Thursday 3 April 2025
This week begins the countdown to our important Chapel Centenary services. One hundred years have passed since our Memorial Chapel was built, dedicated and consecrated to the memory of 109 King’s students and several staff who died in the Great War (1914-1918). It was also consecrated and dedicated to the Glory of God.
On Friday 11 April, at 11.30am, we will celebrate the centenary of our Chapel’s Consecration, with a staff and student service, to close our term held outside the Chapel, on the Number 1 field.
At 9.30am on Anzac Day, Friday 25 April, The Bishop of Auckland, along with members of the KCOCA and our wider King’s community, will gather for the Centenary Service of the Chapel’s Dedication. This year, we will be hearing from Old Collegian, Lieutenant Oliver Cook (School, 2013-17), who serves currently in the Royal New Zealand Navy, and who was the same age as many of the students who served and died and who the Chapel remembers.
As well as participating in this historic and moving service and joining for morning tea, there will also be an opportunity to walk through a dedicated history of the Memorial Chapel in the adjacent Chapel Close. Follow the stories that surround its inception, design and build. The display will also include curated stories of the Chapel’s history and the generations of people who have been part of its history. This display will be available to be enjoyed on Anzac Day until 2pm and then again after school, beginning Week 1.
The College will be holding it's Anzac Day Observance service on the first day of Term 2, where we will again mark this centenary year and hear from Lieutenant Oliver Cook – in a message tailored for our rangatahi.
There will then be a Chapel Dinner for those who wish to attend, held in the evening of the 26 June, with more details to be provided at the start of Term 2.
Recent Events
A huge thank you to all the students and families who have been participating in our Term 1 evening services, and for your kind contribution to the collections to both the Auckland City Mission and Anglican Trust for Women and Children. These are important services and uphold the special character of our College. Please do keep an eye on the calendar for next term, as we have adjusted some of the times for several of the evening services.
Also, we want to say a huge thank you to recent visitor, Jordan Thyer who spoke at two of our Chapel services, as well as speaking with two of our Year 9 classes. It is always fantastic to put gifted and talented speakers who have thought deeply about life and faith in front of our students and staff. Jordan, based in Perth, Australia speaks internationally about topics that engage young people. While Jordan was with us, we were grateful to be able to hear valuable messages in Chapel, including ‘Why God…, if I’m happy?’ and ‘God, are you there…?’
And finally, a huge thanks to those who have been traversing The Lent Group journey. We are pleased to report we have had about twenty students all participating in a Lent group study that explores the value of ‘silence’ as a gateway to experiencing God for ourselves. We have watched together the TV documentary, ‘The Big Silence’, that follows the fortunes of five people from all sorts of backgrounds to see whether making room for ‘silence’ made any difference to their lives. The results have been surprising, not only for them but also for us as we have spent some time in silence – at the end of each session.
Finally, as we head into Easter, a reminder that we will be having our annual whole school Easter Service on Monday 7 April, at 1.50pm in the Great Hall. Can we encourage you to get along to your local Anglican church, to remember the important moments in our faith of Good Friday that remembers Christ’s great sacrifice of love (18 April) and Easter Day (20 April - which recalls the profound, life-changing news of Jesus’ Resurrection. You’ll be glad you did!
In the meantime, have a blessed run into the Chapel Centenary celebrations…
Peace and Grace,
Rev Gareth Walters, Mr Antony Horacek-Glading, Mr Max Masters.