The Blessing of the Chapel of the Annunciation

The Blessing of the Chapel of the Annunciation

Friday 24 March 2017

The Most Reverend Peter Smith Archbishop of Southwark

Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark My dear Brothers and Sisters, It is always a great pleasure for me to visit a Catholic school; I very much enjoy meeting the pupils, hearing about their progress and about their future plans.

On this wonderful occasion of blessing the splendidly refurbished Chapel of the Annunciation, I am really delighted to celebrate holy Mass with you all.

I hope and pray that this beautiful chapel will remain a spiritual haven, an inspirational setting in the daily life of the whole school community and a place to spend time quietly with God. With an assurance of my prayers and best wishes.

Archbishop of Southwark

Mrs Paula Anderson Headteacher

I am pleased that the whole of Bishop Challoner will come together on Friday 24th March 2017 to participate in the naming and blessing of the school Chapel. The date was chosen to coincide with The Feast of the Annunciation on 25th March.

The Archbishop of Southwark, The Most Reverend Peter Smith, is our celebrant and special guest and has kindly agreed to visit Bishop Challoner to bless its refurbished chapel.

The chapel refurbishment commenced during the Summer of 2015 to provide a place of worship for pupils, parents and staff. In our Chapel we experience the love of Jesus as we listen to the Word of God, in the Scriptures that are proclaimed, as we share in the Lord’s Sacrifice on the altar of the Cross and receive His Body and Blood. Our Chapel enhances our religious education and spiritual life at the school. The Chapel is at the heart of the school and helps to cultivate not only an understanding of core Catholic teachings but also a spiritual and morally reflective approach to life.

Every Tuesday morning, the Chapel is at the centre of daily worship, a time for pupils, staff and visitors to come together to gather their thoughts and give thanks before the Lord at the beginning of a new day. Mass is celebrated in the Chapel with our local clergy during term time to allow different year groups to come together as a community in Morning Prayer.

The Chapel of the Annunciation It was felt appropriate to name the Chapel, ‘The Chapel of the Annunciation’ since the new icons represent The Annunciation. Archbishop Peter Smith will celebrate Mass with the pupils, staff and many visitors. During Mass, His Grace will bless our new chapel and name it.

The Icons were made in the icon studio of the Bethlehem Icon Centre, in Bethlehem in the Holy Land by Mr Ian Knowles, the artist and director, who made special trips to Shortlands to ensure the icons were safely installed. The Centre and its Icon School were founded in 2012 for the renewal and restoration of professional quality iconography to the Holy Land.

The icons were inspired by the theme of Jesus the new Adam, the One who has renewed Creation and opened the gates of Paradise for us once more, especially as it relates to the Holy Mass. The Annunciation shows Mary as the new Eve, whose obedience to the Word of God brought by the Angel Gabriel reversed Eve's disobedience. The final piece shows the Creation with the Garden of Eden at its centre. For Catholics the Mass is a meeting of heaven and earth, and a foretaste of Paradise. The Cross is the source of New Life, and Communion is a participation in that Saving Mystery. In the iconography we explore and experience this deep and rich meaning, one which it is hoped will be an important catechetical tool for the generations of Challoner pupils who will worship here.

The Icon Centre uses only natural materials, including some pigments (colours) which have been made from stones found in and around Jerusalem. These have been mixed with egg yolk, just as was the case 1000 years ago for all art made for the Church. The gold is also genuine 23.5 ct gold leaf, applied using various methods to give contrasting effects.

We also recognise the role of the late Canon Jack Madden who was such an important guiding influence for so long and who would have welcomed the opportunity to share in celebrating in the naming and blessing of our Chapel on this special occasion of the school. When I was appointed as Headteacher he warmly welcomed me into the family of Bishop Challoner and always made himself available to talk to me. Canon Jack Madden was a true gentleman, non-judgemental and treated everyone with respect.

I hope that you will keep this souvenir brochure a as keep-sake of this memorable occasion in the life of Bishop Challoner School.

Chapel of the Annunciation A chapel is a place dedicated to the union between God and humanity, a place of spiritual enchantment which delights the heart and inspires the mind while nourishing the soul. The new design for the chapel tries to bring these ideas alive for children and young people.

The colour scheme, dominated by blue in various hues, underpins the sense of heavenly enchantment; blue is traditionally used in Christian art to denote heaven and the Divine. It beautifully offsets the gold in the Crucifix and the icon panels of the Annunciation.

The two panels that make up the icon of the Annunciation stand at the entrance to the sanctuary, flanking the altar and the Crucifix hanging above it. The sanctuary is a place intimate and close, yet also set apart by being raised up on one step and enclosed partially by the icons. The light from the large Georgian windows serves to create a bright and beautiful place of light; a special place set aside, different, at the centre of this lighted space stands the altar.

The design of the hanging crucifix is based on the Old English and Anglo-Saxon meditations on the Cross as the Tree of Life, inspired by a legend that the Cross was made in wood from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. The colours and the finish of these icons are intended to shimmer as they interact with flickering candlelight and low level artificial light.

