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Writes聽the Reverend聽James Fields, Chaplain

“And they鈥檙e off”!

So starts the commentary as the flag falls and the race begins for horses and jockeys at Aintree.聽It鈥檚聽a race to the finish,聽and there will be falls, injuries and surprises along the way.

It鈥檚聽probably not聽the best image to associate with the start of the new academic year but it certainly comes to mind as we move off from the starting line. Grand resolutions about setting a manageable pace soon dissipate as we return to the familiar rhythm and pace of things.

And this is true for all of us:聽pupils,聽teaching聽and support staff, including those who worked through the summer recess.

I much prefer the feelings I associate with an ocean liner at the start of a voyage. Slipping her berth, easing slowly from the security of the harbour into the waters ahead, she will be nudged onto a correct steering by tugs, then joined from the pilot boat by a duty captain who knows the currents and quirks of sometimes treacherous local waters.聽It鈥檚聽quite a while before the officer on the bridge telegraphs “full ahead” to the engine room. As luggage makes its way to their cabins, passengers sip a welcoming glass of champagne!

I wonder, which image do you prefer as we embark on a new journey at聽Taylors’?

As the sun sets on Friday the聽eleventh Rosh Hashanah begins. Translated as the 鈥渉ead of the new year鈥�,聽this Jewish festival culminates with the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. Together these holy days present an opportunity to honour the past and the faithfulness of our Creator while reflecting upon our own human responsibilities and fallibilities. There is a universal meaning in these things.

On the聽11th聽September 2001 the familiar rhythm of our world shifted dramatically. Many of us this weekend, 25 years on, will hold in our prayers all those whose lives were lost or changed beyond recognition, both that day and over聽subsequent聽years.

At the close of this first week of term,聽let鈥檚聽make space in our lives to reflect, to give thanks for our good fortune and to honour the days to come. Let them not be a race to the finish, but rather a voyage of hope and discovery鈥� and聽above all, kindness.

Bear in mind the advice of Robert Louis Stevenson:
“Little do ye know your own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.”

I close with a prayer for Rosh Hashanah.

鈥淢ay it be Your will, God of our Ancestors, to renew us for a good and sweet year鈥�.