why do christians make and keep promises before god...

Why do Christians Make and Keep Promises Before God? Christianity

Southwark Diocesan Board of Education

Southwark Diocesan Syllabus for Religious Education

Name of Unit:

Why Do Christians Make and Keep Promises Before God?

Faith:

Christianity

Key Stage in which this unit should be taught:

Key Stage 1

Recommended Year Group (if specified:)

Previous Learning:

This unit builds on children’s knowledge of belonging to a Christian community.

Salvation: How do Easter Symbols Help Us To Understand the True Meaning of Easter? (Depending on where this unit is taught within the school’s RE Curriculum

AT1 Learning About Religion

Focus: Forms of expression.

AT2 Learning From Religion

Focus: Values and commitments.

What This Unit Teaches:

Exploring the idea and meaning of belonging;

Infant Baptism – Christian ceremony in which parents / carers and godparents promise to bring up a child in the Christian faith;

Jesus’ Baptism;

Christian Wedding – an act of worship in which promises are made to God and each other, what marriage means for Christians;

How promises are important in both Christian Baptism and Christian marriage.

Key RE Vocabulary:

belong, faith, community, belief, Christian, Church, symbol, Christening,

Baptism, rite of passage, member, artefact, white robe, vicar, shell, oil, cross,

candle, font, God, parent, carer, Godparent, promises, vows, values,

ceremony, prayer, thankful, welcome water, life, commitment, shine, light,

Jesus, John the Baptist, forgiveness, wedding, marriage, love.

Cross-Curricular Links:

English, Personal, Social and Health Education, Art and Design, Design and

Technology, Drama, Computing, Numeracy,

History / Geography - find out about the key features of pupils’ own locality,

and how it has changed over time focussing on community.

Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development:

Reflection, religious beliefs and living in a faith;

Inclusiveness, moral guidance from belonging, Christian Baptism, marriage

and the making and keeping of promises / vows;

Belonging to different groups – family, school, cultures, faith, community,

Initiation and joining ceremonies and rituals in Christianity and other faiths,

Weddings and marriage in Christianity and other faiths.

Sensitivities:

Be sensitive towards pupils who may have more complex family

circumstances. Marriage may be a sensitive subject for children whose

parents / carers have chosen not to get married in church, have chosen not

to get married atall, pupils whose parents have divorced or where the

pupils’ parents’ / carers’ relationships are going through difficulties.

Also be sensitive and inclusive towards the different relationships of

commitment that the families of pupils may be in.

Sensitivity also needs to be shown towards those pupils (and their families)

whose parents / carers are in a same-sex marriage and those who may not

or have not currently been able to get married in church.

Possible Further Thinking and Extension Activities:

Find out how members of other faiths welcome babies into their community

and / or the wedding ceremony in other faiths.

On these issues, there also needs to be sensitivity towards the fact that

people within the Christian faith, and other faiths, have different strong

views and understanding about divorce and same-sex marriage.

The emphasis in the class and in RE lessons needs to be on inclusion and

care and the underlying principles of Christian marriage which is about love

and commitment in a relationship blessed by God.

Future Learning:

Salvation: How do Easter Symbols Help Us To Understand the True Meaning of Easter? (Depending on where this unit is taught within the school’s RE Curriculum

Salvation: - Holy Communion.

Learning Objectives AT1 AT2 Suggested Teaching Activities Points To Note

Lesson 1

Pupils should:

understand how many

people belong to a faith

and that different people

belong to different faiths;

(AT 1)

recognise the importance

of belonging to different

groups for them and for

other people.

(AT 2)

What Does It Mean To Belong?

Introduction:

Pictures of groups of people either pinned up round the room or on

different tables (family, friendship, faith communities, clubs e.g. Beavers,

Cub Scouts, Brownies, sports, music, etc.)

In talk partners pupils discuss the following - What about you? What

groups do you belong to?

Main Part of The Lesson:

Share the pupils’ responses and draw out the idea that some people

belong to a faith.

Discuss - What do we share with people in these different groups? (e.g.

rules, uniform, badges, ceremony, shared interests and beliefs, etc.)

How do we become part of these groups? Children discuss and jot down

ideas on Post-It notes or around the picture.

Feedback and share responses.

