We listened to the Ascension story and discussed that God loved his son Jesus very much and that Jesus loved his Father too. After Jesus had finished the special job that God sent him to Earth to do, God wanted Jesus to come home again to Heaven to be with him.

We talked about how Jesus’ friends were a bit sad to see him go back to Heaven because they would miss him. However, Jesus told them not to be sad, as he would send them someone to help them. Jesus also knew that he would see them again in Heaven one day.

We read a letter from Jesus. In the letter, Jesus said that he loves them all and that although we cannot see him, he is with us and never leaves us. In the letter, Jesus told them that he wants them to still visit him in church and that when they pray together, he is there too. He explained that although it can be sad when we cannot see someone we love, it does not mean that they do not love us anymore and that we can still talk to them in lots of ways. We can talk to Jesus at any time when we pray, and he always hears us.

The children were then invited to help the teacher write a letter back to Jesus to tell him anything they wanted him to know and also to tell him that we love him.

We watched the story “God the Father and the Best Day Ever” by Gracie Jagla. The children were reminded that Jesus opened the gates of Heaven for us all when he rose from the dead and returned to his Father in Heaven.

We discussed that no one really knows what Heaven is like, but we know it will be a wonderful place, or paradise, where everyone can be with God and everyone is happy and loved.

We asked the children to wonder and imagine what Heaven might be like. The children were then able to build or create models of what they think Heaven might be like

We shared the story of Pentecost and explored the signs of the Holy Spirit through wind, fire and hearing the message “Jesus loves us” in different languages. We talked together about the feelings the Apostles may have had before the Holy Spirit came, such as feeling sad, worried or afraid. The children were invited to think about times when they have felt sad or frightened themselves.

We then discussed times when we have needed help and who has helped us, helping the children to understand that the Holy Spirit is always there to help us too, and that we can ask him for help whenever we need it. We lit a candle to help us think about the Holy Spirit and the flames of fire, and each child was invited to say one thing they would like the Holy Spirit to help them with.

The children then acted out the story of Pentecost using colourful scarves. We talked about how Pentecost was a very important day for the friends of Jesus and for the Church. God the Holy Spirit helped the Apostles to be brave and to tell everyone about Jesus.

We shared the song “No More Waiting” and encouraged the children to join in. We talked about how singing together can be a way of praying, because we are speaking to God as one community.

Finally, the children were asked to think again about the flames of the Holy Spirit and to thank God the Holy Spirit for coming and being our friend. Each child added their candle to the prayer table as we ended our time of prayer together.