IN ASSEMBLY

In Assembly, Reverend Kate explained that students will continue to come into Chapel twice a week, once for an Assembly and once for a more formal Act of Worship in keeping with the school’s Christian foundation. Reverend Kate assured us that students of all faiths and none are welcome and valued in Chapel and explained some of the Chapel traditions especially for those students new to Queenswood.

Peace
The first tradition is that when we come into Chapel, we greet each other in peace.  Peace is a central concept of all the major faiths of the world and is important to the Queenswood community. Reverend Kate explained that when we greet each other in peace, we say a prayer for the safety, good health and wellbeing of ‘the other’ in line with the Jewish greeting of shalom and the Muslim greeting of As-Salamu Alaykum.

Prayer
Chapel is a good place to pray; sometimes we pray for ourselves or, often, Reverend Kate or someone else will pray for us or on our behalf. Reverend Kate explained that howsoever our prayers are offered, we conclude them with the word Amen, a word used by our Jewish friends and a word similar to Amin, used by our Muslim friends. Amen or Amin simply means ‘so be it’; as such, the word signifies approval of the prayer and is a solemn ratification of what has been said. Reverend Kate said that when someone prays in Chapel and they say Amen, then we are invited to repeat the word Amen but only if we agree with what has been said on our behalf.

Blessing
At the end of our time in Chapel, we are invited to stand to receive God’s blessing which is a prayer of thanksgiving and a request for God’s grace to help us go out and serve God. At the end of our Assembly this week, Reverend Kate prayed the following blessing:

The Lord bless you and keep you,
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you,
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Amen

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ACT OF WORSHIP

Our act of worship followed the liturgy for the Beginning of Term from The Queenswood Chapel Book; this liturgy is based on Psalm 139, extracts of which were read confidently by Rebekah W (9N) and Alexia E (8S). In her sermon, Reverend Kate told us that Psalm 139 is a song of thanksgiving in which the author tells us that God creates each one of us as a wonderful, remarkable and unique person. Reverend Kate wondered, however, whether we always feel wonderful, remarkable and unique or whether we sometimes feel just a little bit ordinary? Drawing on the example of Alex Yee, who competed in the triathlon at the recent Olympic Games, Reverend Kate wondered if Alex Yee felt just a little bit ordinary when, after the gruelling swim and bike ride, he dropped back from the gold medal position in the road race and a 15-second gap opened between him and the competitor from New Zealand who, according to the commentators, looked certain to win the gold.

However, with only 2.5k to go, Reverend Kate told us that someone from the crowd reportedly shouted something at Alex Yee which he managed to hear above the noise: anything can happen they said and, against everything that the spectators had seen and everything that the experts were saying, Alex Yee increased his speed, made up the 15-second gap and then added his own 15 second lead to win the gold for Great Britain.

Reverend Kate told us that as she listened to the post-race interviews, it occurred to her that yes, anything can happen for any one of us because we are created by God who wants us to be the wonderful, remarkable and unique person that God creates us to be. So, if at the beginning of this academic year, we are feeling just a little bit ordinary, Reverend Kate encouraged us to take heart from Psalm 139 and from Alex Yee’s example, because in the year ahead, while we may or may not have the opportunity to become an Olympic champion, we will certainly have many opportunities at Queenswood in which anything can happen such that each of us can be the wonderful, remarkable and unique person God creates us to be.

In closing, we prayed the Beginning of Term prayer which concludes with the following words:

Creator God, we offer you our hearts and minds and bodies, and all the good gifts which we enjoy.
Give us your grace that we may use these gifts in your service and for the good of others.
Amen