Wonderfully Made!

Each person is a part of God’s creation

by Keith Griffin

Suitable for Whole School (Pri) - Church Schools

Aims

To celebrate creation and the part we play in it.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a selection of items from the natural world, such as fruit, vegetables and some seeds, but a good variety, in a bag or box.
• Adapt as required so the assembly is appropriate for the time of year and your school setting.

Assembly

1. Begin by discussing the time of the year, the current weather, the surrounding area and what the children enjoy most about the outdoors and nature.
2. Introduce the idea that all the things you have been discussing are part of God’s creation. Make a joke of the idea that you wanted to bring something special to the assembly, such as a tree, a cloud or the moon and stars, but they would not fit inside!
3. As it was not possible to bring any of these big items, say that you have brought in some smaller and more manageable pieces of God’s creation instead. Bring out the bag or box containing the fruit, vegetables, plants, seeds and so on.
4. Ask one or two children to come forward to help pick out the items and hold them up.
   
   Ask the children to identify the first item for you and talk about it briefly or maybe tell a story about it.
   
   Next, explore with the children what the item is good for or why they think God made it. For example, onions are useful in so many recipes, potatoes fill us up, bananas are good for you and perfect for packed lunches, plants make our homes look pretty and so on.
5. Next, in a jokey manner, explain to the children that you think we should remind the different parts of creation that they belong to God more often. So, as you or a child holds up the first item again, invite them to say, after the count of three, ‘You are part of God’s creation!’
6. Continue doing the same with the rest of the items. With each one, remember to ask what it is good for and to get the children to shout out, ‘You are part of God’s creation!’
7. When you have worked through all the items, turn your focus to human beings. Speak about each of our senses. Maybe describe a walk that the children might take, asking them to imagine how they would use each sense as they walked along. For example, they may hear children playing and laughing in the playground, smell the fragrances of flowers, feel the cool breeze on their skin or even the rain on their faces and so on.
   
   Point out that each of these things is a part of God’s creation.
8. Ask the children what they are good at. Listen to a range of their responses.
   
   Ask the children why they think God made them. Again, listen to a range of their responses.

Time for reflection

God made us all to enjoy everything that he has given us - to make the most of the fresh air and the outdoors, use our bodies and look after each other.

God loves seeing children running around, having fun.

We are all part of God’s creation, just like the trees, hills, fruit and vegetables.

Count to three for the last time, changing the response to the following.

We are part of God’s creation!

Prayer
Dear God, 
Thank you for all that you give to us. 
Thank you for all of nature and creation, for the food we grow, eat and enjoy.
Help us to play our part in creation. 
Help us to look after each other and all that you have entrusted to our care.
Amen.