Sadness and Happiness

An Easter assembly from the 'Hello, Scruff' series

by Revd Sylvia Burgoyne

Suitable for Key Stage 1

Aims

To think positively about dying and new beginnings.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a glove puppet or sock puppet of a donkey, called Scruff.
• As the assembly begins, ensure that you already have Scruff the puppet on your hand.
• Gather together some seeds, bulbs, an egg, a bare branch, chrysalis and so on – things that look dead but come to life.

Assembly

1. Scruff waves to the children. Encourage them to say, ‘Hello, Scruff!’

If this is the first time the children have met Scruff, you will need to use the following introduction.

Scruff lives on a farm with Lucy Jane, her mum, Mrs B, her dad, Farmer Brown, and her baby brother, Tom. Lucy Jane loves Scruff. She looks after him. She plays with him and she talks to him – when she’s happy and when she’s sad. Scruff is her best friend!

2. Scruff had noticed how sad Lucy Jane had been since her Uncle Bob had died, but one day after school, she came running into the stable and she was smiling. She had so much to tell Scruff.

‘Our teacher has been telling us the Easter story. What Christians believe  . . .  When Jesus died on the cross, his mother, Mary, and his friends felt very sad. That’s how I’ve been feeling about losing Uncle Bob, but Jesus’ story didn’t end there. Three days later, Jesus came and spoke to his friends in the upstairs room where they were hiding. They couldn’t believe their eyes! Was Jesus really alive?

He told them that dying was not the end, but just the start of a new and happy life with God.

Isn’t that wonderful, Scruff? One day, we will go to be with God, where bad things don’t happen and there is no more sadness. I think I like that, Scruff.’

‘Hee-haw, hee-haw!’ nodded Scruff. He was happy because Lucy Jane was happy again.

Take Scruff off.

Time for reflection

Can you think of things that look dead but come to life?

Show the children the seeds, bulbs, egg and so on.

Prayer

Dear Lord,
Be close to people who are sad because someone they love has died.
Thank you for the Easter story with its happy ending.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Easter jubilation’ (Songs for Every Easter, Out of the Ark Music, 1996)

‘Now the green blade rises’ (Come and Praise, 131)