The Icon of the Annunciation God’s messenger, the Archangel Gabriel, flies towards the Virgin Mary reaching out to her as he announces: ‘Do not fear Mary, for God has looked kindly on you’. The Virgin Mary was troubled so Gabriel goes on to explain that the Holy Spirit will come upon her; ‘You shall conceive and bear a son and you shall call him Jesus’. Mary, depicted with her right hand raised in acquiescence, replies ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you said’ (Luke 1.31-38). Mary’s immediate acceptance of the Word of God brought by the Angel Gabriel reversed the disobedience of Eve.

The Icon of the Creation Christ reaches out to create the material and spiritual world – the heavens, the angels and the earth. He then seeks out that created world and walks in the cool of the Garden with Adam and Eve who are the Friends of God. Yet that friendship is already in peril and Christ warns them not to eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil less they lose the Tree of Life.

His warning is in vain, and the two forebears of humanity wander far away from Paradise where they could converse with God and dwell in the presence of the Lord. They are here bent over, brow beaten afflicted by the harshness of their life in a hostile world.

The Garden is set on two crossing mountains, one they descend but one remains for them to ascend. Even as they are cast out, God wills that they should return at whatever cost to himself.

In the visual language of the icons a mountain is a place of ascent, of radical transformation, and thus here Paradise is shown as the goal of those who seek God with a pure heart. Though the door of Paradise is guarded by the seraph, nevertheless the destiny of humanity is to return to Paradise through a spiritual transformation.

The icon of the Creation has the Garden of Eden at its centre. For Catholics the Mass is a meeting of heaven and earth and a foretaste of Paradise. The Cross is the source of New Life, and Holy Communion is a participation in that saving mystery. As we explore and experience the iconography in the Chapel of the Annunciation deeper and richer understanding emerges.

It is hoped that this may be an important catechetical impetus for generations of the girls and boys who worship in this chapel.

The design of the icons echoes that typical of Christian art in the eastern churches for 1,500 years, and which is closely aligned to the art found in Catholic churches until the Reformation.

In this way it is also intended to reinforce the importance of conveying the deep roots of Christian England in Catholic Christianity.

Director of The Bethlehem Icon Centre, Ian Knowles, designed and painted the icons and was also the liturgical design consultant who advised on the overall design of the school chapel.

These icons are made not just in but of the Holy Land.

The colours are all made from God’s Creation, the natural world, rocks ground into a fine powder which is then mixed with egg yolk just as was the practise 1000 years ago for all art made for the churches in England. The blues and greens in the Annunciation icon were specially ground from a rock of azurite obtained in the Old City of Jerusalem, while many of the greens in the creation icon came from specially ground rock found on the road to Jericho.

Blues and greens are the colours of heaven, and in the Eucharist heaven are wedded to earth, and for a moment we stand before the throne of our heavenly Father, a foretaste of what lies ahead for all who die in Christ. The panels are covered in real gold, not to make the images materially valuable but because gold captures light and throws it back out to us, and is thus a wonderful living symbol of the Divine Light in which all of the saints live and which breaks into our world at extraordinary moments such as the Transfiguration and the Nativity.

The Icon School Bethlehem in the Holy Land All the icons were made in the icon studio of the Bethlehem Icon Centre in the Holy Land.

The Centre and its Icon School were founded in 2012 for the renewal and restoration of professional quality iconography in the Holy Land, The Icon Centre is an innovative and unique attempt, in the Middle East, to invest in the cultural renewal of the community as a whole.

Students benefit greatly from practical experience The Icon School is proving to be very popular, there are already over twenty students, including six on a full time Diploma course in icon painting in conjunction with the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London. In the summer of 2016 three students spent six weeks in England, working on another commission of an icon of the Annunciation for Lichfield Cathedral. This work, together with the icons for Bishop Challoner, are important steps in transforming students into practicing, collaborative iconographers, which is an essential part of the planned development of the school as a Centre of excellence.

Technical skills combined with prayer and spirituality The Icon Centre enjoys a beautiful prayerful atmosphere, bringing together Christians from the Orthodox, Syrian, Coptic, Melkite, Marinite, Latin and Armenian Churches. So, the icon school is not just about passing on technical skills, it very much includes prayer, spirituality and reflection to help the formation of knowledgeable liturgical artists.

Father Patrick Byrne, Parish Priest of Beckenham, founded the school on 4th May

1950. It is accommodated in the historic building known as Shortlands House – the oldest building in Shortlands.

When founded in 1950, the school continued to be known as Shortlands House. In 1958 the name of the school was changed in honour of Bishop Richard Challoner

(1691–1781), Vicar Apostolic of the London District, who was the leading figure in the Roman Catholic Church in England during the 18th century.

The school's coat of arms consists of a combination of the cross of St George and the arms of Richard Challoner, with the motto 'Quantum Potes Tantum Aude'.

The school started as a junior school but quickly grew. In 1956 a senior wing was

added. More classrooms and an assembly hall/gymnasium followed in 1963. The Art

block was opened in 1968 and another block – now the Junior Block – was opened in 1980. Challoner became co-educational in the Junior School in 1992, later extending into the Senior School. At the same time a Nursery was opened.

