KING’ S CHAPEL
Our Chapel Prefects
The role of the King’ s Sacristan.
Sam PEAT- Senior Sacristan James BRIDGMAN- Senior Sacristan Ellie RICHARDS- Senior Sacristan Hanna McLACHLAN- Senior Sacristan Henry WADSWORTH- Marsden George HELLRIEGEL- Selwyn Seb GOULD- Major Tamati SWANN- Greenbank Ben TREADWELL- Peart Colin TUIMALEALIIFANO- St John’ s Nicholas WALSH- Parnell Tepaki HUI- Averill Jozef WRIGHT- School Rachael MURRAY- Middlemore Anna PREBBLE- Taylor
In ancient times Sacristan was a service role given to the care of the church, its vestments and to daily worship. The role of Sacristans at King’ s College, of course, has expanded beyond this. The body of Sacristans here at King’ s is best described as being a Chapel Prefect and is widely regarded as being one of the busiest in the College. The 15 Sacristans are elected in two ways. Eleven Sacristans are appointed as part of the House leadership process at the end of each year, in consultation with the Chaplains. The remaining four Senior Sacristans are drawn from the student body and the criteria are much the same as that for the House Sacristans- based on character, faith and leadership qualities, though the seniors are a Chaplain’ s appointment.
So what does it mean to be a Sacristan? It is really divided up between pastoral care, facilitating Community Service in the House, providing help at Chapel services and assisting with special events. At the beginning of each year the Sacristan team meet with the Chaplains and the counselling staff to discuss issues pertinent to caring for students in our Houses. This year we covered topics such as listening skills, harassment and bullying, as well as self-care. To help foster caring relationships, Sacristans organise a social event in Term One, where they get new students together and brief them about the support they can access through the Sacristans.
Another facet is championing Community Service. At each Monday morning meeting with our Sacristans, Rev Wilder and Mrs Rosemary Carrington, our Community Service coordinator, talk with them about upcoming opportunities with which the students can get involved. Sacristans play a vital part in identifying students who wish to sign up for various activities, and memos are given out by Sacristans to remind students of their upcoming commitments. With so many of our College involved in our Outreach Programme this link-role the Sacristans hold is crucial.
Aside from this, the Sacristans are kept busy organising elements for the Chapel services. Sacristans are rostered on each week to help furnish our weekday services with students from their Houses to complete the readings and the prayers; while on Sundays they may find themselves reading or leading the prayers.
The last duty is really an extension of Community Service. With so many approaches to the Chapel from outside the community, there are often special, one-off events that the Sacristans are invited to participate in. Each year the KC Runathon, the IHC Social, SADD week and the 40-Hour Famine are all organised by the Sacristans who often provide a good deal of the preparation and assistance on the day. It is fascinating to watch Sacristans who have led the charge on these events who often speak of it as being challenging but one of the most invaluable and formative experiences here at King’ s. But don’ t just take my word for it. Here are a few thoughts on the role from some of our current Sacristans and what it means to them:
Rachael MURRAY( Year 13, Middlemore) says …“ to be Middlemore House Sacristan isn’ t just about attending weekly Chapel and meetings or handing out memos. To me, being Middlemore House Sacristan is about getting the whole House involved in things such as Community Service, reading in Chapel and an understanding of the part that Sacristans play as someone to talk to, as an older sibling-type figure. I think that the being a House Sacristan is so special. I feel that being able to be involved with the girls on a more personal level and encouraging everyone in the House to be involved in community service is not only fun but also a rewarding experience to share with others. I am so privileged to work with both Rev Wilder and Rev Walters and to organise events and share ideas with the other fellow Sacristans. Although as Rev has said, being a Sacristan is a busy job, it is definitely a rewarding, worthwhile position to be involved in and I have thoroughly enjoyed the experiences I have had and look forward to the future.”
James BRIDGMAN( Year13, Averill) says,“ Being a Sacristan to me means carrying out the work of the Chapel. This involves community service, assisting with the services and working with the Chaplains in anything they should require. However, the most important part of being a Sacristan, in my opinion, is the fact that just by being a Sacristan you are the living embodiment of the work of the Chapel. This means that in my role I try to be a guide to others, directing on the path that the Chapel leads. I do my best to live out the values that we so often talk about in Chapel and hope to instill this same enthusiasm in my fellow students across all ages. I think it’ s crucial that we have some sort of model or example, which we strive for and being a Sacristan is exactly this. I’ m not saying we’ re perfect but I believe it’ s all about putting in the effort to better ourselves, our character and our communities.”
Rev Gareth Walters Assistant Chaplain
14 AUTUMN 2013 • KING’ S COURIER