Thursday 20 August 2026
It’s been a busy and fulfilling first few weeks back.
One of the most significant moments was hosting Mr Jordan Thyer, who is an itinerant speaker, who spent the day talking with the students at staff on Friday of last week. Jordan is from Perth, Australia, He is a qualified chemical engineer by training and has also studied Theology and Apologetics through Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University – studying under Oxford Professor of Applied Mathematics and Christian Dr John Lennox.
In studying, Jordan said to our students that he wanted to ‘stress test’ the claims of the Christian faith, to see as to whether they held up to deep analysis and rigorous academic scrutiny. Jordan was with us in several classes talking about his journey to faith, and spoke more widely in Friday’s Chapel service about why the Gospels can be trusted as eye-witness accounts of the life of Jesus…
Of particular interest was a symposium held on Friday lunchtime where Jordan reflected thoughtfully on the question, ‘Where is God where it hurts?’ The small but interested group of students and several staff reflected together on Jordan’s contention that we are not alone, and that the crucifixion of Jesus reminds us that God Himself is with us in and through it.
We were also grateful, on a completely different note to host the visit of EXCEL School for Performing Arts, in our Great Hall Chapel on Tuesday of this past week. EXCEL is an Auckland-based tertiary school that is dedicated to helping train students in the arts across drama, dance, vocals, music and stage tech. With the exception of last year (due to illness), King’s is glad to host the more than thirty student under-graduates who take to the stage to share their gifts and their wholesome message of faith in a way that is energetic and upbeat.
The EXCEL School visit is always an incredibly popular visit as the EXCEL ‘crew’ took to the stage to sing songs from Michael Jackson, Olivia Dean and Kirk Franklin. The hip-hop dancers, the band and the MC’s all added to an incredibly enjoyable and valuable morning chapel and was nicely rounded off with The Lord’s Prayer in Spanish, offered up by Lucia Risell (Year 12, Taylor) and Francesca Robinson (Year 13, Middlemore).
Sunday Chapel Services
A reminder that we are really looking forward to the following Chapel services, with the following Sunday Chapels remaining. A reminder that there is a school-wide expectation that these be attended, please. If you are unable to make your allotted Chapel, you can – in negotiation with your Housemaster – make another one instead.
The dates for the remaining Sunday Chapels are as follows, and a reminder that for the Boarding Houses, hospitality is offered before the service by each Housemaster, with Day student hospitality being offered in the Dining Hall at the service’s close. The collection for this term’s Chapels is going towards the Anglican Trust for Women and Children.
- Sunday 23 August – 6pm - Taylor and Averill House Sunday House Chapel
- Sunday 23 August – 7.15pm - Selwyn and School House Sunday House Chapel
- Sunday 6 September – 6pm - Marsden and Greenbank House Sunday House Chapel
Peace and grace,
The Chaplaincy Team