‘How beautiful are the footsteps of those who bring good news’ (Rom 10:15-17). These words of St. Paul remind me of the pivotal role school staffs play in in evangelising children through education and education by evangelising. For Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). The Christian Value of love of God and neighbour translates into education and formation. The school is therefore a church where with experience love and formation that leads to transformation of society. Every staff is an evangeliser. The influence of a staff runs deep into the foundation of each child.

I come into HFP every Monday and Friday in the spirit of openness and discernment, listening to the Father’s Love expressed on the faces of each child and each person. This openness to the Spirit makes me realise that this place is the Nazareth of Addlestone, where virtues are celebrated every day and every week in Mrs. O’Neil Assemblies, a place of character formation with great respect to individual child’s freedom and dignity, a place where human foundational values are nurture and consolidated, and a place where Christian and national values are harmonised and nurtured in the heart of each child, thanks to the great quality leadership led by Mrs. Munnik and the incredible talents and abilities of the staff.

The outpouring of goodness, genuineness, gratitude, and generosity is easily perceptible by parents and visitors who walk through the gates of HFP and even more profound as one encounters a “Family”. While every school exemplifies a family, Holy Family Primary School, Addlestone is a school proper and worthy of its name. It is not only a Family but a HOLY FAMILY. The holiness of the staff translates into the lives of their Children. The seeds of hope and love they sow in the fertile land of the heart of each child springs from their very fruits. In short, the staff are the embodiment of the values they teach. They imbibed the moto of the school, ‘Children must not only be loved. They must know they are loved’ (St. John Bosco).

The fundamental and yet ultimate is the experience of God’s presence, God’s intimate love and care here at HFP. Here, everyone experiences God’s compassion, acceptance, forgiveness and unconditional love. The expression of St. John Bosco, ‘Education is a matter of the heart’ expresses a formation of conscience that is tuned to God’s presence in the world and in each other. Pope Benedict writes: They [Schools] become places in which God’s active presence in human affairs is recognized and in which every young person discovers the joy of entering into Christ’s “being for others”. This calls for the system of discipline in the spirit of cheerfulness and joy. With great delight, I watch Mr. Seuke skilfully teaching PE with discipline and determination in the spirit of joy and fun. The abundance and generosity of joyful smiles and beaming gaze of the head, Mrs. Zelia Munnik epitomises the outpouring joy and love every staff brings into HFP. Here, God is present, and we are all a ‘Family’ no matter our differences.

I have been privileged to be involved in the School’s Rosary Assemblies in the October and May, Advent Assemblies, Classroom liturgy of the Word, First Holy Communion Preparation, Stations of the Cross in Lent, Pastoral presence at lunches and playgrounds, Friendly chats and support for those experiencing difficulties, School Masses, PE lessons, and the crowning event: Year 6’s trip to the Isle of Wight. In all these, Holy Family Primary School, is a great workshop of producing goodness, saintly children, patriotic citizens, and the world’s transformers. Holy Family is a seed of hope and light in the world.

I wish to encourage the staff to recognise that their role is a profession but even more, a vocation. You are midwifes, not making children, but helping to deliver their unknown God-given talents and to slowly cut their umbilical cord of dependence in order to set them free to discover themselves and their vocations. You are the matchstick to light their candle of truth. You are the salt to season their food of interest and desire to discover truth happiness.

I want to leave you with the words of Pope Benedict XVI, ‘To all of you I say: bear witness to hope. Nourish your witness with prayer. Account for the hope that characterizes your lives (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) by living the truth which you propose to your students. Help them to know and love the One you have encountered, whose truth and goodness you have experienced with joy.’

God bless you all.

Fr Stephen Mensah Teye