Love

An assembly from the Culham St Gabriel archive

Suitable for Whole School (Pri) - Church Schools

Aims

To consider why love is important.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a letter or card signed ‘Love from . . .’ and a dictionary.

• You will also need the means to record the responses given in the ‘Assembly’, Step 4.

• You will also need to be familiar with the story of the lost sheep found in Luke 15.3-7.

Assembly

1. Show the letter or card to the children.
   
   Pretend that you are excited and describe why you have received the letter or card. (You may need to make this up!)

2. Show the children that the letter or card finishes with the words ‘Love from . . .’
   
   Ask the children what they think the words ‘Love from . . .’ mean.
   
   Listen to a range of responses.

3. Ask one of the children to look up the definition of ‘love’ in a dictionary.
   
   Explain that the dictionary definition of ‘love’ is ‘a strong feeling of affection’ or ‘a great interest and pleasure in something’.

4. Explain that you want the children to think about things that they love.

   Listen to a range of responses and record them.

   Explain that you want the children to think about people whom they love.
   
   Listen to a range of responses and record them.

5. Ask the children to think about people who love them, and then ask the following questions.
   
   - How do we show people that we love them?
   - How does it feel to be loved?
   - Is everyone loved?

6. Point out that sometimes, we might feel a bit alone. Perhaps we have had an argument with a friend or someone in our family, or perhaps someone we love has gone away. When we aren’t sure about being loved, it can feel sad and lonely. Remind the children that they are in a school where they are loved and cared for. Remind them that they will always have someone in school whom they can talk to. They should never need to feel completely alone.

Time for reflection

Christians believe that God loves people very much. They see this as great news because it means that there is someone who always loves us, whoever we are and whatever we do.

Read or retell the story of the lost sheep in Luke 15.3-7. Make the point that no matter how many of us there are in our school, in our family or in the world, each one of us matters to God. Remembering this should help us never to feel alone and always to feel pretty special.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for loving us.
Being loved makes us feel safe and happy.
It makes us feel warm and special on the inside.
Help us to love others so that they may feel that way, too.
Thank you for the people who love and care for us.
Help us to show them that we are grateful.
Help those people who feel lonely and sad.
May they remember that they are never alone because you are always there.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Give me oil in my lamp’ (Come and Praise, 43)