Penelope Hare and Georgia Wong

It’s safe to say that COVID times are tricky for Chapel Prefects. As we’re writing this, our last in-person Chapel was about 2½ months ago and, while we couldn’t do life without technology, lockdown has reminded us that nothing beats face-to-face interaction. That being said, putting Chapel online has been an entertaining way to keep us busy and exercise our iMovie expertise!

We do feel lucky that, for the most part, Chapel has been in person this year and we’ve enjoyed every moment of our experience. A particular highlight was running the student-led Chapels, where Dr Macleod kindly handed over the reins to us and our Chapel Committee for the week. So far, we’ve shared how it’s ok to be a sheep with The Lost Sheep Parable and celebrated a midwinter Christmas with The Story of Jesus’ Birth. Hopefully we get to squeeze one more in before we go! (There may or may not be a giant, rainbow fish involved...)

We’ve also become quite skilled at writing (last-minute) the Chapel welcome each week. We leave you with this handy-dandy template on how to write a Chapel welcome, should you ever find yourself in a similar situation:

Think HOLY...

Hello! Choose a variation of ‘Welcome to Chapel’ that speaks to you that week.

Opening line. Assess how the week has been, and give the advice you’d most like to hear yourself.

Link to Dr Macleod’s message through a joke or illustrated example. Be warned - party poppers don’t always explode on cue!

Your turn! Hand it over - how many ways can you find to say “Hope you enjoy!” and “____ and ____ will now bring us the reading”?

This year, despite its challenges, has been an invaluable learning experience for us both. We’d like to say a big thank you to Dr Macleod for your guidance and faith; to our Chapel Committee for your patience and acting skills; and to our prefect team - working with you all has been a privilege and we can’t wait to see what you do in the years to come.

Please stand for the blessing.