St. Mary' CBGS Year 8

Before the mid-term break we had seven groups of Year 8 boys from St. Mary's C.B.G.S. here for their retreats.  They are our very near neighbours here on the Glen Road and it was lovely to see some familiar faces of boys who have been here before with their various primary schools and to meet many boys for the first time.

We talked all about new beginnings.  Starting a new school is a great challenge.  There will be some familiar faces but mainly lots of strangers and the big task of turning them into friends.  This got us to exploring the qualities we look for in our friends.  We then tried to think about the qualities we have found in the people we have met since starting our new school and the qualities we see in ourselves.

We made a chain of qualities with each group.  Everyone was given a link of the chain and they had to write their name on it and a quality they have, as well as writing a quality that another person from the class sees in them.  This is a lovely way of paying a compliment to another person, to actually tell them a quality that you notice in them.

Throughout this post, you can see the posters which each group made after they meditated on a piece of Scripture.  We explored the qualities that Jesus has. 

You'll also read the lovely prayers and reflections that were written by the boys for the Prayer Service at the end of their retreat day.

Additionally, you can see some of the songs that were chosen to be played in the Prayer Services over the various days along with reasons why they were chosen.

Dear God,

Please keep my whole family

and all my friends' families safe.

Amen

Dear God,

we pray for everyone who is seriously ill.

We pray for the people in Africa

and all over the world who have

little food or water, like we have.

Amen

Dear God,

please help my friends and I through this school year.

Amen

Dear God,

we pray for the disabled,

especially our own family members.

Amen

You will also be able to read the reasons for why the groups chose a particular pieces of Scripture to read during their Prayer Services.

We really enjoyed these seven groups of boys and the energy and enthusiasm they brought to their Retreat days and we would like to thank them for making the days so enjoyable for everyone.

We would also like to thank the management of the school who have very kindly given us permission to post to our blog the group photos we took.

We look forward to seeing these boys again in Year 11.

Song Choices:

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong, because it is about how beautiful the world is and how we treat it and each other.

Where is the Love? - The Black Eyed Peas, as it is about what happens in the world if we don't show love.

All You Need is Love - The Beatles, because it is about the importance of showing love.

You've Got A Friend In Me - Randy Newman, because it is about the importance of friendship.

You've Got a Friend in Me - because no matter what we do we will always have a friend in God.

Fix You - because it's about never giving up, just keep going.

You Got the Love - Florence and Machine - We chose this because we are all one class and we can count on each other. And sometimes God's actions are hard to understand.

Beautiful Day - U2 - we chose this because we have had such a good day with Mags, Caren and Michelle. Thank you very much.

Dear God

Please help the sick get better.

Lord hear us

Dear God

I pray for the people that were rescued from the big hole in Chile

and thank you for your support

Lord hear us

Dear God

Help us through he next couple of years in St. Mary's.

protect us and help us through the bad times.

walk beside us in our journey ahead.

Lord hear us

Reflection

Jesus is our friend

he helps us when we're down

and when we get up

he says

please don't frown

Dear God

please help all the sick and dying people in the world

and may the Holy Spirit help them

and guide them for the rest of their lives.

Lord hear us

Dear God

please look over us in our time of need

and take care of us as we are only 1st years in St Mary's.

Take care of us for the rest of our school years.

Lord hear us

Dear God

Please look after all of us through our hopes and needs in the future.

Lord hear us

Dear God

please help the sick men in Chile

who have only been freed from the horrible mines in their country.

Lord hear us

Dear God

Please help all the poverty and suffering in the third world countries

and may they be guided by the Holy Spirit.

Lord hear us

Reflection

God's day has only begun

Today we are going to have fun

Every Christian in love

Go put your cross up

Every Christian in love

Go put your cross up

Show that you are happy

Peaceful and calm

Scripture Reading
The Good Samaritan - the reason we picked this is because it shows respect and loving your neighbour.

Dear God

Please help our families throughout the rest of our lives.

Amen

Dear God

Help us to work to the best of our abilities

and help us to make new friends

Amen

Dear God

Help all those people who are in hospital.

Also help the poor people who are dying

and who have cancer and other diseases.

Please help them to recover.

Amen

Dear God

Help us all to remember those who have not been able to have homes

and those in third world countries.

Amen

Dear God

We thank you for saving the Chilean miners

and help them recover fully and help their families to recover.

Amen

Reflection

It was our first retreat

It was a great place to meet

at the start of the week

and we didn't just sit on a seat.

Then we went to break.

Then we had to meditate.

When we went to lunch we had a munch

We thought about Jesus

and how much he needs us.

Scripture Reading
The Good Samaritan - the reason we picked this is because it shows different religions coming together and we are all included in this play.

Dear God

we pray for people who have died.

May God take them into his arms.

Lord hear us

Dear God

We pray for all our families who are going through a tough time.

God please help them.

Lord hear us

Reflection

Mary gave birth and Jesus came to birth

Jesus was a Jew and he died for you

All the candles were lit and God didn't mind a bit

Doesn't matter who you are

God always thinks you're a star