By belonging to something what does it give that person? / How does it

benefit them?

Show a picture of the school badge or pupils look at it on their school

uniform or around the school.

What is it? Where can you see it? What does it mean? How do we

become part of our school? What does it mean to belong to our school?

Belonging to a Church of England School – what is the extra element that

makes our school different from a non-faith school?

Link to it being a church school (Christian distinctiveness.)

How does that affect our belonging to our school?

Draw out that we are part of God’s family as a church school and an inclusive

Christian community.

Choose pictures that reflect your school

community, including the diversity of it,

in and around it.

Resources:

Pictures showing different groups of

people, (e.g. family, friendship,

communities, playing sports together,

Post-It notes;

picture of school badge;

materials for class collage

Sensitivities:

Be careful of children who may have

more complex family circumstances.

What does it mean to be an inclusive community? Why is it so important

to be inclusive? What guides us to try and be as inclusive as possible?

So by belonging to a faith, what does that give that person? / How does

belonging to a faith benefit a believer?

Main Activity:

Pupils to draw a picture of themselves and around the outside put all the

different groups that they belong to, (e.g. family, club, church, other faith

community, etc.)

Make a class collage with the pictures to show the pupils are all part of the

same Christian community of the school.

At the heart of the collage, ask the pupils to put key words showing the

benefits of belonging, e.g. company, support, shared belief, etc.

Plenary / Reflection:

How do we feel when we belong to something?

What would it feel like to be left out / not belong?

Therefore what should we each do to help others to belong?

Lesson 2

Pupils should:

use religious vocabulary

to explain the Christian

symbols used in Baptism;

(AT 1)

show an understanding of

why Baptism is important

to Christians.

(AT 2)

How Does a Christian Join The Church?

Introduction:

Display the painting “A Royal Christening”.

Ask pupils to give responses to the 5 W’s – ‘Who, What When, Where

and Why?’

Feedback their ideas.

Ask the pupils how does a Christian join the Church as a full member?

Feedback ideas and discuss.

Talk about Christening and Baptism, as different names, explaining that

Christening or Baptism is the way that Churches officially welcome people

into the Christian family as full members.

It is a special ceremony, an act of worship.

It is a Christian rite of passage, explain to the pupils what this means.

Discuss how there are different kinds of baptism in different types of

churches, but they all mean the same, they are baptising the person as a

full member of the Christian church.

Can any of the pupils remember their christening or baptism, if they have

been christened / baptised? Or have they been to a christening / baptism,

i.e. that of a younger brother or sister? What happened at it? What do

they remember about it?

Watch a video clip about Baptism.

Discuss what the pupils saw, heard and learnt from the video clip.

Explain that people can be baptised at any age, but in the Church of

England people are often baptised when they are a baby. Why do the

Prior to beginning this teaching unit, ask

the pupils if they can bring in any

artefacts from their baptism that they

may have at home, if they have been

baptised.

Explain that a symbol is a special kind of

image carrying an important message

through its shape, patterns and colour.

Resources:

“A Royal Christening” painting by

Charles Robert Leslie of Queen

Victoria’s Christening, 1841;

Baptism artefacts;

Video clip about baptism:

http://request.org.uk/restart/2014/04/08/

infant-baptism-in-an-anglican-church/

pupils think this is so?

Unpack Christian artefacts linked to baptism, (white robe, toy vicar, shell,

container with oil in, cross, candle, etc.)

Pupils to handle and look at the artefacts, talk about which one they think

is the odd one out and why.

Pupils also to discuss what they think the different artefacts are used for?

All gather together and feedback ideas.

Share what the religious artefacts are used for as part of the Baptism

ceremony. Which ones are used in all baptisms / which one(s) are not?

Activity:

Design a font for use in a new parish church / or a new font to be used in

the school’s parish church.

Explain to pupils that the font should be decorated with appropriate

Christian symbols, emphasising that it is a place for Christians to make

special promises to God.

When children have made their design they should label the features and

symbols to explain what everything means.

The designs could also be turned into models using clay or other

appropriate materials.

The vicar or members of the congregation who support Baptisms at the

church could be invited to view the fonts and hear about their design.

