2. How are we going to be ambassadors of mercy?

3. To answer this, we need to LISTEN to GOD’S WORD and the teachings within the BIBLE.

4. We listen to God’s word It states in Luke’s gospel that Jesus said..... ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.’ The gospel of the Lord........ Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

5. Jesus is telling us that we shouldn’t just show love and mercy to people who show love and mercy to us. Our reason for helping people should not be that we will get something back. We should do good without expecting anything in return.

6. Later in St Luke’s gospel, in chapter 10, we hear Jesus tell the story of the Good Samaritan. This is the perfect example of someone showing love and mercy without expecting anything in return.

7. To help us understand, let’s watch this short video clip of the “Good Samaritan”

8. We can see from this story how a kind traveller helped to make the life of a total stranger so much better by showing him compassion and MERCY.

9. ‘Go and do the same’. The Good Samaritan cared for a man who was in need - someone who he didn’t know. He paid the innkeeper to look after the man and offered to pay extra if needed. He was a Good Samaritan, a good man, a good neighbour. At the end of the Good Samaritan story, Jesus said, ‘Go and do the same’.

10. But what does this all mean to us in 2016. How can we can show that we are doing our best to follow the gospel and Jesus?

13. * Feed the Hungry * Get a group of friends to help make sack lunches at your local homeless shelter. * Have a food kit in your bag of some non-perishable foods. So next time when you see a homeless person you can give it to them. * Give Drink to the Thirsty * Make a fast for a month of only drinking water any money that you would have spent on pop can be donated to charity * Pass out water bottles for homeless on streets with a note attached with a bible verse or a simple “you’re loved.” * Clothe the Naked * Donate old or unused clothes to a charity shop, or a homeless shelter. * Shelter the Homeless * Sign up to become a big brother or big sister and help mentor a child who’s is being fostered and doesn’t have a permanent home of their own. * Become pen pals with a child from an orphanage.

14. Visit the Sick Volunteer your time at your local children’s hospital and spend some quality time reading or playing games with the children and their families. Another great volunteering opportunity is to visit the elderly at a nursing home. Send flowers or a card to someone you know in the hospital. Visit the Imprisoned Get a group of friends to write letters full of encouragement and hope for your local prison. Offer to babysit for someone who may feel “stuck” in her house all day with young ones. Bury the Dead Make sure that when a loved one has passed away to do your very best to attend the funeral or wake. It’s very important we celebrate their life here on earth and that we pray for the repose of their soul. Find ways to help a local family in your parish that is grieving over a loved one. Whether it’s by cooking a dish for them to eat, or if it’s helping by babysitting.

15. As a school, we are selling the year of mercy wristbands for £1. All profits will be donated to taking the sick and vulnerable members of the Nottinghamshire diocese to Lourdes. The Lourdes team will be on hand to sell them over the next term.

16. We ask God to be with us as we promise to serve our school throughout the coming year by our actions, words and prayers. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen