Community Mass is always a special way to start the year at St John’s College. It’s a time when all our students, from the little boys from the Pre-Prep to the older students in the College and Sixth Form, along with all our Council members, staff, and parents, come together on Burger Field, looking up at the magnificent northern facade of our school, to attend Mass with The Visitor, The Right Revd Dr Steve Moreo, Bishop of Johannesburg.
This year’s Community Mass was extra special as it marked the beginning of our 125th-anniversary celebrations at St John’s College, a time to reflect on where we have come from and to look forward to where we are headed.
“We dare not forget that 125 years ago, God planted a vision in someone’s heart to start this school so that it may partner with God in God’s mission to prepare all who come through it for responsible citizenship of our planet.
May we, in this dire situation where we find ourselves, reflect on the gospel of Mark, the story of Jesus who transcends the culture of challenges in our current situation. May we, like Jesus - who suffered for a noble cause - defend and embrace those we think have dreaded opinions which we think are contagious. We cannot afford to nurture and support divisions and fragmentation that exists in our communities.
May the St John’s leadership, students and staff make every effort to minimise suffering.
May St John’s take courage from Jesus, who was willing to suffer to assist the despised and neglected.
Our country, and the world, need a St John’s College that will continue to raise heroes and heroines who will work to improve the situation of the oppressed.
Forget the events of the past, ignore the things of long ago! Look, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth - can’t you see it?
I believe that God has always had a vision for St John’s College, but I also believe that God has a new purpose to be worked through this school - that of becoming more inclusive, a school for holistic education for all nations. Let us allow God to create a ‘new humanity’ with St John’s College being a place of unsullied peace and prosperity for all.
There have been shortcomings on the part of members of this school community, yes, even open failures on the part of our leaders. But, the celebrations today, if anything, prove that St John’s must have been divinely guided and protected by God for the past 125 years.” - The Visitor, The Right Revd Dr Steve Moreo, Bishop of Johannesburg
