This week, we have had the privilege of welcoming school leavers to Newcastle Cathedral as they prepare to transition to their next school.
We were delighted to be joined by nearly 500 students from across the Diocese for four services across three days.
After an introduction from Diocesan Youth Adviser, Susan White, each school headed to their first prayer station. The schools spent the next hour taking part in a variety of different prayer-related activities, moving from one activity to the next every ten minutes until they had completed all six:
Transition
Just like in nature, sometimes things have to change to be able to grow… just like butterflies! Children wrote what they had enjoyed about their current school on one side of a butterfly and what they were looking forward to in their new school on the other.
Special Memories
The children were asked to think of a special memory from their time at school that they wanted to give thanks for. They wrote these on postcards and either posted them in the post-box or took them home to give them to the recipient.
Sorry
God forgives people when they apologise for making the wrong decisions. At this station, the children had the opportunity to write down something they were sorry for before crumpling it up and throwing it into a wheelbarrow.
Big Thoughts and Feelings
This space gave the children the opportunity to reflect on some of their emotions at this time, adding their response to a range of questions using post-it notes.
Challenges
This station acknowledged that everyone faces challenges at some point in their life, some of which can feel like climbing a mountain where the top seems a long way off. The children drew round their foot and cut out the paper shape, writing or drawing on it a challenge they were currently facing before placing it on the mountain.
Thank You
At this station, while children crafted a person out of a pipe cleaner, they were encouraged to think about someone who they were thankful for who had supported them through their school journey so far.
Following the prayer stations, the schools joined back together again for a short service, led by Tara Russell, Children and Youth Team Leader, where children were given the opportunity to share a special object from their school. Each session also had a different speaker with Bishop Mark, Bishop Helen-Ann, Archdeacon Catherine and Archdeacon Rachel each taking a turn.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped with these events, particularly students from NCEA Duke’s Secondary School who enthusiastically led stations on each of the three days.
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