Questions

• Importance of prayer


  • Prayer is one of the key practices in Christianity, it allows Christians to form a relationship with God and to seek guidance.
  • During prayer you must have faith in God and the fact that he will deal with your worries, so prayer therefore is important as it allows Christians to strengthen their faith and trust in God.
  • Prayer also unites Christians and is important as Jesus instructed his disciples to pray using set prayer.
• What is liturgical worship

  • When worship is followed structurally. This is when a group of two or more Christians join together and recite set responses to readings.
  • This helps Christians feel connected to their traditions as these prayers and traditions have been followed for many years.
  • This is the way Jesus instructed his disciples to pray.
• Informal worship


  • When worship does not have a structure to it and is spontaneous.
  • This emphasises the importance of the Holy Spirit and allows spontaneous actions to show during worship.
  • This can be seen as more modern however before the establishment of churches and rituals this was a type of worship performed by many Christians.
  • This also allows for worship anywhere and moves away from the idea that Church is the only place of worship. As long as Christians are gathering it is still worship.
• Differences between Liturgical and informal worship

  • Liturgical worship follows a set structure with order for example the eucharist whereas informal worship is spontaneous and encourages the holy spirit to be present.
  • In liturgical prayer texts and scriptures are typically read and this is usually done in a Church whereas informal prayer just allows freedom and can take place anywhere with a group of Christians.
  • Liturgical prayer is the way in which Jesus instructed the disciples to worship whereas informal resembles earlier worship
• Describe evangelical worship


  • Evangelical worship is a spontaneous form of worship that is unscripted.
  • Evangelical Christians believe that the Holy Spirit is present when they worship and inspires what happens next
  • This form of worship may include clapping, singing and shouting.
  • They worship with their whole bodies as opposed to just their minds and feel moved by the holy spirit forming a closer relationship with God.
• Evangelical worship scripture


  "and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly" Acts 4:31
• The significance of sacraments

  • Sacraments are important because they help Christians worship God aswell as strengthen relationships.
  • For example with Baptism this may help bring Christians closer to Jesus as he was baptised. "As soon as Jesus was baptised he went up and out of the water" Matthew 3:13
  • Sacraments symbolise forgiveness and repentance for sins for example penance, baptism, confirmation. The forgiveness of God is very important as Jesus suffered for our sins to repair this relationship.
• Name 2 sacraments


  • Penance
  • Baptism
  • Confirmation
  • The Eucharist
• Describe the meaning of Baptism 


  • Baptism is a sacrament performed by Christians in order to cleanse of original sin. Catholics have strong beliefs about original sin and therefore believe all babies born should be baptised as infants as otherwise they will not be saved and wouldnt be able to go to heaven.
• Describe the meaning of confirmation

  • Confirmation is a confirming of your faith. This takes place in denominations which take part in infant baptisms. It takes place at the age at which someone is old enough to make their own decisions and in this sacrament your relationship with God is confirmed as you repromise what your parents did for you.
• Describe the meaning of penance.

  • Penance is a sacrament required in Catholicism.
  • It is done in order for Catholics to repent against their sins
  • It shows you feel remorse and have this self inflicted sorrow
  • You confess to a priest to repent.
• Describe two features of a baptism

  • The Baptism follows in example of Jesus who was Baptised in the Jordan River. This gives Christians an oppurtunity to follow in Jesus' teachings and publicly declare their faith.
  • In many denominations it is believed that Baptism removes original sin and by cleansing you become free of original sin and now have your own free will to start again and allow judgement to be made on your choices not the original sin you are born with.
• Describe a Christian pilgrimage

  • A Christian pilgrimage is that of going to Lourdes in France.
  • Christians from all across the world travel to Lourdes as it is believed that waters there have healing powers.
  • A young girl had a vision of the Virgin Mary there who told her to dig to find water and then she found a stream.
  • Since then sick people travel to Lourdes in hope to be healed and others travel to help those in need. The Virgin Mary also promised there was good to come in the after life and therefore many travel in hopes their prayers will be answered.
• How might Christians celebrate Easter?

  • Take part in the 40 day lent giving up something or fasting as Jesus did.
  • Attending services in church
  • Exchanging Easter eggs
  • Visiting cemeteries to visit those who have passed.
  • Personal readings of the Bible to strengthen faith.
• How might Christians celebrate Christmas?

  • Nativity plays in schools and churches to share the story of the miracle birth of baby Jesus.
  • Exchanging gifts and presents just as the 3 wise men gave for Jesus
  • Midnight mass communion services
  • Being given an orange with a candle to show that Jesus was the light of the world.
  • Spending time with families and loved ones.
• Why do Christians go on pilgrimage ?

  • Grow closer to God without distractions
  • Pray for something
  • Express sorrow for sin
  • Reflect on their lives
  • In hopes to cure illness and disease
  • To help those who have come to cure illness and disease
• Pilgrimage scripture


  James 2:17 "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead"
• Taize


  • A Christian site of pilgrimage
  • People come from all across the world to live a life of communal prayer .
  • However all these people come from different denominations and both Catholics and Protestants are united.
  • This becomes very important for the process of reconciliation to heal the split between different denominations and promote understanding.
• Why is Taize specifically so important


  • It brings together different denominations, putting reconciliation into action and healing relationships between denominations.
  • Follows Jesus' teachings and puts "love thy neighbour" into action.
• Walsingham 


  • A holy place ever since there was a dream which someone had of the virgin mary asking her to build a replica of the house in Nazareth where baby Jesus' birth was announced.
  • However this was then destroyed when the reformation took place however many Catholic Christians still travel to Walsingham to practice their religion fully
• Why is Walsingham an important place of pilgrimage?

  Because it commemorates Jesus' birth, all our journeys as Christians begin with birth and Jesus Christ was the true Messiah and brought truth to Earth sharing Christianity so what could be more important than the place his Birth was announced.