Bishop Ramsey Chaplaincy Weekend

At Bishop Ramsey CE Secondary School, our Christian vision is taken from Jesus’ words in John 10:10, ‘I have come that you may have life, life in all its fullness’. A key resource in enabling students to experience this is the wide-ranging support of local churches. We work in partnership with churches of different traditions to facilitate pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

An example of this collaboration is the away days and residentials we have run this year. The intent was to support students in recovering following the COVID lockdowns, through social and spiritual development and team building. Our chaplaincy team, in collaboration with Matt Bird, the worship pastor from Emmanuel Church, Northwood, were able to use both contemplative and contemporary styles of Christian worship. This provided different spaces for the students to engage with God and we finished the weekend by celebrating an outdoor Eucharist on a sunny Sunday morning.

Across three events over 400 students spent time together, challenging themselves with activities such as high ropes courses and team building exercises, as well as engaging in the ‘Chapel Sessions’, where they reflected on their personal faith journey and took time for prayer and worship.

It was encouraging to see staff and students step out of their comfort zones, in terms of the physical challenges, as well as their spiritual development and emotional wellbeing. Feedback showed that students enjoyed the opportunity to build strong relationships with each other and to explore their faith in the ‘third space’, away from school and home. Students have come away with a desire to explore the Christian faith further and create more memories with their friends.