Chaplaincy Team
Our Chaplaincy Team
At Holy Family, living by the word of God is at the core of everything we do. Through our RE lessons, Gospel assemblies and our Celebration of the Word assemblies, the word of the Lord is taught and discussed daily.
We have a wonderful group of children who are our Chaplaincy team in school. Their role is to meet and unpick the word of God and then spread the good news throughout school. They plan and deliver whole school Prayer Liturgies and Prayer Liturgies in class.
"15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
Mark 16:15
Our Chaplaincy Team 2025-2026
We are pleased to introduce the new Chaplaincy Team for 2025-2026.
Blessing of the Advent Wreaths
The Chaplaincy Team played an important role in our Advent Mass, taking part in the Blessing of the Advent Wreath service led by Father Joseph. During the celebration, each class was presented with their own Advent wreath, reminding the children of the season of waiting, hope and preparation as we journey towards Christmas.
2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9: 2
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Remembrance Day
Our Chaplaincy Team delivered a beautiful service to the whole school to mark Remembrance Day.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9
Harvest Time
The Chaplaincy Team have been involved in preparing for and supporting our Harvest celebrations. Throughout the week, they welcomed families at the front of school each morning, collecting generous donations from parents and children in preparation for our Harvest Mass. During the Mass, the pupils played an important role by reading scripture and leading prayers alongside Father Joseph, helping the whole school to reflect on the meaning of Harvest. Following the celebration, the Chaplaincy Team delivered the donated items to our local food bank, where they will be distributed to members of our community in need.
6 The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
Psalm 67:6
Welcome Back
It was lovely to welcome Father Joseph into school to hold our 'Welcome Back' mass. Our new members of the Chaplaincy Team took part in readings and leading prayers for the whole school.
Archived- 2024-2025
Chaplaincy Team- VE day reflection
To mark VE Day, our Chaplaincy Team led a special reflection, encouraging us to pause and remember the courage and sacrifice shown at the end of World War II in Europe. Together, we reflected on themes of peace, hope, and gratitude, honouring those who served and those who continue to work for a more just and peaceful world.
Taking Part in Worship...
During Eastertide, members of our Chaplaincy team led a special Gospel assembly. They brought the scripture to life through a thoughtful dramatisation and shared the Gospel message with the whole school.
Caring for God's Creation
It was wonderful to see members of the Chaplaincy and Care for Creation teams going out into the community to do God's work.
The children worked with members of Shaping Stainforth and Stainforth 4 All to pick up litter in the local environment and even competing to see who could pick up the most.
Well done!
'As stewards of God's creation, we are called to make Earth a beautiful garden for the human family.'
Pope Francis
Our Ash Wednesday Mass
The Chaplaincy team proudly took part in our Ash Wednesday mass, setting up the alter and reading in the service held by Father Joseph. It was lovely to hear them read the word of God so clearly and confidently and leading the school in the Responsorial Psalm and the Bidding Prayer.
Well done!
The Year of Jubilee
The Chaplaincy team were so excited to mark the beginning of the Year of Jubilee in school by helping to organise a special celebration of the word, to spread Pope Francis' message to all the children in school.
They created a beautiful focal point, taking into consideration the theme for this year and took part in the readings.
Take a look at our celebration of the word below...
Getting Ready for the Year of Jubilee
Members of the Chaplaincy Team were incredibly helpful, distributing the posters and prayers for the Year of Jubilee to each class. While they gave out the resources, they explained to each class how and when to use them.
Our New Virtue
The Chaplaincy team took time to share our new virtue of 'Simplicity' with all the classes in school.
Blessing of the Advent Wreaths Service
A beautiful blessing of the Advent Wreaths service led by Father Joseph and our school chaplaincy team.
All wreaths were made by the children and their families during a workshop and will now be used throughout Advent in each of our classes and local church.
Remembrance Service
Members of our school chaplaincy team delivered a special Remembrance service yesterday. They shared reflective poems and prayers before leading the school in observing a 2 minute silence which finished with the children listening to the 'The Last Post'.
Celebration of the Word
Members of our chaplaincy team led a whole school celebration of the word this week which focused on the following scripture:
"Love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself."
Mark 12:33
Together we reflect on how loving God first is the most important thing we can do. The chaplaincy team also shared a special repeating 'Act of Love' prayer with the whole school.
Virtue of Hope
"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:31
Members of our school chaplaincy team shared the new virtue of 'Hope' in all classes. They discussed different ways in which all children could show signs of living this new virtue.
Harvest
Our chaplaincy team lead our school mass to celebrate harvest at Our Lady of Assumption Church. They shared scripture and reflective bidding prayers with the rest of the school.
Following the harvest liturgy, some members of the chaplaincy team took the wonderful harvest donations to our local food bank where they were extremely grateful and thankful for the kind offerings which would make a difference to families in our local community.
October - The Month of the Rosary
The chaplaincy team provided all children with their own set of rosary beads and prayer card to use during the month of October, both at home and school. They visited each class to speak to them about how to pray the rosary following our whole school celebration of the word.
Live Simply Award
Members of the Chaplaincy team were pleased to take part in the assessment towards our Live Simply award this September which the school has been working towards over the past year. Together with the Care for Creation team and School Council, all of their hard work was presented to the assessors during an interview with the students and we are pleased to announce that have successfully achieved the Live Simply award. This honour would not have been possible without the hard work and determination of the students, leading different initiatives throughout school.
Well done everyone!
