Practical Resources
Practical Resources
General Worship
Weekly worship
Word
Weekly worship uses the Revised Common Lectionary to provide helpful materials for all those leading worship. Contributors offer thoughts or exegesis on the background of the Scripture passages, some ideas for sermons based on each passage, or combinations of passages, children's address ideas, as well as prayers and music suggestions.
ROOTS
ROOTS is a lectionary-based resource, offering adult, family and all-age materials to support weekly worship and learning of the whole Church community for every week of the year. ROOTS Adult & All Age offers ideas, inspiration and practical resources to enrich your worship, offer materials for every part of your service that genuinely engages everyone.
- Gather materials to help you engage everyone from the very moment they arrive - to get them thinking, at their own level, about the ideas they'll be exploring during worship
- Lots of engaging ways to present the readings - for example, through a short drama or looking at a video clip
- A mini Bible story and play-based activity to introduce the reading to very young children
- Sermon ideas
- Ideas for an informal talk that helps to guide all ages through the reading
- Active worship materials - designed to engage different ages, spiritual and learning preferences
- Hymns and songs that are specifically recommended for all-age contexts
- Prayers written in language that everyone can understand.
Visit the ROOTS website for more information
Spill the Beans
Using the Narrative Lectionary, Spill the Beans is a lectionary based resource for all-age learning and worship resources and for children's age groups. With a Scottish flavour, stories of love and justice and the grace of God are shared.
Visit the Spill the Beans website.
Watch more Spill the Beans videos on the Christian Education Association Scotland website.
Searchlights – David Adams
A practical and comprehensive programme for Common Worship, provides an abundance of inspirational worship ideas for all members of the church community, young and old alike, nurturing them individually and as a congregation into a loving and living relationship with God. Written by David Adam, poet-priest of Lindisfarne, reflecting Celtic writings and an interest in our Christian heritage.
The Complete Resource Book provides an overview of the entire programme, enabling the priest and minister to guide, encourage and facilitate. Separate books are available for each age group containing photocopiable worksheets: Links all elements of worship, readings, intercessions, hymns and songs, thoughts and questions.
Buy your own copy of the book.
All Sorts Worship – for every Sunday of the year; Lectionary-based
Clear and flexible, these services can be used exactly as written or as part of a service of Holy Communion. All-sorts Worship presents complete services for every Sunday of the year. They are designed to include everyone, which means that the whole congregation worships together and nobody is tidied away. These are the ideal books for real all-age worship which creates a sense of excitement and belonging in your church.
Visit the author's website to buy your own copy.
One for All
One for All presents complete services for every Sunday of the year- themed. Book 1 focuses on Matthew's Gospel, Book 2 follows Mark and Book 3 follows Luke.
Sample of All-sorts Worship services, including one for Christmas Day.
Music
Music
Sing with the World - a global tour in song! These global songs have been selected and edited by John Bell and Alison Adam, members of the Iona Community in Scotland. These songs are accessible - many of them instantly singable—and they have been chosen for use with children in a wide variety of worship and classroom situations. This handy collection is a valuable tool to help enlighten children to the ways of other cultures through the global language of music. Send the children home with these songs on their lips and soon the adults will want to sing along! A CD recording, which is also available, demonstrates a model for style and also provides enjoyable listening.
Songs and Rhymes from Scripture Union
Deliberate Kids - Music site by Phil Joel with modern, catchy and well-produced lyrics and music to download. MP3 versions of many of the tracks can be downloaded from Amazon UK.
Engage Worship - Resources for innovative and creative worship
Resound Worship - Free, fresh worship songs with strong Biblical lyrics and singable contemporary music.
We Are Worship - Worship songs and music free of charge
Prayer
Books
Creative Prayer for all Ages – Claire Benton Evans
All-Sorts Prayer offers an opportunity unite people of all ages and abilities in prayer in a way which engages them all. Symbols, actions and sensory experience provide adaptable and original prayers for an ‘all-sorts' congregation. The prayers are grouped by theme and suggested position in the service. Each prayer clearly lists resources needed, words for the leader, a prayer action and closing words. Instructions are given to help the nervous leader, while those more experienced can just pick up the prayers and go. The accompanying CD-ROM provides many of the resources needed for the prayers, while other suggested resources include essential oils, honey and glow-sticks!
