I have been reading Stephen Cottrell's book 'The Nail' over the Easter break. It takes the Easter story and explores it from the viewpoint of different characters. This means that the reader gets an insight into the fictional thinking of such characters as the Roman Centurian, Pilate's wife, Peter, Judas and Mary Magdelene. The book originally started as a play and the monologues formed part of Stephen's Good Friday services, enabling the congregation to reflect on the Easter story in a very engaging way.
I have used this as the basis for our first two whole school assemblies, taking the idea and enabling the children to consider the thoughts and feelings of the Roman Centurian, Jospeph of Arimethea, Peter and Mary. Each of of these characters saw the events of Good Friday and beyond from different perspectives, yet each one's contribution is vital as we seek to understand the unexpected events that led to an empty tomb.
The assemblies will also give us an opportunity to sing one of our classic action songs - Ismael's 'why do you look here for the living?' If you have never heard it, it is a classic from the eighties and we have put some lively actions to it. It is also one of those ones that can't be done sitting down!
