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Saint Andrew

St Andrew’s Day is on 30 November

by Ronni Lamont (revised, originally published in 2008)

Suitable for Key Stage 3/4

Aims

To use the life of St Andrew to consider what ‘good news’ we can share today.

Preparation and materials

  • You will need two readers, who will need time to rehearse prior to the assembly. The playlet that they will perform is based on the Bible passage, John 1.40–41.

  • Have available the YouTube video ‘Happy St Andrew’s Day!’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 1.14 minutes long and is available at: https://tinyurl.com/yahc6la3

  • More information about St Andrew’s Day is available at: http://www.scotland.org/whats-on/st-andrews-day/who-is-st-andrew

Assembly

  1. (One of the readers runs up to the other, and shakes his arm in excitement.)

    Reader 1: I’ve found him, Peter! I’ve found the one who God promised us all those years ago! The special person, the Messiah!

    Reader 2 (bemused): What, Andrew? You say you’ve found the Messiah, the chosen one of God? Where?

    Reader 1: Up by the river! He was watching John baptize people. Come on! Let’s go and find him!

    (They run off.)

  2. Have you ever told someone that something special was going on? That your favourite celebrity was in town? That your favourite band was playing locally? That a certain shop had stocks of the latest must-have gadget?

    Perhaps, when you were younger, you were even one of those people who shout, ‘Fight, fight!’ and encourage people to go and watch.

  3. The two people we just saw were excited because Andrew had found someone whom they both thought was very important. It was the Messiah, the chosen person for whom the Jewish people had been waiting and looking for thousands of years.

  4. Andrew told his brother, Peter, about Jesus, and that’s how the two men joined the disciples, the followers of Jesus. Andrew told Peter, and then Peter told others. We don’t know how many people Peter told. Some people now believe that it was actually Peter who dictated one of the books in the Bible that tell the story of Jesus – the Gospel of Mark – and many people have become Christians through reading the Bible.

  5. Andrew believed that Jesus was good news. What good news have you heard today? Would any of you like to share some with us all?

    Listen to a range of responses.

  6. All over the world, people will be sharing good news today. Probably not that they’ve found the Messiah, but perhaps the news of a new baby, of passing an exam, of getting a job or of getting engaged.

  7. Over time, Andrew became known as Saint Andrew and he is the patron saint of Scotland. On 30 November, people all over the world celebrate St Andrew’s Day.

    Show the YouTube video ‘Happy St Andrew’s Day!’, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yahc6la3

Time for reflection

What good news could you share today?

Perhaps you’ve done all your homework?
Perhaps you did well in a test?
Perhaps you now understand that bit of maths that you’ve been struggling with?
Perhaps you’d like to tell a friend how much you appreciate them?
Perhaps you’d like to tell a member of your family how much you love them?

What good news could you share today?

Prayer
Dear God,
Help me to share good news as well as bad.
Help me to remember the good news of Jesus:
That you love us and are there for us.
Help me to share that good news in my life.
Thank you for St Andrew’s Day and the reminder it gives us to share good news.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Go, tell it on the mountain’ (Come and Praise, 24)

Publication date: November 2017   (Vol.19 No.11)    Published by SPCK, London, UK.
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