clow

Jesus always made a special point of welcoming children. He said "Let the little children come to me do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs" (Mk 10:14) The Church is concerned that children are not excluded from hearing the word of God by not understanding the scriptures which were primarily written for adult readers. Thus the provision of a Liturgy of the Word for children would seem to be essential in order that all children have access to God's word.

In our Cathedral parish here in Clifton, a group of parishioners met in 1987 with the approval of the then parish priest Monsignor Hollis and agreed to pilot a new lectionary for children. This lectionary "Sunday", Weekly Leader Guide was put together by four people experienced in the fields of liturgy and catechesis, they included Christopher Walker who was then Director of Music at Clifton Cathedral and who wrote all the music for the children's liturgy. We still use this lectionary and music today.

Each Sunday during our 9.30a.m. family mass, the children are led out in procession behind two accolytes to the sacritsty for their own Liturgy of the Word, known here in Clifton as CLOW. Sometimes there as as many as 150 children present, so we start by welcoming them all together as one big group, we introduce the theme of the day's Gospel reading and we sing a short hymn or alleluia. We then split into 3 age groups, 3 and 4 years olds, 5 to 7 years olds and 8 to 11 year olds in order to adapt the readings more successfully. We listen to God's word then the children have the opportunity to reflect and ask questions to help them to understand the scriptures more fully and to try to get a feel for what God is saying to them. We end with the children's own bidding prayers and a concluding prayer and if time a hymn.

In the "Liturgy of the Word with Children Guidelines" issued by the Bishop's Conference of England & Wales it states "The purpose of adapting liturgy for children is to lead them into full conscious and active participation in the liturgy of the parish. Liturgy with children as with adults demands dignity, clarity and simplicity". By providing a children's liturgy we give our children access to God's Word in a way they can understand and participate in so that they can learn from an early age what God is asking of them and they can plan their lives accordingly.

Our children come from a very wide area, many do not attend Catholic schools so the Children's Liturgy is the one time in the week when they can share their faith and ask questions and make friends amongst other catholics. If they start to come to the group at 3 years of age the friendships they make help to sustain their faith, parents report that their children cannot wait to come to mass on Sunday. When they join together in preparation for their First Holy Communion and later for their Confirmation, they all know each other very well and soon gel together into a harmonious group. By the time they are 11years old their knowledge of the scriptures is quite vast, they have an understanding of the liturgical year which they may not have gleaned to the same extent had they been listening to adult liturgies for all those years.

When asked "Why do you like coming to the Children's Liturgy?"

3 year old: "Because it is happy and we learn to make the sign of the cross"

6 year old: "Because we sing nice songs about Jesus"

8 year old: "Because it isn't boring, I can't work out what the priest is saying when we go to a mass without children's liturgy and we can't ask questions I might as well not go"

11 year old: "Because I have lots of friends there and I can talk about my faith"

Our children are our Church’s future so we owe them some good catholic nourishment. At the 9.30 mass
During term time, the children leave for the Liturgy of the Word, breaking up into three different age-related groups.
Our aim is to develop their sense of faith and practice through age-appropriate teaching based on reflecting of the gospel for the day. We also aim to help children enjoy this process with singing, art work and discussion used at different times. During the main liturgical points of the year, Easter and Christmas, special activities are encouraged so the children’s art work can be shared with the whole community, a special nativity play can be enjoyed, and at mother’s day, the children can rejoice in our human community. Children are also taught awareness of the poor and the importance of sharing, so every year there as a period where they bring in gifts of food, cosmetics and clothes which are given to a particular charity.

For further information please contact Mary Manners at the Presbytery 0117 973 8411