ALL THE GOOD WE CAN

In Assembly on Monday, Reverend Kate, Charity Prefect Natalya F-D (12W) and Wellbeing Prefect, Sophia Z (12H) gave a presentation on the school’s charitable, fundraising and community endeavours in this academic year 2023/24.

Reverend Kate gave an overview telling us that more than £8,000 has been raised by students, parents, guardians and staff; more than £6,000 of this was raised through student, House, staff and Chapel events, with the balance raised for the World Challenge trip to Borneo - including nearly £2,500 raised at the Quiz night organised by students under the leadership of Miss Yaffe. In addition, Reverend Kate reminded us that 35 bags of toiletries were donated to the Hatfield Food Bank for Harvest Festival in October 2023 and 57 shoeboxes of toys and other gifts were donated to Operation Christmas Child in November 2023.

Reverend Kate said that charities which benefitted from our endeavours include: Macmillan Cancer Care, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice – which is the chosen House charity – Royal British Legion, Crisis at Christmas, Ella’s, Save the Children, Herts Young Homeless, The British Bee Charity, The Brain Tumour Charity, Girls Out Loud and the National Autistic Society.

Bringing to life the student experience, Natalya F-D told us that she held two charity events at school: The first was a home-clothes day, for which everyone wore their pyjamas, which went very well and raised over £350; the second was a bake sale held in the dining hall with cakes and other desserts. In acknowledging the help she received from her friends, both baking at home and serving the cakes at break, Natalya F-D said that the bake sale had earned just under £400. Natalya F-D said that she raised the money for the Brain Tumour Charity as part of her volunteering for the DofE Award and gave us the following words of wisdom: charity works best when everyone is involved, even in small amounts.

In closing, Natalya said that it is great to see everyone getting involved and donating money for charity and so she would like to encourage students to hold charity events at school. Students are welcome to contact Natalya F-D if they want help with any ideas they may have.

Reverend Kate told us that next year a new Charity, Fundraising and Community Committee will be launched to bring together all of the school’s charitable endeavours under the heading of ‘All The Good We Can’ which the Methodist John Wesley encouraged us to do:

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

With support from Reverend Kate, this ‘All The Good We Can’ Committee will be chaired by our Charity Prefect, Natalya F-D (12W), and will include the student charity representatives on the House leadership teams.

In closing, Reverend Kate led us in prayer:
Loving God, we pray for the work of the charities we have supported this year and we pray that you will turn the little we have offered into something life changing and meaningful for someone in need. Amen

ACT OF WORSHIP

In our act of worship, we enthusiastically sang the worship song 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) and Kate R (8N) read from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 4, verses 35-41.  In response, Reverend Kate asked us how we are feeling as the end of the academic year approaches; she wondered if, looking back, we are feeling pleased with how the year has gone and confident of what might be written in our report or whether we are somewhat fearful of not only how our report might read but what the summer break and the next academic year might bring.  Endings and new beginnings can sometimes bring up challenging emotions, Reverend Kate said, and so she invited us to speak to someone if we need support at this time.

Reverend Kate then said that it was not necessary to ask the disciples in the boat how they were feeling because we know from our Gospel reading that they felt afraid, not only of the storm that was raging around them on the journey but afraid that God did not care about them:  ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’, the disciples said to Jesus as they wondered whether he would do something to save them.  

Reverend Kate said that as Jesus slept, and appeared not to hear their cries, the disciples may well have asked each other where is God? and she wondered whether this was a question we might have asked ourselves in the midst of a storm in our own life.  ‘Peace! Be still!’ Jesus said in response to the disciples’ pleas and in so doing calms the storm as well as the disciples’ fears.

Reverend Kate said that there are a number of things to notice in the story but she felt the important thing for this morning is that the disciples were calmed, not because they had found a way to overcome, manage or bury their fears; the disciples were calmed simply because Jesus’ presence in their lives was all that they needed to be at peace.

Reverend Kate said:

Humanity asks:  Where is God?

And in this story, God answers:  I am with you.  Your life with me is a journey of peace.

Reverend Kate told us that Mrs Stokes would officially be opening a room this week in Belling called ‘A Space for You’; this is a room for students of all faiths and worldviews in which we can take a moment to be still, quiet and contemplative.  Reverend Kate said that this is a space in which we can ask ourselves how do I feel today? and it is a space in which she hoped we would find peace.

We prayed:  Loving God, in the busyness of school and home life, in the turbulence of the world, in the holidays to come, we pray that we will know your peace. Amen.