Honouring Our Communities - in our schools

When you think about the term ‘community’ it has the term ‘unity’ embedded within it, and it reminds me of 1 Peter 3:8, finally be ye all of one mind, have compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous which captures the essence of honouring our communities because it is about making sure that all individuals are being treated fairly and with human dignity.

Our schools play a vital role in our communities as they link families, friends, teachers and governance in one place. It is why I really wanted schools to showcase and represent what it really means to honour our communities through their diversity and variety.

23 different schools from all over the diocese including; The Wirral, Runcorn, Prestbury, Sale, Sandbach, Crewe, and even as far as Derbyshire, took part in this project. Students ranged from pre-school right up to year 6 and produced a range of work based on the topics of equity, equality, diversity and identity.

The teachers guided students to represent their familial backgrounds through cultural clothing, artwork, stain glass window collages, poems, collective hands, songs and recognition of their own identities as part of a whole.

‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’, sung by Amy Cranfield says that despite our differences ultimately God is our maker who encompasses us all and has made us to be united. God has blessed us with such a rich diversity, and our children really capture this vast range of cultures in their school communities.

My prayer is that this resource is used within schools beyond our diocese, as well as in churches to almost mimic the efforts of our young ones and to remind everyone that true peace can only be found with justice and with caring for one another as if we are all members of one family. Ultimately, the state of the world is not a skin problem, it’s a sin problem.