Congratulations to our 8th Grade Graduates!
Last night we celebrated our annual Baccalaureate service for St. Vincent's School. Nine eighth graders are graduating this year. It was a beautiful service, with excellent speeches by our head of school, Dr. Dickerson, and by Maren, the president of our Student Council.
I placed "mission crosses" by James Avery, Craftsman, (copies of the processional cross that the students carry every day in School Chapel) around each of our graduates' necks and blessed them. I cry every year at this service, especially as I try to preach. More than 200 people from our church and school community came to honor the graduates and celebrate the end of a great academic year.
I am very proud of these wonderful young people. May God bless them richly in the future.
Congratulations to Tory, Stephanie, Ellis, Allie, Rachel, Maren, Landon, Brittany, and Matt!
We also honored two of our wonderful veteran teachers, Mrs. Diggs and Mrs. Nichols, who are retiring from St. Vincent's School after decades of Christ-honoring service to our younsters. Well done, good and faithful servants. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement!
posted by Texanglican (R.W. Foster+) | 9:29 PM
2 Comments:
Makes me think of the first school I attended--St. Nicholas Elementary and Primary School. We wore maroon blazers, blue and maroon caps, and gray shorts or gray skirts. It was a co-educational school. The blazers had a blue shield with a gold cross emblazoned in it. In the first quarter was a crozier and three bags of gold embroidered in gold thread. Every morning we had assembly which consisted of a Bible lesson, sometimes a short talk from the principle, who was a Church of England priest, and of course, prayers from the 1662 BCP. One of the teachers played the piano and we sung gospel songs from Moody and Sankey's collection. My mother taught at the school.
The last school I attended in England was Rumburgh Village School, where my mother was head mistress. In the politically correct UK head mistresses and head masters are now called head teachers, or just the head. My mother began the day with a Bible lesson and prayers, which was standard in county schools in the 1950s. The prayers were also from the 1662 BCP. Before she dismissed the students at the end of the school day, my mother read The Third Collect, for Aid against all Perils, from the Prayer Book:
Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
My favorite hymn was Percy Dearmer's "Jesus, good above all others," from Songs of Praise, which Dearmer edited, and set to Quem pastores laudavere, arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Jesus, good above all other,
gentle Child of gentle Mother,
in a stable born our Redeemer,
give us grace to persevere.
Jesus, cradled in a manger,
for us facing every danger,
living as a homeless stranger,
make we thee our King most dear.
Jesus, for thy people dying,
risen Master, death defying,
Lord in heaven, thy grace supplying,
keep us to thy presence near.
Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
all our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
thou to man the truth declarest;
help us all thy truth to hear.
Lord, in all our doings guide us;
pride and hate shall never divide us;
we'll go on with thee beside us,
and with joy we'll persevere!
A MIDI of the tune is on the Oremus Hymnal website: http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/j/j053.html
May God bless your graduating class in all their endeavours and may their lives bring honor and glory to His Name, and most of all may He keep them pure and unspotted and bring them with all the faithful to the joy of his everlasting kingdom. Amen
Thanks, Robin, for your prayers on behalf of our graduates.
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