Register 2019

VIRTUES From the Chaplain

New College Warden It is a delight that Old Boy Peter Carrell was ordained and installed as the 9th Anglican Bishop of Christchurch at services at Christchurch Boys’ High School and in Cathedral Square on Saturday 9 February. Then, on Monday 18 February, he was installed as the 10th Warden of Christ’s College. We count George Selwyn (1809–1878), the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, as our first Warden. The first Bishop of Christchurch, Henry Harper (1804–1893), is, hence, the 2nd Warden.

The Terrorist Attack Our landscape and context tragically changed with the terrorist attack of Friday 15 March. How we learn to live with difference could not be more appallingly highlighted than in this massacre of innocent people peacefully at prayer. Religious Education at College focuses on learning about and from the world’s great religious traditions. We seek to have young men graduate from College with compassion, empathy, and global understanding. In our global village, a fifth of the world’s population is Muslim, and one of our closest neighbours, Indonesia, has the world’s largest Muslim population. The Al Noor Mosque is a short walk across Hagley Park, and hundreds of floral tributes and messages of support were placed by the Christchurch Botanic Gardens adjoining our campus. Furthermore, of course, some of our students and others in our community are devout Muslims.

Around two hundred people were present at the Centre for Ethics & Spirituality event – “Understanding Islam” – on Thursday 14 June. Guest speaker Farid Ahmed is a senior member of the Al Noor Mosque and a survivor of the attack. His wife, Husna, was also at the mosque. She got the women and children together and led them to safety before going back to rescue her husband of 25 years. He couldn’t flee as he uses a wheelchair. Husna was killed – and Farid has since become well known for his public response of grace and forgiveness. Farid used the Five Pillars of Islam as a springboard to explain how submission to God’s will brings individual, family, community, and world peace. Funds raised in our Lenten Appeal were given to the Muslim community in Christchurch. Two people who work at College were shot in the attack, and we have been able to help them financially through the Lenten Appeal. The remaining $12,000 was donated to the mosque.

A Disposition to Serve In his address to Chapel on Friday 18 October, Bishop John Osmers perfectly illustrated the disposition to serve. Brought up in Christchurch, Bishop John has served sacrificially

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Christ’s College Canterbury

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