Our Faith

September 2023

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

                                                                                                                                                                                                           Hebrews 11:6

Our Faith underpins everything that we do at St Michael & St John's. It helps us develop through The Gospel Values and teachings and is essentially part of who we are as individuals and as a family. We love our retreats. We gather in the hall, the Prayer & Nurture room, the garden or in our own classrooms, there is an opportunity to pray and worship and reflect in a variety of ways, and to have our own private time with God .

We worship daily through our daytime prayers and through assemblies. We also love inviting families in to worship with the class. We have GIFT Missionary Disciples who lead and carry out their duties beautifully, and we are incredibly lucky to have our own Church next door.  We have excellent links with our Church, Parish and Father Paul. Below you will find out ways our faith is spread throughout school. 

Rejoice Sessions with Parents & Grandparents

At the end of our RE Units we have a Rejoice session which parents and grandparents are invited to. It is a time for children to share their learning and share their special time of coming together to celebrate and worship God. The photographs below show some of the Rejoice sessions across the school. 

Worship & Assemblies at SSMJ

Below you will find some photographs to show the Worship and Assemblies that have taken place throughout the term. Some are shared with special visitors, some as a whole school and some as a class. We pride ourselves at creating special places for children to share Worship in different areas around school. 

Holy Rosary Every Morning in October 

The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary as the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary falls on 7^th October.  Please come and join us every morning from Monday 2^nd October 2023 at 8.45am to offer our prayers and special intentions up to Mary our Mother and to ask her to intercede for us. The Rosary is led by children or parents and all are welcome.  Parents and children wishing to join us for the Rosary will be welcomed into school through the yard gates, please can parishioners sign in at the office and you will be welcomed through to our Prayer Room.

Little Way Week 2023 begins on Monday 25 September and ends on Friday 29 September. The feast of St Thérèse of Lisieux falls on 1 October. 

Click the link below to find out more. 

September 2022 - 2023

Weekly Worship

Jesus instructed the twelve as follows: “Do not be afraid. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the house-tops. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; think more about God who has power over both body and soul. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows. So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is sending out his disciples to heal and to preach the good news. Even if they are met with hostility and persecution, they must be true to Jesus. Jesus himself was fearless in proclaiming truth and exposing falsehood. Now his disciples must courageously do the same. Most of us require courage at some time in our lives, so it’s good and helpful to nurture courage in our children.

IMPORTANT DATES THIS TERM

ST JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY 20 March

THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD 25 March

PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD 2 April

MAUNDY THURSDAY 6 April GOOD FRIDAY 7 April

EASTER SUNDAY 9 April

At St Michael & St John's, we strive to ensure that everyone who comes through our door is made to feel welcome.

Our staff work hard to ensure that our faith is at the heart of everything we do and reflects our ethos.

Following the example of Jesus, together we learn, love and respect one another to be the best we can be. 

 At SSMJ we offer our children an exciting and faith filled RE curriculum that is central to every aspect of school life. Through the outstanding provision we make we ensure that children leave our school religiously literate and engaged in the world and people around them, filled with knowledge, understanding and skills so that they can reflect spiritually, think ethically and theologically, and who are aware of the demands of religious commitment in everyday life.

The staff team are dedicated to every stage of your child’s development in the faith and through prayer life, vocational awareness, Religious Education lessons, charitable works, Sacramental preparation, we work with you, the parent, and the Parish to make sure children growing in God’s love are prepared to live life to the fullest as Catholics who have an astute understanding of their personal and social responsibility and British Values as faith filled and giving citizens of tomorrow.

Lent 2023

We are delighted to be taking part in our annual appeal supporting Caritas during Lent, raising money for children, mums and dads across the Diocese of Salford who need help. Not everyone has the things they need to make a happy home, but Caritas, through the St Joseph’s Penny Appeal, reaches out to those vulnerable children and families in our communities. They offer support in lots of different ways – from food parcels to counselling sessions, from Christmas presents to giving young mums and their babies somewhere safe to live; Caritas means something different to everyone we help.

This year we are asking parent/carers to make a donation through a special JustGiving page.

May is the month where we remember and honour Mary.

Some ideas you can try at home:

• Learn about the rosary and the different mysteries
• Pray the Rosary Daily as a family
• Write your own prayer devotions
• Make pictures, paintings or collages of your class devotion to Mary
• Research other devotions to Mary
• Sing hymns to Our Lady (Marian hymns)
• Make your own altar to our lady at home
• Grow some flowers or make flowers using crafts

We have made a Lenten video so you can see what our classes and G.I.F.T Team have been doing during Lent.  Our charitable giving was for Cafod and St Joseph's Penny.  Thank you for your wonderful support. 

https://makemeavideo.wetransfer.com/downloads/255ca58dba59d504ff77ff86553144ad20210401133917/b007f699ce0c3b216e9f1e57568b979d20210401133917/17d1cf