Qui diligit Deum

On Ash Wednesday, we considered Jesus’ encounter with a crowd who brought him a woman who had been ‘caught in the very act of adultery’. As we imagined ourselves into this story, we considered how the crowd was being fuelled by those who were seemingly peripheral to the main protagonists in the story. Even though they might perceive themselves as being passive in the scene, their involvement was actively fuelling the problem. It was only when Jesus helped them to pause, and see that perhaps they themselves weren’t so very different from this woman whom they had vilified, that they gradually began to disperse.

Whether it is a class of students, the school gathered in Chapel or even a congregation at a wedding, the atmosphere is created by contributions of each person in the group, for good or ill. So too our College community is created by adults and pupils who contribute to realising the vision for our school as a place where learning is more than academic results alone. We are interested in character formation, with a significant emphasis on the role of spirituality in what makes us who we are.

One of the strengths of the Lancing community is this collective responsibility, which we are currently emphasising. Whether we want to accept it or not, we each have influence, and help to create the culture in which we live. As Gandhi said, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ This is most clearly seen in those moments during the liturgy, whether as a small group, or whole school, when together we create a time for quiet reflection; something which we have been exploring actively this term at Lancing Prep Hove.

As we approach Easter, the final Whole School Eucharist of the College term includes the Passion Gospel, the dramatic retelling of the betrayal, conviction and execution of Jesus. The congregation take on the persona of the crowd and call for Jesus’ crucifixion – it’s a powerful reminder of all that we’ve been thinking about this term, the way in which bystanders are never passive – they create the dynamic for ill, or in the case of Simon of Cyrene – who helps carry Jesus’ cross –for good.

FR JUSTIN POTTINGER Chaplain