Question to discuss:

Explain that when a baby is baptised, it is the parents / carers and

godparents that make promises on behalf of the baby.

Some people think babies should not be baptised because it should be left

until they are old enough to make the choice for themselves.

What do pupils think – and why?

Lesson 3

Pupils should:

Use religious words to

describe some of the

ways in which Christians

show their beliefs at a

Baptism;

(AT 1)

understand how values

and promises from the

Baptism service affect the

way Christians try to live

their life.

(AT 2)

What Happens in a Christian Baptism?

Introduction:

Why might it be a good idea to make a promise when a baby is born?

What might a mum or dad promise to a baby when he / she is born? Use

talk partners to discuss and then feedback some of their ideas.

Read some of the questions and promises made at an infant Baptism.

Have them printed on cards so that pupils can sort them. Discuss with

the pupils why they think the question is said or not said. What does each

question and promise mean?

Activity:

Visit your parish church or ask a member of the clergy to come in to role-

play a Baptism with pupils volunteering to play the different roles and a

doll / teddy bear to baptise.

Ask the vicar to explain the different parts of the ceremony as they go

through it.

Focus particularly on the promises that the parents and godparents make

on behalf of the child.

Explain how the child has the chance to make these promises for

themselves when they are older, if they want to, as a Christian, at special

services when they are ‘Admitted To Communion’ and ‘Confirmed.’

If unable to role play a baptism in church watch a video clip about Baptism

or show photographs and posters of a Baptism, and plan with the children

to role-play a baptism in the classroom.

Listen and share pupils’ own experiences

of Christening / Baptism and

naming ceremonies,

create a class display out of their

baptismal memorabilia.

Resources:

Cards with examples of questions and

promises made at an infant Baptism;

Bear / doll, white robe, clergy, shell,

water, oil in container, candle, cross,

baptism order of service;

BBC learning clips have several relevant

Baptism videos:

www.bbc.co.uk

Discuss the prayers that the vicar and the congregation say for the newly-

baptised child. What would you pray for a new baby beginning their

Christian life?

Pupils write their own prayers for a new baby beginning their Christian life

at their Baptism, drawing on what the pupils have learnt so far in this

teaching unit and their own experiences that they may have.

Listen to the pupils’ Baptism prayers.

Look at the Baptismal candle given to the person who has been baptised at

the end of their Baptism.

Reflect on the words that are said by the vicar to the newly-baptised

person as they receive this candle,

“Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the Father.”

Extension:

Look at initiation and joining ceremonies and rituals in other faiths and

consider the similarities and differences between them and a Christian

Baptism.

Whole section on Baptism with various

videos and resources:

www.request.org.uk

Examples of Baptism prayers;

Lesson 4

Pupils should:

know that Jesus was

baptised and use religious

vocabulary to describe

the events that happened

and why;

(AT 1)

link things that were

important to Jesus about

His Baptism with the way

He lived his life and ways

in which they try to live

their life.

(AT 2)

What Happened At Jesus’ Baptism

and Why Was He Baptised?

Introduction:

Play “Who am I?” Display visual clue and give pupils other clues as to who

the person is that we are learning about in today’s lesson, start with least

obvious things the children might know, e.g. He was born around six

months before Jesus; his father was mute until he was born; he began

preaching on the banks of the River Jordan, etc.

Stop once the pupils have guessed or identify the character at the end,

(John the Baptist.)

Read Mark 1: 1-11 or Matthew 3: 13-16 or watch a video clip about the

Baptism of Jesus.

Jesus was baptised by John The Baptist.

Talk about Jesus’ Baptism with the pupils.

Ask them:

How John the Baptist might have felt?

He thought he was not worthy to baptise Jesus.

Why was it important to Jesus to be baptised?

What Jesus might have felt as he was baptised?

What did Jesus’ baptism mean to Him?

What does the baptism of Jesus mean for Christians?

Activity:

Act out the events of Jesus’ Baptism using freeze frame and thought-

tracking to explore what the key characters and bystanders might have

thought and said.

Alternatively, use the drama technique of hot seating with pupils taking on

The gospels use highly symbolic language

to describe the events of Jesus’ baptism:

Heaven opens, the Spirit of God like a

dove alights on Jesus and a voice from

Heaven speaks to him.

