Image from William de Yaxley C of E Primary School
The church schools in the Diocese of Ely have excelled in their outstanding work and inspiration from children and staff to Bishop Stephen's Lent Challenge, Hope and a Future. In 2021 we all needed hope, we all needed to see a future, we all needed to know that God stays with us through difficult times.
The work that follows is a snapshot of the materials sent in by schools, it is a reflection of the thought behind the work, the belief we are cared for by God, and an understanding that we can all look forward to a future. I hope the work that follows from each school will inspire you and if you wish to see further work from a particular school please do visit their school website during April and May 2021. Rev'd Sue Martin, Bishop's Officer for Schools Mission, Diocese of Ely.
Denver C of E Primary School, reached out to a local care home in Downham Market, Oakes Court, as part of the work on community, and sent Easter cards and some recorded messages to the residents and staff members. Every child created an Easter card to send and Oakes Court sent back a photo of each resident and staff member with their card. They were thrilled to receive the cards – it gave the residents some much needed joy and hope after what has been such a difficult year for them.
In Week 2 the school looked at the hopes of the school community?’ It is very fair to say that the past year has been very stormy, so many changes and restrictions have been placed upon us and whilst we can understand the reasons behind these it can still be very difficult to deal with. The Bible tells us that there are 3 very important things in life: Love, trust (faith) and hope.
Hope is the belief or expectation that something good can or will happen in the future. It is the knowledge that ahead of us there are better times. Hope is an abstract noun, we can’t physically touch it but we know it is there and it is this ‘thing’ that keeps us all going, moving forward on that journey to happier and safer times. After reading the story of Noah’s Ark in Genesis 9 we reflected on the past year and shared some of hopes for the future. We wrote a hope for the future for ourselves, our family, our friends, our school, the world and a sector of society such as the NHS.
Ely St Mary's C of E Junior School created an amazing Rainbow Bird of Hope and a huge amount of work with thoughtful responses to Hope and a Future.
Marshland St James C of E Primary pupils created many pieces of work showing great thought about hope and a future.
All Saint's Academy, Shouldham provided many weeks of ideas and activities.
St Botolph's C of E Primary School had beautiful displays of artistic creation led work.
St Mary's C of E Primary Academy, St Neot's showed just how hope can make a difference.
Weeting School part of the Trinity Partnership, have been thoughtful about when lockdown ends...
Wilburton C of E Primary School thoughtfully produced this collage and a wonderful video on Pandora's Box of Hope with beautiful butterflies!
William de Yaxley C of E Primary School gave huge amounts of thought to the Lent Challenge, The items below are just snapshots of the work .
A prayer... How can we spread hope around our world? Hope is caring for others. Hope if having faith in God. Hope is sharing vaccinations. Hope is believing things will get together and that we can travel to far off countries. Hope is about compassion and giving hope to others who are less fortunate.