R.E.

• Start with a list of people: for example, Brownies, doctors, policemen, parents at christenings, and the types of promises they make.

Pupils match the people with the promises.

 Recap here what children know about baptism and promises.

• Watch a video showing a Christian wedding, or look at photographs. Use these to start a discussion on how promises are made at a wedding (recapping how pacts and promises link to the story of Noah), and how the Christian ceremony initiates a partnership between two people and God.

• Look at text of a simplified version of a wedding ceremony (see Resource Sheet ). Hold a ‘promise scavenger hunt’ by giving pupils a list of promises made at the ceremony and the people making them (including the congregation as witnesses and supporters of the couple). Pupils should find these in the text. Throw in some red herrings of promises people might like to make, but don’t, in a wedding ceremony (for example, ‘I will always buy you birthday presents’); pupils will not be able to find these, but it will help them focus on what is and is not promised. Point out that this is like a covenant, because both parties make promises. Talk about how making these promises to each other and to God might help a Christian couple in their married life.

• (You might re-visit baptism, and look at the promises made there too — pp.66-67 in this document: www.churchofengland.org/media/1190836/ holy%20baptism.pdf )