This might need to be explored further

and explained to the pupils.

Resources:

“Who am I?” clues;

Unusual picture of John the Baptist so

that it is not immediately obvious,

e.g. picture by Karin Bonti;

www.artistrising.com

The Bible (The New Testament;)

Video clip of The Baptism of Jesus.

the role of John the Baptist and Jesus.

From either of these activities, pupils can individually record in thought

bubbles what they think John the Baptist and Jesus were thinking and also

their own responses about the Baptism of Jesus.

Play some reflective music and ask the pupils to think how John the Baptist

used the water as a symbol of washing away all the bad things and starting

again, all clean.

God’s forgiveness: washing away sins and creating a fresh start.

Baptism is like starting all over again, a fresh start.

Discuss the concept of forgiveness. How is easy is it for us to forgive

people? Is forgiveness important? Why?

The Bible teaches and Christians believe that God forgives everyone who

is sorry when they do wrong. Jesus also taught that people should forgive

others when they have had wrong done to them.

Lesson 5

Pupils should:

use religious words to

describe the important

elements of the wedding

service and marriage for

Christians;

(AT 1)

think about how wedding

vows express the way

that someone getting

married tries to live their

married life by.

(AT 2)

What Does Marriage Mean For Christians?

Introduction:

Remind pupils that in the 1st part of this teaching unit we learnt about

Baptism which is a Christian rite of passage. What does this mean?

Explain that for the rest of the unit we are going to learn about another

Christian rite of passage. Can any of the pupils think what this might be?

A wedding / marriage.

Main Part of the Lesson:

Ask pupils if they have ever been to a wedding before?

If yes, ask them to share experiences with others.

What is a wedding?

What is marriage?

Who gets married?

Why do people want to get married?

Emphasise love and commitment.

Include that some people choose to live together as a couple, but don’t

want to get married; they still show love and commitment to each other.

But for many people, particularly people of faith, they feel that it is

important to them and in their faith to have a wedding and get married,

publicly committing and declaring their love for each other.

For Christians a wedding is important for the reasons already mentioned

and also because they want to come before God, offer their relationship

as a couple to God and to ask Him for His blessing upon that relationship.

Show some photographs of different wedding ceremonies, ensuring that

there are many Christian weddings and from different Christian cultural

backgrounds.

Make sure you have a diverse selection

of wedding images reflecting different

weddings including different Christian

weddings and weddings from different

Christian cultural backgrounds.

Resources:

Wide selection of photographic images

of wedding ceremonies, particularly

Christian weddings;

Extract from marriage service (wedding

vows);

Available in Common Worship in the

Prayer and Worship section on the

Church of England website,

http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/

ngfl/ngfl-flash/wedding/eng/default.htm

Sensitivities:

Be sensitive towards the different family

background situations of pupils, including

pupils whose parents / carers have

chosen not to get married in church,

have chosen not to get married at all,

pupils whose parents have divorced or

where the pupils’ parents’ / carers’

relationships are experiencing

difficulties.

Ask the pupils:

What do you think is happening in these photographs?

What are the couple getting married wearing? Why do you think the

couple have chosen these clothes?

Is there anyone else at the wedding? Why do you think that is? What

is similar / different about the pictures?

What symbolism at the wedding can you see?

(Joining hands and possibly wearing white, etc.)

Where is the wedding taking place?

Do weddings happen anywhere else? Where?

Why do many people want to get married in a church? What does this

for them?

for their wedding guests?

for their marriage?

When people get married, they make promises. Who are they making

these promises to?

When a couple get married, at that time they plan to be married for all

their lives and so when the couple make these promises, they are

promising for life.

However, sometimes things go wrong or things happen and the couple do

not stay married for life, they might get divorced.

What special promises do the pupils think people make when they get

married?

Look at an extract from the Church of England Marriage Service.

Working in pairs, pupils underline any promises (vows) that are made by

the couple getting married.

Why do the two people getting married make these promises (vows) to

Sensitivity also needs to be shown

towards those pupils (and their families)

whose parents / carers are in a same-sex

marriage and those who may not or

have not currently been able to get

married in church.

On these issues, there also needs to be

sensitivity towards the fact that people

within the Christian faith, and other

faiths, have different strong views and

understanding about divorce and same-

sex marriage.

