Chaplaincy and R.E.
‘‘Dream and live, be free and authentic, be the critical conscience of society.’
Pope Francis, 21 November 2021.
Chaplaincy is about drawing close to people in their place of work or study and presenting them with the Gospel, in co-operation with the clergy and in communion with the Catholic Church. This is important because it’s ultimately through this communion with the Church that we come to know and enjoy life-giving communion with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Chaplaincy plays a central role in all areas of school life. The St Teresa Chapel is based on the mathematics corridor and is open for all members of our school community for a quiet space to reflect and pray. It is also used extensively by our GIFT Pupil Chaplaincy Teams to plan charity and liturgical events.
Our GIFT Teams (Growing In Faith Together) meet twice a week (KS3 Mondays and KS4 Fridays) and aims to share with others that which is most sacred in our school, the Good News of Jesus Christ. All members of our school community are given opportunities to respond, reflect, and act upon this message.
Each Form group have a Faith in Action Prayer Leader who assists the Form teacher in organising Form Prayers, reflections, collective worship in assemblies, special holy days, and charity events.
At St Gabriel’s we have a vibrant Staff Liturgy Team who are involved in a wide ranging and varied part of school life ranging from being a welcoming presence around the building, encouraging people to witness to their faith through their words and actions, meeting with students as a listening ear, scaffolding opportunities for formal and informal worship and making the word of God relevant to pupils and staff in their daily lives.
The Staff Liturgy Team is also extremely fortunate to receive the support and guidance of our local priests. Mass is offered at school on a regular basis alongside opportunities to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation at different points throughout the year. The Year 8 Sacrament of Confirmation Program is run jointly between the school and the local parish churches. St Gabriel’s Staff also support Guardian Angels’ Youth IMPACT group.
We work closely with Just Youth Spiritans who lead our Year 7 Retreat Days and Year 10 Peer Mentor Training. All students experience a RSE Drop Down Retreat Day in the Spring Term facilitated by acclaimed ‘Ten Ten’ resources. All students experience Mission Statement Retreat mornings during the course of the school year which focuses on Service, Strength and Success.
If you have any questions about Chaplaincy at St Gabriel’s please contact Mrs R.E. Middleton or Miss F. Zubair.