You can purchase your copy of the book directly from author on her website. Or on Amazon.co.uk
Ultimate Creative Prayer – Judith Merrell
Crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help you and your children's group get praying. Ideas include prayers to draw and make, prayers to shout and sing, prayers to pray alone and pray together. Inside you'll find all the instructions and guidance you need to help your group pray and grow together.
Purchase your copy of the book on the Scriputre Union website.
Messy Church
Key Books and Resources on Messy Church
BRF publishes a range of books on Messy Church with everything you need from crafts to food and storytelling ideas. You can find useful and informative infomation on the Messy Church website.
Messy Church: Fresh Ideas for Building a Christ-Centred Community
Overflowing with creative ideas to draw the community together for fun, food, fellowship and worship, this resource book contains 15 themed programme outlines. Each outline has ideas for creative art and craft activities, meal plans and recipes for eating together and family-friendly worship. Messy Church grew out of one church's desire to reach out to those on the fringes of the church community and experience the love of Christ through creativity, fellowship and worship together.
Communion
For use with children
My Communion Book: a child's guide to Holy Communion
An illustrated book for children to use before, during and after a service of Holy Communion.
Your First Communion as a Child in the Anglican Church
This book explains what happens in a Communion service and answers a variety of questions that children may have. A child's first Communion is a very special occasion. This clear and colourful book will help children to learn all about Holy Communion and what it will mean for them and the Church.
This picture book is designed as an aid for parents who wish their children to feel at home in church and for clergy who wish to teach about the communion service. The illustrations are in full colour throughout and have been carefully chosen to provide a firm link between the worship of the church and the experiences and way of thinking of 5-11 year old children.
Material to support a preparation programme:
First Communion: A Book of Preparation (in the Church of Scotland)
This book presents many convincing reasons for the admission of children to Holy Communion, based on the actual experiences of churches. It offers an invaluable practical aid to preparation for Holy Communion in the form of a six-session course with notes for leaders and photocopiable ‘Talkabout' take-home sheets
Aimed primarily at church ministers, children's workers, parents and teachers who want to enable children aged 7 - 9 to participate fully in eucharistic worship, the introductory chapters explore the background to the question of preparing young children for Holy Communion, give guidance on preparing the congregation, training leaders and involving the family, and include a guide to using the programme. The programme itself comprises eleven flexible teaching units
This book is designed to help adults explore the service of Holy Communion with the children who are sharing the worship with them and is suitable for use in a variety of contexts including preparation for admission to Holy Communion before Confirmation. It focuses on the structure of the liturgy and comprises activities designed for use during a service of Holy Communion.
We All Share explores how children from the tiniest babies can participate in the themes and actions of one of our most important Christian rites. With easy-to-use ideas and a wealth of real-life stories of how churches and families are helping children to join in, this is an invaluable resource for churches, children's ministry leaders and parents.
This book contains all a church would need to prepare children for communion, including resources for exploring the issue with a whole congregation, case studies from real-life churches, a preparation course, an admission liturgy and advice on including and involving children in Eucharistic worship. The book also includes theological reflection on children and the Eucharist from Michael Perham and considers the impact of receiving Holy Communion on childrens discipleship.
In Your Community - Holiday Clubs
Holiday Club Programmes
TeamBuilders
The TeamBuilders New Holiday Club resource from Scripture Union focuses on awesome stories from the Bible (including Joseph, Moses, Esther, Jesus and Paul) – each one giving children the opportunity to see what life is like on God's team, and inviting them to join his team for themselves!
World Mission
World Mission have developed Professor Potty's Time Travellers Tales - a journey of discovery through the Bible and around the world, meeting people and hearing their stories as we go. Over the course of the week, the children will be introduced to different Bible characters and people from the World Church that will help them to learn from and explore the themes of: Caring for the World, Giving, Friendship, Health and how Jesus is for everyone.
Professor Potty's Time Traveller's Tales
Bible Reading Fellowship
'We have used John Hardwick's holiday club material for the last five years and have been so impressed with his inventiveness, strength of Bible teaching, imaginative drama and the way it is so easy to use'
Has a range of holiday club titles available as PDF Downloads, many with accompanying music
Scripture Union
Has a large range of Holiday Club programmes
Now You're Talking Holiday Club material
Beyond Holiday Clubs – What should come next?
This helpful article about Holiday Clubs will affirm you if you run a Holiday Club or, it will inspire and motivate you to make one happen. Read it here.