Thanksgiving Liturgy
Upper V prepare for GCSEs
The Chapel is the centre of our school community and where we mark major milestones. Yesterday was one of these occasions when Upper V celebrated their Thanksgiving Liturgy with friends, family and staff prior to the start of their GCSEs.
We all joined together to give thanks for the many blessings that fill our lives; whether it be friends, family, teachers, good health or the opportunity to learn and we were beautifully led in this by all the pupils of Upper V.
Upper V had prepared a liturgy which encompassed many areas of their life so far at St Augustine’s Priory. We began with the hymn ‘Shine, Jesus, Shine’ followed by an introduction to the service by Erin Costello. Then followed the procession of symbols to the altar: a candle, representing Jesus, the light of the world; the Bible – the word of God; the school crest representing the many gifts and blessings received through being part of the St Augustine’s Priory community and a globe, a reminder that as members of the Body of Christ we are all part of a much wider community.
Then followed the opening prayer delivered by Lauren and Anu then movingly sang, ‘When she loved me’. There followed readings from the Book of Proverbs and the Gospel of St John read by Chloe and Veronica after which the Bidding Prayers were spoken by Lora, Daniela, Mackenzie, Amy and Emma.
Amy-Elizabeth, Roisin, Sophie and Helena gave the thanksgiving offering address and, during this, each member of Upper V wrote down one thing for which they were thankful. They then brought these up to the altar and added each thank you note to the Thanks Banner, which had been placed at the foot of the altar.
Isobel the read the final blessing and, finally, we all joined in the rousing Dismissal hymn ‘You shall go out with joy’.
The aisle of the Chapel had been lined with the footprints of the girls on paper which they had prepared at their recent retreat. It was a wonderful way to mark their path through the school to date.
The Headteacher, Mrs Raffray, added her good wishes at the end of the liturgy and invited us all to gather in the rose garden for refreshments.
Thank you, Upper V and Mrs McDermott, for a beautiful liturgy and we wish the girls every success in their forthcoming GCSEs. As Helena said during the Thanksgiving offering:
Be grateful for this moment
for who you are,
for the friendships in life,
and for the faith you have in God.
