In the Christian calendar, we have entered the season of Lent. This began on March 2nd, Ash Wednesday, with a very special service in the church led by Deacon David.
Today, many people who do not have a Christian faith still use the period of Lent to give up something. They may give up eating chocolate, watching television, drinking coffee or something else altogether. The idea is that they might use the extra time or money gained to give for something good. Christians might spend the extra time thinking about God. People might also use the time to help others or support a charity.
As a school within the Southwark Diocese, each year the Bishop’s Lent Call is something we actively participate in to help raise funds for local community projects in the Diocese and Link Dioceses in Zimbabwe and Jerusalem. This year, the theme is “home”, and we will be raising money to support projects helping those in need of shelter, security, and a place to call home. Two of the chosen charities are shown below.
Nightwatch 
Diocese of Masvingo St Michael and All Angels’ soup kitchen.
Nightwatch was founded in 1976 by members of the community in Croydon who were concerned about homelessness after a man had died of exposure in the borough. Today, it operates 365 days a year and its core activity is volunteers offering basic help with food and clothing.
In the Diocese of Masvingo, which is linked with Southwark Cathedral, the Mothers’ Union (MU) office is running a soup kitchen at the Cathedral Church of St Michael and All Angels, providing for the homeless in the region who are forced to sleep on pavements. They have been uprooted from their native communities because of poverty and now have no appropriate housing. There are families as well as individuals in this situation and they cannot buy food or pay for healthcare and education for their children.
To support the Bishop’s Lent appeal and raise funds as courageous advocates, we will shortly be selling purple wristbands at the gates in the morning and we will have a ‘wear something purple’ day early in summer term. Please look out for further information regarding this.