The Chaplaincy team led us in a liturgical prayer about the gift of piety. They chose the hymn ‘Be still for the presence of the Lord’ because the words remind us to be reverent and respectful when we gather together before God. They asked the children to come into the hall with their hands together in prayer as a sign of piety. Nicola explained that piety is showing love, respect and reverence to God all of the time, in the way we treat Him, His world and other people.
Nicola and Martyna explained the scripture they had chosen – Luke 18 – the story of the pharisee and the tax collector and asked the children to spot which man showed true piety before God. They explained that the tax collector, who didn’t boast or criticise others, but just quietly asked God to forgive him for the bad choices he had made in his life, was showing true piety. We responded to the scripture by saying the words of the tax collector, ‘God, have pity on me, a sinner’ and listening to the voice of God silently in our hearts.
After this, they performed a drama to help us understand how we can show piety when we enter the church. Victor, Nicola and Poppy walked into church laughing and chatting, then Martyna, Darcey and Tailun showed them how they should behave and all the children knelt together in prayer.
Our mission was to kneel down in a quiet place and listen to God instead of talking to him.
How can you show piety to God in your daily life?
