Chaplaincy
Welcome to the Chaplaincy at Our Lady’s.
By way of being a part of our community at Our Lady’s we are part of the worldwide Catholic community. We are a family, working together in love to support each other to be the best we can be.
Everything we do is based on the foundation of Christ’s teachings which we find in the Gospels. As the Lord says, it is not God’s will that anybody is lost (Matthew 18:14) but that we are all united with Him. We do this through our faith and our actions.
Faith
Prayer is a personal conversation with God. Our daily prayers, both in form time and during assembly, help us to build a friendship with God that will stay with us throughout our life. Prayers are prepared and led by the whole team – form teachers, SLT, Chaplaincy and by pupils.
Our weekly Mass is organised by a different form group each time and celebrated by our family of Parish Priests (followed by cake in the Chaplaincy). We offer other celebrations of Mass throughout the year for special occasions in the Church’s calendar and for our own intentions. At the end of the year we build up to our whole-school Mass – a wonderful occasion with everybody in our school gathered together in one place to praise and worship God.
We also encounter God through the Sacraments. Reconciliation is celebrated for everybody in the school and anybody who would like to receive the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Reconciliation, Confirmation) is very welcome to come forward.
Opportunities for deepening our faith come through the retreats to Castlerigg Manor where pupils take time out to learn more about their personal faith and where we need to allow God into our lives.
Action
Saint Paul writing to Timothy, a young Bishop says, “Do not let anyone put you down because you are young. But be an example to others in your words, your actions, your love, your faith and your purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12).
Scripture is a textbook for what we should do with our lives. We follow that example by performing daily works of charity, encouraging friendship and allowing ourselves to make a difference, both in school and in the world we live.
Our charity committee meets regularly to put our faith into action by organising events and fundraisers dedicated to raising money and attention to our designated charities. There are many other groups in school who fundraise regularly and we respond in times of crisis supporting CAFOD and other support agencies.
Relationships are an important part of our school life and we work constantly to bring people together in friendship, strengthening existing links and restoring bonds when they are strained or broken.
Chaplaincy is all about opportunity. We want everybody to have a full and abundant life (John 10:10) and this comes through knowing and following God and living out the life He has created us for. We are always available to support our family as we journey through our school life and beyond.
The Chaplaincy
Our new base for activities and gathering together in a spirit of friendship. This room is open every day for pupils to meet together at break and lunchtimes and available for other group activities. We have regular creative prayer sessions with different members of staff coming in to help pupils create things for our prayer displays or for use in our own prayers. The Chaplaincy joins on to our Chapel which is open all day for anybody to come in and pray as well as hosting our weekly Mass and our morning prayers.
