Everyone Included
Making people welcome
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the importance of including people in what we are doing.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Everyone Included) and the means to display them.
- You will also need to familiarize yourself with the story of Zacchaeus found in Luke 19.1-10. It is available at: https://tinyurl.com/ys8k493d, or you can use the retelling of the story in the ‘Assembly’, Step 5.
Assembly
- Ask the children to imagine arriving at a friendly school. What would they see there? How would it feel to be there?
Listen to a range of responses.
Focus on the feeling of belonging. - Now ask them to imagine arriving at an unfriendly school. What would they see there? How would it feel to be there?
Listen to a range of responses.
Focus on the feeling of not belonging. - Show Slide 1.
Point out that it can feel very lonely when everyone else is playing with their friends, but we have nobody to play with.
Some people say that not having friends is like being ‘out in the cold’. Ask the children what they think this might mean.
Listen to a range of responses. - In the Bible, there is a story about someone called Zacchaeus. He felt like he didn’t belong: because of his actions, nobody liked him, and he had no friends. Then, one day, his life changed completely.
- Tell the story of Zacchaeus found in Luke 19.1-10, or use the script below.
The Story of Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. His job made him rich, but it also made him unpopular, because he would often cheat people and take their money.
Zacchaeus was not very tall. People were always looking down on him: partly because they disliked him so much, but also because he was short. He had no friends, and nobody wanted to have anything to do with him.
One day, Zacchaeus heard that Jesus was coming to his town. Zacchaeus really wanted to see him, but Jesus was popular, so Zacchaeus knew that there would be crowds of people filling the streets.
When Zacchaeus saw the crowds, he realized that he would never be able to see over their heads. He had no chance of seeing Jesus.
Show Slide 2.
Suddenly, Zacchaeus had an idea. He ran ahead of the crowds and climbed a tree so that he would be able to get a better view. As Jesus walked below Zacchaeus’ tree, he came to a halt, looked up at Zacchaeus and spoke to him. Zacchaeus couldn’t believe it - for the first time in his life, someone was looking up to him!
Jesus had an even bigger surprise for Zacchaeus. He asked if he could come to stay at Zacchaeus’ house. Zacchaeus was delighted and quickly climbed down the tree before welcoming Jesus into his home.
The people around Jesus were shocked and began to grumble. ‘Why is Jesus going to his house and not my house?’
However, meeting Jesus made a big difference to Zacchaeus. He realized that he had done many wrong things, so he gave away his money to the poor, and returned all the money he had taken wrongly from people.
Zacchaeus realized why he had no friends. Now, he was free to become part of his community again. Even though Zacchaeus still wasn’t tall, people could now look up to him.
Time for reflection
Ask the following questions, pausing to give time for thought and to listen to a range of responses.
- Which part of this story did you like best?
- Which part of this story do you think is most important?
- How do you think Zacchaeus felt when people looked down on him?
- How do you think Zacchaeus felt when Jesus looked up to him?
- Why do you think Jesus decided to stay at Zacchaeus’ home rather than with someone more popular?
- What does the story teach us today?
Show Slide 3.
Ask the children for their ideas about how they could make people feel welcome in different situations.
Focus on how we can make everyone feel like they belong in our school.
Listen to a range of responses.
Encourage the children to carry out their ideas during the week ahead.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you that you are always there to welcome us.
Please help us to make our school a place of welcome.
When we see people feeling isolated and lonely, help us to make them feel part of our groups.
Please help us to make our school a place where everyone feels like they belong.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The prayer of St Francis (Make me a channel of your peace)’ (Come and Praise, 147), available at: https://youtu.be/4P_tg6NaHVk (2.50 minutes long)