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| Spreading
the Sunday Gospel to families through primary schools
and enriching the Home, School & Parish partnership.
Headteacher
Asks... Project FAQ
1. WHAT
IS THE WEDNESDAY WORD?
2. WHY
THE WEDNESDAY WORD?
3. WHY
SEND THE WEDNESDAY WORD THROUGH SCHOOL?
4. WHY
SEND IT OUT ON A WEDNESDAY?
5. WILL
THIS BE ANOTHER BURDEN FOR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION?
6. WHEN
AND HOW CAN WE IMPLEMENT THE WEDNESDAY WORD?
7.
HOW DO WE ORDER THE WEDNESDAY WORD?
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What
is THE WEDNESDAY WORD? |
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The Wednesday Word promotes a new, weekly,
family custom where families are encouraged to remove
distractions (e.g. computer games, TV, etc.) for a
short time each week, and gather together to talk.
The focus of conversation is guided by the new, family-friendly,
double-sided A4 Wednesday Word resource.
The Wednesday Word contains
the coming Sunday Gospel along with quick, easy to
read, contemporary, ‘bite-sized Catholic material
which carries an imprimatur. It is simple to do and
has proved extremely effective in practice.
The primary school version of The Wednesday
Word seeks to encourage and enable even the busiest
of parents to enrich relationships with their children
and with each other, through spending a very special
weekly, 10-15 minute Family Time together.
The Wednesday Word also aims to inspire and
enable parents and carers to think seriously about
God and the love that Jesus Christ and his Church
offers them.
The Family Time custom is discussion-based
and designed to be suitable for families with primary
school children of all ages. The suggested Family
Time theme (or ‘word’) for each week
is taken from the Gospel of the subsequent Sunday
or from the liturgical season. In this way it supports
the RE already provided by our schools, whilst harmonising
with the parish liturgy.
The Wednesday Word has been extensively
trialled and has proved to be extremely successful
in helping both churched and unchurched families feel
closer to God and foster a closer family unit. Please
see the many family testimonies on this website.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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The Wednesday Word is the product of
extensive trials and a seven year informal process listening
to lapsed Catholic/Christian school parents who are
typically the majority in most school communities.
- We are living in an age where many families connected
to our schools do not play an active part in their
Catholic school or parish community. We are also
witnessing family breakdown on a scale previously
unknown. Supporting families in their faith and
drawing them more closely into the life of the Church
is vital to our mission as disciples of Christ today.
- The mission particularly seeks to reach the majority
of parents (which statistics tell us are 80% in
many schools) who do not pray together, talk about
God or faith in their homes, or take their baptised
children to church.
- The Wednesday Word carries goodness into
the family home. For lapsed parents it also acts
as a weekly, gentle, indirect reminder about the
promises they made at their children’s baptism
and the responsibility they have to support their
children in the Catholic faith. The regular appearance
of this weekly resource in the home also seeks to
act as a reminder of the importance of Sunday Mass
and presents a regular invitation to the Eucharist
throughout the time that the family is connected
to the life of the Catholic school.
- Encouraging and enabling the Gospel to take root
in the home creates new possibilities for many parents
to rediscover what maybe a dormant or hesitant faith,
and possibly renew their contact with the Church.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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WHY
SEND THE WEDNESDAY WORD
THROUGH SCHOOL? |
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The
Wednesday Word is a powerful and effective way
to enhance the home, school and parish partnership.
This family friendly Gospel resource is offered to
families as a gift. There is no obligation for them
to use it. In this way the Word will be sent out,
and (as in the Parable of the Sower and the Seed)
some will respond to it immediately and some will
not. Yet the Word will be present in every home of
the families connected with our schools, and the opportunity
will be there for all of them to take part in the
Family Time together.
Many parents choose a Catholic school for their
children because they know that the Catholic ethos
provides a firm foundation for life, and simply reading
The Wednesday Word will help them to learn
more about the life and faith around which our schools
are built. We have even found, during trialling, that
families of other faiths have found something of interest
in The Wednesday Word Family Time.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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WHY
SEND IT OUT ON A WEDNESDAY? |
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We
suggest a particular day (Wednesday) for distribution
to help parents connect the name of the resource with
the day on which they receive it from school. Since
most of us are creatures of habit, nominating the
same day each week seeks to help families develop
a weekly custom.
Another reason for choosing Wednesday is because
it allows those school families who attend Mass sufficient
time to reflect on the Gospel which will be read in
church on the succeeding Sunday.
Moreover, Wednesday is the day which the Catholic
Church dedicates to St Joseph, who is the Patron Saint
of families. The Wednesday Word is also under
his patronage. Of course Wednesday is only a suggestion:
parents will know when it is the best time to use
the resource within their own families.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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WILL
THIS BE ANOTHER BURDEN FOR
SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION? |
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No. The impact on school administration is minimal.
The scheme can be entered into and implemented very
easily. The leaflets are supplied to schools each term.
They come wrapped in individual weeks, in chronological
order, ready to be distributed to pupils each week.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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WHEN
AND HOW CAN WE IMPLEMENT
THE WEDNESDAY WORD? |
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The initial launch
The Wednesday Word will be available for
schools to start distributing from Wednesday 9th April
2008. Orders must be placed no later than 29th February
2008 by schools who wish to be included in this initial
launch.
The national launch
Wednesday 17th September 2008 will be the next opportunity
for schools to start distributing The Wednesday
Word. Orders must be placed no later than 27th
May 2008 by schools who would like to be included
in the national launch.
Only you know best how to further support The
Wednesday Word in your own school, but some elements
may include creating awareness amongst parents and
pupils at assemblies or during induction and presentation
evenings, etc. As an example, awareness and funds
could possibly be raised by a non-uniform day collection
on either 19th March or 1st May each year, the feast
days of St Joseph, our Patron Saint.
The Wednesday Word team will regularly disseminate
examples of good practice and suggestions via email.
If you are intending to distribute The Wednesday
Word you may like to nominate a product champion
to update staff.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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HOW
DO WE ORDER THE WEDNESDAY WORD? |
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You can place an order by post. If you would like
to place an order please see the tab on the menu bar
entitled ‘Ordering’ where you will find
a downloadable order form.
Further information about placing an order can be
found in the 'Ordering FAQs' section.
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Fr
Timothy Swinglehurst
Parish Priest, St Austin's |
Dannie
Firth
Foundation Governor |
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"Imagine
a sower going out to
sow. Some seeds
fell on rich soil
and produced their crop,
some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty."
Matt
13:3 & 8 |
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