Holy Moments - St Peter's Collegiate School Christmas Eucharist

It was the sight of these 11-18 year old pupils lining up and receiving a blessing or choosing to take the bread and wine of communion that moved me. It felt as though just about everyone was taking part - and there are over a 1,000 pupils in the School. Teenagers of different backgrounds, traditions, faiths; for most of whom this must surely be their only contact with church. And in their manner and response at this point of the service I sensed in many a deep and significant spiritual openness; that they were indeed receiving the blessing of God.

I went partly because as Director of World Mission in the Diocese of Lichfield I was trying to encourage a school to school link between this Diocese and one of our Companion Link Dioceses of Mecklenburg, in what was formely East Germany. A group of pupils, parents and teachers from the Fridericianum School in Schwerin had just visited St Peter's School and I was keen to express my appreciation and support for this initiative.

This was their 'Christmas Eucharist' at St Peter's Collegiate Church. I wasn't sure about Eucharist. How can that work in a school context? I realise St Peter's is a State Voluntary Aided Church of England School but part of me might have wanted to make things a bit more 'accessible'. Instead we had the traditional communion liturgy for the Church of England. The curate eventually succeeded in eliminating applause. A woman spoke about her work with Romanian Street Children; a charity supported by the school over a number of years. She shared in a very natural way two spectacular answers to prayer.

According to the school web site 'The mission of our school, rooted in our common life as a worshipping Christian Community, is to educate the whole person so that everyone may find the keys to become all that God has uniquely put it within them to be'. Now that is some education!

The service ended with permitted applause, then the blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you from all harm. May your Christmas be joyful, peaceful, but if it's neither, may you find yourself in the New Year with the peace that passes all understanding, the peace that the world cannot give, with the blessing of the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Many of us left that morning feeling well blessed.