As Chaplain, I want to be of help to the whole school community – students, staff, parents and families, and indeed all who are connected with the school in whatever way, to all faiths and none.
Please do not hesitate to be in touch with me if I can be of any help in any way. I can be contacted at either jonathanboyce@gatton-park.org.uk or chaplain@gatton-park.org.uk.
By way of background, I am an ordained and accredited Baptist Minister. I am married to Michelle and we have two daughters, Charis and Alyssa. I became a Christian in 1996 when I was 22 years old.
I invite you to engage in one or more of the Chaplaincy-related opportunities across the week:
Staff are invited to participate in Morning Prayer.
Morning Prayer takes place from Monday to Friday from 7:50am until 8am in Room 14 (in the Main Block, near the Food Tech Room). The time of prayer has set words (‘liturgy’) from the Celtic Prayer resource and a period of quiet. Staff are welcome to attend as and when they wish.
An opportunity for students to spend ten minutes over Break Time in a calm place for quiet reading, mindfulness colouring or to just ‘be’. Take Ten happens Monday to Friday from 10:20am until 10:30am in Tech2.
An opportunity for staff and students (in Year 7 and above) to participate in the Christian sacrament of Communion. Through the use of bread and red grape juice, we remember Jesus’ death on the cross, his resurrection and all that it means for us as we believe and trust in him.
Communion takes place on Wednesdays at 1:00pm until 1:15pm in St Andrew’s Church.
There is an invitation, and the opportunity, for students and staff to submit prayer requests to the Chaplain via the dedicated prayer@gatton-park.org.uk email address or into a Prayer Post Box on the door of the Chaplain’s Office (located in the New Block). With prayer requests put in the Post Box, you can include your name, or not, as you prefer.
The Chaplain’s door is open for students and staff who, for whatever reason, require his support, guidance or advice. The Chaplain is often in his office, but he may sometimes be away from his desk with members of our school community. If you find that he is away from his office when you visit him, please leave a note under the door, or send him an email. Rev Boyce will quickly get back to you to arrange a time for you to meet.
If students would like to mark or celebrate any of the faith events detailed in the Faith Calendar, Rev Boyce is very keen to work with them and their family to look into ways of facilitating this. More widely, he is also very keen to offer support and encouragement with regards to any aspect of faith (or none).
It has been expressed that having someone you know die can be one of the hardest things to experience in life. If you’re young, this can be even more difficult. Part of a Chaplain’s role is to offer support to members of the community who may be affected by the death of a loved one. You can find more information about responding to bereavement here.
Chaplaincy has traditionally been a distinctive feature of universities and colleges and of many church-based schools. Outside the educational context, chaplaincy has been a feature of the armed forces, of prisons and hospitals and of other institutional situations.
In the context of an institution or community, a chaplain is appointed to offer personal care, support, counsel and guidance. He or she has traditionally been an ordained minister or priest.
Chaplains have also usually carried responsibility for leading the community in worship.
A school’s pastoral staff seek to further the work of the school by caring for individual students – which may mean also managing their behaviour to keep them on track – and by supporting their academic learning. The role of the school chaplain is rather different.
A chaplain usually has pastoral responsibility for the whole of the community, rather than (as in the case of pastoral staff) a section of it. His or her care covers students, teachers, school leaders, school non-teaching staff, and the extended school community – including parents. He or she may also double as a teacher, but instead of carrying a role which may also be disciplinary, like other ‘pastoral’ staff, the chaplain has a prior commitment to supporting the individual welfare of each person in his or her care.
In some schools the chaplain may also have a particular role in supporting the headteacher. She or he will aim to represent the pastoral care and presence of Christ, and to bring religious awareness and the insights of faith to bear on the issues confronting both individuals and the school community.
From SCALA (School Chaplains and Leaders Association) Website.
Please note that staff check their e-mail regularly but parents should not count on a message being read until the next day.