear our prayers, so we know that God is kind, caring and loving.

Just as we can see enough in each photo to recognise Becks or Justin Bieber, etc., we can see enough in each other to recognise God. He has made each one of us creative, strong and intelligent in our own ways. He has made us caring, kind and loving. As we start a new school term and go to new places, meeting new people, we go with confidence because we are people who are made in God’s image. We have to work to bring that image out. It isn’t always easy but nothing can change the fact that that is who we are. Even better, God promises to go with us to help us to be the creative, strong, caring, kind people he has made you to be. Wherever we go, whatever we face – nothing and no one can take that away from us.

Respond

Prayers

• Fill a couple of large bowls with water and place them where you would like people to make their response (several stations may help with the practicalities of people leaving their seats).
• Pass a pebble to each person in the congregation, asking them to hold onto it. Suggest that people take one pebble and call to mind something that they are nervous or stressed about whilst holding the pebble.
• Invite people to place their concerns into God’s care by placing their stone in one of the bowls and to see how God’s peace is big enough to absorb it. Point out that the ripples each stone makes all eventually subside and the water becomes calm again.
• When everyone who wants to has placed their pebble in a bowl, lead in the following prayer:

Creator God,
when we are worried or frightened:
give us your peace.
When we face something new or different:
give us your peace.
For all those who are about to start a new stage in their lives:
give them your peace.
For those who work to help us at school
and are getting things ready now:
give them your peace.
For those around the world who feel frightened or lonely:
give them your peace.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Send out

Invite the congregation to take a leaf, flower or feather from the baskets you’ve prepared. Remind them that the great Creator who made each detail in the item they’re holding also made each one of them – and made them to be like him. Ask them to come up and stick their flower/feather/leaf on to the tree picture at the front as an act of giving themselves into God’s hands; to be a part of his work and his kingdom as they take the next step on their journey. Remind them that they are always part of something larger than themselves and that together God can make us into something beautiful.

Final prayer

Creator God,
thank you that you made us in your image,
strong, kind, good and imaginative.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit
and enable us to be the people
you made us to be
wherever we find ourselves
and however weak we might feel.
Send us out and bless us
with the certain knowledge
that you are walking with us
each step of the way.
Amen.