The Master’s OA Reunion Address in Chapel, Saturday 22 September
The cycle of the school year is a comforting one. Things happen in their season and one looks forward to the special days of celebration and commemoration as they approach again. For me, one of the most important recurring dates is that of the OA Reunion every September. I particularly value the opportunity to preach to those OAs who choose to attend the 11 o’clock service in the Chapel of God’s Gift in the village. I enjoy hearing the Second Reading, from Ecclesiasticus, read with sonorous beauty by the Secretary of the Alleyn Club, and take as my text: Let us now speak of famous men and our fathers that begat us. In my first year I was able to introduce myself to the OAs present and speak about our famous Founder, standing just a couple of paces away from his grave. In 2010, I talked about the various sorts of famous men we have sent off into the world. I celebrated eminent Alleynian statesmen, businessmen and scientists, writers and musicians. The year of Bernard Battley’s Presidency of the Alleyn Club (2010-11) allowed me to take my cue from later in the reading from Ecclesiasticus – And some there be that have no memorial – for one of the themes of Bernard’s year as President was that we should remember the achievement and service of ‘ordinary’ as well as the extraordinary Alleynians. The key theme was that these may not have left public memorials but they have left their mark, often in their support for the College. This year, however, while referring back to our famous men, I took as my text a verse new to me, but which seemed right and fitting for the occasion (and I have asked the Chaplain if I may include it formally in our service next year). It is the idea of the five-fold ministry, from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He writes about the characters needed to make a great team: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.
We are a College which has long been interested in understanding the essence of teamwork and leadership, owing to our entrepreneurial founder and the Shackleton legacy. Sir Ernest Shackleton was adopted in the late twentieth century as a leadership guru and his ability to hold together a team in the most strained circumstances is worthy of consideration by every leader and team builder. But I wonder if the essentials of a team and of the leaders of an institution have ever been better defined than in that simple sentence in Ephesians: apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors. These are indeed all needed to build up a strong team and to be team leaders in a vibrant institution like a school. The headmaster and heads of school have to be the apostles building on the inherited foundation. They will have to be patient and persevering, they will probably have to put up with calumny at moments when they are not understood, but their role is to hold all the elements together and never to lose sight of the bigger picture, even when others think they have. They have to retain their confidence that we can get there. They have to acknowledge the Churchillian (although it could equally have been the Shackletonian) directive: ‘Failure is not final. Success is not final. It is the courage to go on that counts.’ Within the team, too, is the need for prophets. The prophets see ahead and ask all the necessary awkward questions; they challenge and confront; they are sometimes impatient and inclined to frustration – but this is a creative frustration. The apostles need prophets in their teams to ensure that they do not grow complacent and make excuses for the limited progress on the road chosen. Good governors are the prophets in my reading of the Dulwich College story.
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