Why Are Friends Important?

An assembly from the Culham St Gabriel archive

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider what a friend is.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a copy of the book The Treasure Hunt by Nick Butterworth (an image of the front cover is available at: http://tinyurl.com/hz5v2ak).

• You will also need to be familiar with the story of the friends who took their friend to Jesus, found in Mark 2 or Luke 5. You will need to retell or read this story during the assembly.

Assembly

1. Encourage the children to be quiet for a moment and think about their friends, or someone who has shown them friendship at some time.

2. Ask the children to think about the following questions.
   
   - How does it feel to have friends?
   - How does it feel when we fall out with our friends?
   - Why are friends important?

3. Read The Treasure Hunt by Nick Butterworth.

   Point out that, in the story, Percy says that friendship is better than treasure. Encourage the children to reflect on this idea. Ask the children, ‘How can we show the value we place on friendship by the way we act today?’

   Listen to a range of responses.

4. Read or retell the Bible story of the friends who brought the paralysed man to Jesus. The story appears in Mark 2 and Luke 5. Explain that the friends worked together to lower the paralysed man through the roof to see Jesus. Friends can be important because they can do things together that one person on their own could not do.

5. Encourage the children to think about things that they can do with their friends that would be more difficult or impossible to do on their own.

Time for reflection

Remind the children that friends are important because we can share both good and bad things together. We can share games, laughter, sweets and fun, but also our worries and things that we are struggling with.

Remind the children that if we want people to be good friends to us, we need to be good friends to them!

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for my friends.
Thank you for the fun we share.
Please help us to be good friends.
When we see children who are lonely or sad, help us to be friends with them, too.
When we see children struggling, let us remember to help them.
Thank you that we always have you as our friend.
Amen.

Song/music

‘When I needed a neighbour’ (Come and Praise, 65)

Follow-up ideas

• Consider how it feels when we think we don’t have any friends or we have fallen out with or lose a special friend. Encourage the children to think about what they can do to help people who feel lonely or have lost their friends.

• Read about David and Jonathan from 1 Samuel 18-20 and consider the qualities of special friends. What can we do to stay friends with the people who matter to us?

• Read the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10.30-37) and consider what qualities he showed that the children would want in their friends.