A Christian College

The Old Girls’ Chapel provides a beautiful and peaceful oasis at the heart of the College, and is always open during the day. Completed in 1993, the windows are a particular feature. Designed by Beverley Shore Bennett, and made by Stephen Belanger- Taylor, they incorporate symbols and motifs from the Celtic tradition of Christianity. Each of the ‘lancet’ windows down the sides of the Chapel is themed around a particular College House, and relates to a place of significance in the life of Cuthbert. There are also other visual references to the ‘College Chapter’, 1 Corinthians 13, which is at the heart of the values and the worship at St Cuthbert’s College.

St Cuthbert’s College was founded in 1915, initially under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church. Today St Cuthbert’s is a non-denominational College. The foundational Christian ethic at the heart of community life here is the College Motto ‘By Love Serve’.

The College- wide Values program involves every student learning what that motto means in practical terms. Students are involved in Values projects at each year level, coordinated by staff and each class’s Values Representative. Students are involved in a number of ways, giving practical help as well as fund-raising. Organizations supported range from the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre to the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind. The collections from Family Chapel services are put towards that year level’s Values project. Additionally, the College regularly supports our local Foodbank centre run by Presbyterian Support Services.

As with all Christian gathering-places, the regular pattern of activities in the Chapel focus on prayer and worship, and exploring what leading a life of faith might mean. Chapel services connect Scripture readings with the daily lives and concerns of students and aim to act as a catalyst for the girls to engage in their own journey of exploration into faith. Students attend mid-week Chapel services, grouped according to year-level, and Family Chapel services are held on Sundays throughout the year. On Monday evenings there is a Boarders’ Chapel service, and a Staff and Senior Student service of Holy Communion is held on Thursday afternoons. In addition to this regular cycle, services of Baptism for the children of Old Girls are held after some of the Sunday Family Chapel services. Old Girls can also be married in the Chapel.

At the heart of the Chapel is a “prayer tree” candle stand. At lunchtimes, students can come and light a candle for a person or situation they are concerned about.

In the entrance to the Chapel there is a place where students can write and leave a prayer. When they are taken down from the board, the prayers are placed on a plate which is decorated with symbols relating to St Cuthbert. Cuthbert was a person who walked closely with God and spent much of his time praying for the needs of others. These prayers are regularly placed on the altar and are held before God during Chapel services, as part of our offering of prayer for the concerns of this place and the broader community.

Reverend Carolin Telford, College Chaplain