A Very Special Friday…

“Dear Lord.” We hear these words ring out so often in our life, but never in such a special way as the way in which they were said on Friday. The day 3 of our children met the Archbishop of Canterbury in Worcester Cathedral! The day began with a thought provoking discussion and poem writing activity based on ‘reconciliation’ and the ‘Cross of Nails’.

It was amazing to watch our children alongside the other children coming up with such high calibre ideas and interesting phrases to describe reconciliation. They then made a clay print of the Cross of Nails to replicate the one that the Archbishop of Canterbury wears and the replica that hangs in St’ George’s Chapel in the Cathedral. It was whilst taking part in this activity that our 3 stars had their first encounter with the Archbishop. He was very keen to talk to the children about this activity, as it was fresh in his mind from his recent discussions with the Pope where the theme was reconciliation. It was also at this point that they were swamped with cameras, cameras and more cameras!

It was a privilege to watch the children talk so confidently and positively to the Archbishop (although they were a little ‘star struck’ at first). In the afternoon we took part in a variety of Harvest activities around the Cathedral and a service.

The service was led by the Archbishop and was everything you would want from this special occasion. He was wonderful. He talked openly and honestly to the children about his uniform/clothes, his life and his job.

The children got to try on his Archbishop clothes as the service went on and he finished with a number of great anecdotes and prayers. This truly was a fantastic experience and it was a joy to be part of it. The day was well organised (thanks to Sue Adeney and her team), the children were brilliant and the experience was inspiring!