Thursday 28 August 2025
This past fortnight has been a very full and exciting couple of weeks in the life of the College. No-one who was present at Eden Park two weekends ago, will ever forget the incredible sense of pride, gratitude and relief the College felt, winning the 1A Rugby Competition. What an incredible achievement! The coaches, players, support staff, students, families and College community were united around one occasion, one goal and one outcome – winning the 1A Secondary Schools’ rugby competition. Congratulations from the whole Chapel team!
Whenever I see occasions like this, I cannot but think of St Paul’s image of the ‘body’ in the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthian churches. There, St Paul describes in these pages (1 Cor.12:12), how “Just as a body, …has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” Here, St Paul outlines how every body part plays a key role – even though what we call the profile of each part all differs significantly.
St Paul wrote to the churches in Korinth to remind them of the importance of ‘celebrating’ every single part – no matter how small or insignificant, because it is only when everyone does their bit together, can a great outcome be achieved. Some roles are upfront and get a lot of kudos, but others, humbly do the background work, using the skills they have to ensure that everyone is well-served. And that is what we’ve seen this season. A whole company of parents, caterers, coaches, players, grounds’ staff, physios, dietitians, event organisers – all contributing for the good of the whole and in doing so, achieving the final goal of winning the final, and also bringing honour and glory to God. Powerful stuff!
This weekend we get another taste of what this kind of whole ‘body’ can achieve, as we look to host the Special Olympics fundraiser here at the College on Saturday evening. The brain-child of student Ella McCutcheon (Year 13, Middlemore), Ella spoke powerfully in Chapel last week, about the Special Olympics in a personal reflection that was appreciated by everyone. On Saturday, assisted ably by Mr Horacek-Glading, Ella and a team of students, will be serving 250 members of the disability community and their caregivers at a Special Olympics fundraising evening. The gathering – supported by our senior students, will be a wonderful time for everyone, as people bring their different gifts, including setting up and packing down, DJ-ing, serving food and welcoming and relating others, all to ensure fun is had and funds are raised to help these special young people attend the Special Olympics. We look forward to an update from Ella herself in a fortnight’s time, and wish them well for the weekend ahead.
Finally, as we head towards exams, we wanted to mention that we are postponing the Confirmation Service, scheduled for the beginning of September, to a later date in Term 1 next year. This is to ensure that those who wish to, can be Confirmed by the Bishop Ross, so we look forward to that very special occasion in March next year.
In the meantime, have a great short week and remember to encourage those in need of a word of encouragement.
Peace and grace,
Rev Gareth Walters, Mr Antony Horacek-Glading and Mr Max Masters.