The emphasis in the class and in RE

lessons needs to be on inclusion and

care and the underlying principles of

Christian marriage which is about love

and commitment in a relationship

blessed by God.

each other?

A wedding is a public statement of love and commitment made by two

people. Think about what love and commitment means, particularly in the

context of marriage.

A Christian wedding is an act of worship in which promises are made to

each other and also to God at the beginning of a marriage. Christians

marrying in a church believe that they are making these promises before

God. Why is this important for Christians?

Marriage is also seen as a gift from God, celebrating God’s love for two

people individually and in their new lives together.

Activity:

Writing marriage vows: Working together in pairs, ask pupils to come up

with their own actions, intentions and ways of living that will make for a

good marriage. They need to write these as a set of promises / wedding

vows that could be said by two people getting married, alongside the

official wedding vows that have to be said as part of the Church of England

wedding service.

Play quietly some music that might be used at a Christian wedding.

Pupils share their own written marriage vows with the rest of the class.

The rest of the class are encouraged to listen, think about the words in

the promises and the similarities and differences between them.

Extension:

Look at weddings and marriage in other faiths and consider the similarities

and differences between them and a Christian wedding and marriage.

Lesson 6

Pupils should:

use religious vocabulary

to explain how the use of

promises in both

Christian Baptism and

Christian marriage show

the beliefs of the

Christians taking part in

(AT 1)

link promises that they

and other people make

with the way that they

(AT 2)

How Are Promises Important In Both

Christian Baptism and Christian Marriage?

Introduction:

Display some of the Christian symbols of Baptism and marriage. What are

shared by both Christian rites of passage? What are unique to each?

Baptism Diamond 9 – white Christening robe, promises (said by parents

and Godparents,) vicar, font, shell, water, cross, candle, party.

In groups, pupils use the Baptism Diamond 9 or create their own one to

prioritise the pictures by importance, i.e. most important at the top and

least important at the bottom. Pictures of equal importance are placed in

the same row. Pupils to explain and justify their decisions and compare

their diagrams. These can also be photographed to place in individual RE

class books (and possibly class RE big book.)

Think back on the past lessons within this teaching unit.

Discuss with pupils:

What are the differences and the similarities between Christian baptism

and Christian marriage?

Focus on the promises that are made at each.

How do promises help us to belong and to show that we belong?

How is this so in baptism and marriage?

What do these promises mean:

for the people making them?

in the case of infant baptism: for the child that they are being made on

behalf of?

for the people witnessing them being made?

for God?

for future life:

Be aware that children will have

different family backgrounds.

Resources:

Baptism and Marriage artefacts or

pictures/images.

Resource Sheets:

Baptism Diamond 9,

Blank Diamond 9;

Sensitivities:

Be sensitive towards the different family

background situations of pupils, including

pupils whose parents / carers have

chosen not to get married in church,

have chosen not to get married at all,

pupils whose parents have divorced or

where the pupils’ parents’ / carers’

relationships are experiencing

difficulties.

Sensitivity also needs to be shown

towards those pupils (and their families)

whose parents / carers are in a same-sex

marriage and those who may not or

have not currently been able to get

married in church.

On these issues, there also needs to be

sensitivity towards the fact that people

as a baptised member of the Christian Church?

as a married couple?

Of all the promises looked at, which words do pupils think matter most?

Activity:

Pupils to draw and colour in with coloured pencils a symbol from a

Christian baptism or a wedding and then to write in it a piece of writing

about promises / vows, showing what they have learnt about them and

their place in these Christian rites of passage along with their own

thoughts about them.

Reflect on the concept of promises.

What promises do we try and keep in life? Why?

What helps us keep those promises?

Why do Christians make and keep promises before God?

within the Christian faith, and other

faiths, have different strong views and

understanding about divorce and same-

sex marriage.

The emphasis in the class and in RE

lessons needs to be on inclusion and

care and the underlying principles of

Christian marriage which is about love

and commitment in a relationship

blessed by God.

At The End of The Unit:

Discuss with the pupils if they have any

unanswered questions or thoughts they

would like to express from this unit of work.

As a class teacher you can decide how they

will be addressed and responded to

appropriately.

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