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One Amazing, Joined-Up Person!

National Sports Sunday is on 15 May 2022

by Becky May

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To explore and celebrate National Sports Sunday.

Preparation and materials

  • Have available some high-energy music for the ‘Assembly’, Step 2. An example is available at: https://youtu.be/nlWkZWnT0pw (1.06 hours long)
  • Have available the YouTube video ‘Jamie Jones-Buchanan (England Rugby)’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 5.18 minutes long (although you will show it from 1.34 minutes) and is available at: https://youtu.be/IUyS1ngvMaI
  • You will also need a tube of toothpaste and a plate.

Assembly

  1. Welcome the children to the assembly and ask them how they are feeling today. Are they fit and raring to go? Or are they feeling a little lethargic?

  2. Play some high-energy music.

    Ask the children to stand up, and then lead them in a short, simple physical warm-up. Include simple moves such as marching or jogging on the spot, stretching high and tightening up like a ball and so on. At the end, invite the children to sit down again.

  3. Explain that today, we are thinking about sport. Invite the children to share their own thoughts and feelings about sport. Perhaps they could share their favourite sport, both in terms of watching and participating. How do they feel when they are playing the sport?

    Listen to a range of responses.

  4. Explain that 15 May is National Sports Sunday, an opportunity for churches to think about sport and all those who play and support sport. Explain that it may not be immediately obvious what sport has to do with Christianity. However, Christians believe that God is for everyone and is interested in the whole of our lives, and that includes sport.

  5. Tell the children that you are now going to show them a video of a short interview with Jamie Jones-Buchanan, a professional rugby player who plays for Leeds Rhinos.

    Show the YouTube video ‘Jamie Jones-Buchanan (England Rugby)’ (5.18 minutes long) from 1.34 minutes.

  6. Ask the children what they noticed from the interview.

    - What surprised them?
    - What can they relate to?
    - How did the video challenge what they think about faith and sport?

  7. Squeeze the tube of toothpaste onto the plate.

    Remind the children of the analogy that Jamie described: we can look like anything on the outside, but when we’re under pressure, who we really are comes out!

Time for reflection

Encourage the children to make themselves really quiet.

Explain that sometimes, we compartmentalize our lives into different parts. For example, there is who we are at home, who we are with our friends, who we are at school, who we are on the sports field and perhaps who we are at church too.

Christians believe that God sees who we are deep down. He sees and knows all of us: the things that make us excited and happy, the things that we enjoy a lot and the things that we don’t like so much! He sees us when we’re trying to give a good impression and when nobody’s looking.

As we think about National Sports Sunday, we can think about being one amazing, joined-up person, with all our likes and dislikes, gifts and skills, hopes and fears and everything in between. Let’s use the opportunity to celebrate all of us!

Prayer (optional)
Dear God,
Thank you for making us the people we are.
Thank you that there are things that we are good at, things that we love and things that we are still learning to enjoy.
Please help us to live as one joined-up person, celebrating who we are.
Amen.

Song/music

‘Every step’ by Nick and Becky Drake, available at: https://youtu.be/nZBhKp5_HwE (4.05 minutes long)

‘Everybody’s body’ by Fischy Music, available at: https://youtu.be/aPVAbjlaBNc (0.46 minutes long)

Extension activities

  1. Invite the children to bring in any items that represent the sport they are involved in. These might include trophies or medals that they have won, clothing or kit that they wear or programmes for events that they have been involved in. Use these to create a class display.
  1. Find out whether any of your local sports teams have a sports chaplain or contact your local church to ask about their involvement with sport. Arrange for a visitor to come to your school and talk about what sport and faith means to them.
Publication date: May 2022   (Vol.24 No.5)    Published by SPCK, London, UK.
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