Christingle assembly resource Within this booklet are three assembly ideas to use with your school to engage them in the themes of Christingle. Assembly 1: Shining light into the darkness with The Children’s Society Christingle (Page 2) Assembly 2: Helping Hands (Page 5) Assembly 3: A Christingle in a rainbow (Page 8)

2Assembly 1: Shining light into the darkness with The

Children’s Society Christingle • Suitable for key stage two • Follow up with a PHSE lesson on runaways (a quiz on young runaways can be found in the ‘Games and Activities’ booklet) • Curriculum links: RE, PHSE, Citizenship Preparation and materials You will need: • A large candle (the local church might have one you can borrow) or/and a Christingle (real or model) • Set of cards displaying the following words: Love, hate, life, death, friend, enemy, anger, self control, war, peace, hit, hug, include, exclude, ignore, talk to, stealing, respect others property. Assembly: • Display the large candle and Christingle at the front of the hall/room. • Explain that Christingle is a Christian festival of light. All celebrations of light are about how light can chase away darkness. • Ask ‘How do you get rid of darkness during the night?’ Answers could include street lights, stars or sunrise. • Ask ‘How would you chase away darkness when a little girl or boy is frightened in the night? Answers could include ‘put the light on’. • Explain that the only way to get rid of darkness is through light. Christians refer to Jesus as ‘the light of the world’ who came to rid the world of dark things, such as hatred, jealousy,

3bitterness and replace them with love, forgiveness and life

forever. • Ask the children to think about opposites. This is where the cards can come in. Show one of the cards and ask the children to guess what the opposite would be. Place the cards in two piles as you work your way through them, one positive and one negative. You will have one ‘dark’ pile and one ‘light’ pile. • Ask the children about the kind of things which could make a child’s life ‘dark’, e.g., bullying. • Then ask the children to come up with ways to make a child’s life ‘light’. • Explain some of the ways The Children’s Society brings light in the darkness for children, e.g., listening to children, giving children a place to go. • Light the large candle and the Christingle and ask the children to focus on the light of the flame. • Read the following reflection: As we light this candle let us pray that this light may shine in this place today and always. With this Christingle, a symbol of God’s love for us, we will remember and pray for children who have little light in their lives; children who have runaway trying to escape from conflict at home, children who have become refugees seeking safety but meeting with prejudice; children who have been bullied or teased for no reason at all. Loving God, source of all light, help The Children’s Society shine your light into their darkness so that they may have hope. Amen Song suggestions:

4Shine Jesus Shine

Walking in the Light of God (Siyahumba) Fundraising idea: Why not distribute our Christingle collection candles to the children at the end of the assembly. They can take them home and use them to fundraise amongst their friends and family.

5Assembly 2: Helping Hands

• Suitable for all ages • Follow up with a PHSE lesson on runaways Theme: Running away – who runs away? Step 1: Story time in the voice of a runaway Ask one of the children to read out the following passage, which is in the words of a young runaway called Sarah. Sarah is 10 years old. They could also take turns to read out a sentence at a time. “My mum and dad split up when I was little and I went to live with my mum. I stayed with my dad at weekends. Mum would let me do pretty much what I liked but dad was really strict. It was really confusing. He would tell me off for things I normally did at home. That made me sad. My mum found it difficult to cope with my older brother. She couldn’t talk to my dad about it because he just got angry at her. No-one understood what it felt like to be caught between two really bad situations. I couldn’t see any way out. I got so unhappy that I ran away, more than once. I started skipping school. I just didn’t care any more. Then the police found me in a bus stop four miles from home. I was scared and cold but it was the only place I could shelter from the rain.

6They called The Children's Society. I was really sad and quiet

the first time they met me but I gradually felt able to talk. They helped me with counselling, and they got my school to make it easier for me to go back. Best of all they helped me see that I don’t have to run away. A worker spoke with my mum and dad. Now they don’t fight as much and treat me the same. I feel much safer”. Step 2: Why might someone like Sarah run away? Ask the children why they think someone would run away from home. Here are some of the main reasons:

• Being bulled at home or at school • Physical abuse • Mental abuse • Arguments at home • Family problems • Not having a loving family – children living in care

Step 3: How might someone feel once they have run away? Ask the children to get in to groups of 3 or 4 and discuss Step 4: What are the dangers runaways like Sarah might face on the streets? Ask the children to discuss this in their groups Step 5: Who can I tell? On a flip chart draw a picture of a hand. Ask the children to think of five people they could to confide in if they were thinking about

7running away. Encourage them to think of roles, rather than

names. • Your teacher • Your local vicar • Someone living on your street • A friend • Your parents or carer • A doctor • A youth or social worker • A Children’s Society project worker • The police Each time a child says a name or role, ask them to write it in one of the fingers shapes on the board. If the children think of more than five draw another hand. Step 6: Follow this up with a PHSE lesson plan. There is a quiz on young runaways in the ‘Games and Activities’ booklet which is available to download from the ‘Children and Youth resources page’. Fundraising idea: Why not distribute our Christingle collection candles to the children at the end of the assembly. They can take them home and use them to fundraise amongst their friends and family.

8Assembly 3: A Christingle in a rainbow

• Suitable for Key Stage one • Introduces Christingle, a Christian festival of light • Use the symbolism of Christingle to explain Christian principles • Curriculum links: RE Preparation and materials: • A large picture of a rainbow • A picture, OHP slides or 3-D Christingle visual aid • A real Christingle made from an orange with a red ribbon around it, a candle and sweets on 4 sticks. Visit www.Christingle.org for details on how to make a Christingle. Assembly: • Show a picture of a large rainbow • Talk about each colour in turn or ask the children to identify them. Make the point that each colour is important on its own but for us to see the rainbow in its full glory, we have to see them together. • As you talk about each colour, relate it to the different parts of a Christingle of the same colour. This could be in a rainbow order or as below: Orange – the world. ‘In the beginning there was darkness and chaos and God brought order out of chaos and created the world. We are all part of the world – but we are different. God knows and loves each one of us.’ Red – The red ribbon around the orange. ‘The red ribbon reminds us that Jesus died on the cross for us, but rose again. This show’s us God’s continuing love for us all, encircling the earth.’

9Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet – the sweets or fruits on the sticks.

‘The fruits represent the four seasons which God gives us, bringing order into the world.’ Ask the children to identify the seasons or what they bring. Yellow – the flame on the lighted candle. The candle represents Jesus as the light of the world. It tells us of all the goodness, which Jesus brings into the world. People who help other people bring light into the darkness for people who are suffering. Ask the children to name people who help them every day. They are shining lights. Are we shining lights to our friends? The Children’s Society aims to be a shining light in the lives of vulnerable children in this country. In the finished Christingle all the colours of the rainbow are present. Together the colours of the rainbow remind us of God’s continuing love for us, and his promise to be with us always. Reflection: Thank you for all the colours in the world and especially for the beauty of the rainbow. As we look at our Christingle help us to remember that each colour has its own message. Help us to show our love for each other and to be a shining light like Jesus. Thank you for the work of The Children’s Society, which aims to shine a light into children’s lives. Songs: Who put the colours in the rainbow Shine Jesus Shine Fundraising idea:

10Why not distribute our Christingle Collection Candles to the

children at the end of the assembly. They can take them home and use them to fundraise amongst their friends and family.