Writes the Reverend James Fields, Chaplain
“And they’re off”!
So starts the commentary as the flag falls and the race begins for horses and jockeys at Aintree. It’s a race to the finish, and there will be falls, injuries and surprises along the way.
It’s probably not the best image to associate with the start of the new academic year but it certainly comes to mind as we move off from the starting line. Grand resolutions about setting a manageable pace soon dissipate as we return to the familiar rhythm and pace of things.
And this is true for all of us: pupils, teaching and support staff, including those who worked through the summer recess.
I much prefer the feelings I associate with an ocean liner at the start of a voyage. Slipping her berth, easing slowly from the security of the harbour into the waters ahead, she will be nudged onto a correct steering by tugs, then joined from the pilot boat by a duty captain who knows the currents and quirks of sometimes treacherous local waters. It’s quite a while before the officer on the bridge telegraphs “full ahead” to the engine room. As luggage makes its way to their cabins, passengers sip a welcoming glass of champagne!
I wonder, which image do you prefer as we embark on a new journey at Taylors’?
As the sun sets on Friday the eleventh Rosh Hashanah begins. Translated as the “head of the new year”, this Jewish festival culminates with the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Together these holy days present an opportunity to honour the past and the faithfulness of our Creator while reflecting upon our own human responsibilities and fallibilities. There is a universal meaning in these things.
On the 11th September 2001 the familiar rhythm of our world shifted dramatically. Many of us this weekend, 25 years on, will hold in our prayers all those whose lives were lost or changed beyond recognition, both that day and over subsequent years.
At the close of this first week of term, let’s make space in our lives to reflect, to give thanks for our good fortune and to honour the days to come. Let them not be a race to the finish, but rather a voyage of hope and discovery… and above all, kindness.
Bear in mind the advice of Robert Louis Stevenson:
“Little do ye know your own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.”
I close with a prayer for Rosh Hashanah.
“May it be Your will, God of our Ancestors, to renew us for a good and sweet year”.
