CHAPLAIN’S REPORT

Chaplain’s

REPORT

A beautiful Indian summer greeted us at the start of the Michaelmas Term. The whole school was buzzing with excitement and it was fantastic being back together again! We had many new pupils and some new teachers joining us and a great deal of new friendships and relationships have been forged.

Mrs Kirby and I meet regularly to discuss plans, and our first meeting at the start of the term felt really positive - a fresh start after a previous year of lockdowns and disappointment at not being able to carry on as normal! We were deluged with cakes of all sorts for the Macmillan Coffee Morning, in particular an impressive triple layer Chocolate cake which Form 1 pupil Loveday, at the tender age of 12 years, had made especially. Watch out Mary Berry, you have competition!

The Prep School Harvest Festival took place in Lake Chapel - in person! - at the start of October, with many parents attending. We also held a service for Senior School pupils and staff earlier that day. The Chapel was beautifully decorated with help from Shebbear Methodists and contributions were donated to the Bideford food bank.

Later that month I attended the annual dedication service for MIST Chaplains in London, a fantastic opportunity to meet other Chaplains and share our stories of the last year and how the pandemic had affected our ministries in schools. Everything was going so well and I began planning Remembrance and Christmas services, feeling excited at the prospect of a candlelit Carol Service.

However, this was not to be as after half term we had a significant increase in Covid cases within our

community, and were yet again forced to cancel ‘in person’ services and move back to Remote Chapel once more. Ironically, this coincided with the arrival of some much needed ‘Singing The Faith’ hymn books - no need to unpack them from the boxes! Thankfully Chapel began again at the start of the Lent Term. I was able to unpack the new hymn books and singing as a school community resumed once more (although the first attempt was rather muted - it seemed we had all forgotten how to do it!)

This term brought its own challenges, including the devastating effects of Storm Eunice in February. We had a significant amount of damage to our site, including to the roof of the Tower building in Pollard Boarding House.

Now we are at the end of the Trinity Term, singing is back to normal, we have heard some amazing preaching from teachers and have been totally dazzled at the Performing Arts skills demonstrated by our pupils! We have been lucky enough to have a range of visitors and guest speakers at our Chapel services during the year, including The Gideons, who provided each pupil with a copy of the Gideons Bible and one of our Governors, Reverend Simon Leigh.

The shocking news of war in Europe was not to be ignored, and a service based on prayer and reconciliation with continuing prayers for peace over the last few months have been a central part of our Chapel assemblies.

Finally, I cannot end this report without reference to the ministry of a previous Chaplain, Tim Aldridge. Tim was a much loved and valued member of the Shebberian community from 2013 –2017 when he moved to Taunton and became school Chaplain for Queen’s College.

Tim was an inspiration to those who knew him and his faith was apparent for all to see in the face of a debilitating illness. I knew I had big shoes to fill after the ministry of Tim, and I would like to end this report with a huge thankyou to him for all his amazing teaching and people skills, stories still being told 5 years after he left.

The last two years of School Chaplaincy has not been quite as I anticipated, with the ongoing challenge of Covid meaning that last minute changes and carrying on in the face of adversity has become the norm. However, the support I have received from staff, pupils and parents has been wonderful, and very gratefully received. I do believe we are on the right track towards recovery after the turbulence of the last two years, and there is so much more to look forward to when we all come back together in September 2022.

Revd. Donna Leigh Chaplain