Spring into Spring
Re-energizing ourselves
by Brian Radcliffe
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To encourage us to consider the opportunities that spring brings.
Preparation and materials
- The Bible passage is from Ecclesiastes 3.1-8.
- Optional: you may wish to arrange for a child to read this passage during the assembly.
Assembly
- Ask the children whether they can name the seasons of the year.
Listen to a range of responses.
Explain that when we reflect on the seasons of the year, we think about summer, autumn, winter and spring. However, there are also seasons of life, which relate to different stages of our lives, such as being a baby, a child and then an adult. - Tell the children that there is a passage in the Bible that talks about life being divided up into stages.
Read, or ask a child to read, the passage from Ecclesiastes 3.1-8.
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace. - There are happy seasons and sad ones, beginnings and endings, productive seasons and seasons for taking a rest.
- When we think about the seasons of the year, we tend to list them in a particular order, with spring first and winter last.
March is on the border between the seasons of winter and spring. It’s a month that can seem partly cold and wet like winter and partly warm with blue skies like spring.
You may wish to comment on current weather patterns. - The main feature of March tends to be that it’s a windy month. Gales blow in, largely from the west, and blow the debris of a cold winter all over the place. In many ways, this blowiness is helpful because it uncovers the new growth and brings in milder temperatures. Of course, it does leave mess that people have to tidy up afterwards, but maybe that could provide a way for us to earn some extra pocket money!
Time for reflection
Let’s think about the seasons in relation to ourselves.
- How has the winter treated us?
- Did we enjoy staying cosy indoors, not venturing out into the cold that much?
- Did the winter mean that we had a lot of screen time?
- Did we enjoy eating hot, comforting meals, especially over Christmas and the New Year?
Perhaps we are all in need of the March winds to blow away the debris and get us ready for the new opportunities that spring offers.
First, we could let the wind blow us outside. It’s really good for our health to spend time in green spaces, so let’s try to get out into the country or to a nearby park. There’s something about seeing the first buds coming through on plants and trees that lifts our spirits. Birds are returning from the southern hemisphere, lambs are arriving in the fields and the sun might even shine on us.
Second, maybe we could spend some time outside school with not just our immediate friends, but also those older and younger friends who we may not have seen much this winter. Maybe the spring could be a time for us to widen our friendship circle. A wider friendship group is always stimulating. Let’s allow ourselves to be blown out into the community.
Finally, let’s get blown along into doing some activities. It’s always less appealing to go for a run, have a kick around, go for a swim or take a bike ride when it’s wet and cold. Now is the time to tackle that inactivity. Let’s take some exercise and get that blood pumping around our bodies. It’s good for our brain and our feelings too! Let’s take some exercise and allow our bodies to stretch and open up. We’ll probably also have some fun while we do so.
Christians use the wind as a symbol for how God works in us. They believe that the Spirit of God is a great motivator - maybe he could motivate us all to let the wind blow.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the beauty that we see in each season.
Thank you for springtime:
For the buds that we see appearing,
And for the new life in the fields.
Please help us to take opportunities this spring.
Help us to make new friends, try new things and enjoy the beauty of the world.
Amen.
