St Edmund's Day - 2008

Date: Wednesday 12 November 2008

After the two-day celebrations of 2007, when a Cathedral service, and a full day's activities took a chunk out of teaching time, this year we pulled in our horns and spent just one day in honour of St Edmund of Abingdon.

After a Senior School service in Chapel, with School Governor and Cathedral dignitary Christopher Irvine preaching in a Sung Eucharist presided over by our own chaplain, Ian Terry, Houses foregathered to toast St Edmund in the now traditional ginger wine and jam doughnut!

The service itself was framed around the Irvine sermon which was based on the medieval prayer and pun, 'He was poor on earth, but in heaven he was Rich' - the monastic view of Edmund Rich, later St Edmund. A full Chamber Choir sang both anthem, and the Sanctus and Benedictus, and Nick Clapham delivered the Gospel. Intercessions were led by Joe Rawlins, Emma Wink, Natalie French, and Ben Clarke (Sr). The overall atmosphere in Chapel was devout and involved, despite the obvious desire to get off to activities!

These activities were nothing new - a rehash of past, and clearly current, favourites: paintballing, go-karting, golf, skating and cinema, and West End theatre matinees. A visit to Sittingbourne for paintballing was enlightening - It seems to be immensely satisfying to fire hundreds of paint-filled missiles at friends and teachers alike! - and to wait for hours for jacket potatoes!

Many thanks to Ian Terry for creating the service, to Chris Irvine for ascending St Thomas' Hill to be with us, and to Chris McDade, who kindly took on the task of organising the activity programme.

Next year - a note for your diary - we will return to the Cathedral for an afternoon service, welcoming a group of staff and pupils from St Edmund's College, Ware, with an evening entertainment - the once regular and very popular 'School Disco'!