In 2013 the school became a company limited by guarantee and registered as a separate charity (having previously been part of the Catholic Archdiocese of

Southwark). The voting members of the company are the Trustees who are responsible for the oversight of the school. They are assisted by others who may attend meetings

such as The Head Teacher, governors, a teacher representative and others drawn from

the school community. The Trustees have to uphold the constitution of the school and maintain its Catholic nature. Two of the Trustees are appointed by the Archbishop of Southwark as representatives of the local Catholic Parishes - St Edmund's, Beckenham and St Joseph's, Bromley.

Three Formative Figures of the School Bishop Richard Challoner (1691-1781) Vicar Apostolic of the London District (1758-81)

Bishop Richard Challoner was the leading figure of English Catholicism for much of the eighteenth century. He was born in 1691 near Lewes, East Sussex.

In 1705 he was granted a scholarship to the English College, Douai. He was an outstanding student and a successful teacher of rhetoric and poetry; at the age of twenty-two he was a Professor of Philosophy, Ordained priest in 1716, he continued to teach; he was appointed Professor of Theology and Vice-President of the College 1720. In May 1727 he took his Doctorate. Dr Richard Challoner returned to England in 1730 where he worked among the poor in London; Dr Challoner was consecrated Bishop of Debra in 1741. In his spare time he wrote many books that informed and guided English Catholics throughout the country. An enthusiastic educationalist he supported many schools founding the ‘Society for Educating Poor Catholic Children’ in 1764. Bishop Challoner became Vicar Apostolic of the London District in 1758; he died in 1781.

Father Patrick J. Byrne (1890-1969)

Parish Priest at St Edmund’s Church (1934 -1969) Founder of Bishop Challoner School on 4th May 1950 Fr Byrne was Parish Priest in Beckenham for many years. He was in charge when the parish church of St Edmund of Canterbury, Village Way was designed and built. The story is told that when one day he learned that property developers were planning to buy and build flats on the site of a property called Shortlands House on Bromley Road Fr Byrne acted quickly. He contacted the Archdiocese of Southwark to highlight an opportunity to establish a Catholic school in the area. His vision and rapid action was rewarded with a successful offer from the diocese to purchase the house and grounds. The historic building of Shortlands House was the location of the original school that was founded on 4th May 1950. Today, Bishop Challoner School, Shortlands is the proud and thriving result of the foresight of its founder Fr Patrick Byrne.

Canon Jack Madden (1939-2016)

Parish Priest St Edmund of Canterbury Church (1988-2015) Chair of Governors and Trustees at Bishop Challoner School 1988 - 2015 Jack Madden was born in Dublin in 1939. At school he distinguished himself in Latin and Greek, in sport he played Gaelic football for his school and County Mayo. In 1957 he began to train for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin, a seminary which specialised in the formation of priests to work outside Ireland. Fr Jack was ordained in June 1963 for the Diocese of Southwark.

In 1981 he was appointed Parish priest at St Joseph’s in Shooters Hill and there he assumed major responsibilities in education as Chair of Governors of Notre Dame School. In 1988 Fr Jack was appointed Parish Priest at St Edmund’s in Beckenham where he was to remain for 27 years. He was Chair of Governors of St Mary’s Primary School and our own Bishop Challoner School. Fr Jack was instrumental in consolidating the inspirational vision of Fr Byrne, overseeing improvements in every sphere of school life. In his later years Canon Madden guided the transition of the school from being part of the main charity of the Archdiocese to an independent Catholic charity that positioned the school on a footing to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Bishop Challoner School feels privileged to have enjoyed Fr Jack’s company and his leadership.

BISHOP CHALLONER SCHOOL NURSERY · JUNIOR · SENIOR · SIXTH FORM

Through partnership of parents and staff, we foster the education of the whole person in preparation for adult life, within a positive, happy and caring environment.

We have a warm welcoming atmosphere where Catholic Christian values permeate the life of the school. Mass for the whole school is celebrated at various times during the school year and we support and guide our pupils in their own faith journey through regular Mass, prayer and assemblies.

We take pride in our reputation for outstanding pastoral care. The overall level of discipline amongst the pupils is high and the school has a very friendly, family oriented atmosphere where everyone is treated as an individual whose opinions are valued. The pastoral welfare of each pupil is overseen by form tutors, to ensure that support is provided.

“Pupils throughout the school have a highly developed spiritual understanding.

In interview they expressed their appreciation of the spiritual aspects of life such as the power of prayer for others; their appreciation of the Catholicity of the school permeates every aspect of its life�. (ISI 2016)

Positive feedback from 2016 ISI Inspection Bishop Challoner School met all the Compliance standards with no action points at its inspection in November 2016 by the Independent Schools Inspectorate. The Quality of Pupils’ Academic and other Achievements has been graded as ‘Good’ and the Quality of the Pupils’ Personal Development has been graded as ‘Excellent’.

Mrs Anderson expressed her thanks to the school community for its continued commitment and dedication and to the pupils for always ‘daring to do their very best’.

“Pupils’ personal commitment to the school and the local community is very strong, they are beacons for the school in the community”. (ISI 2016)

“Pupils take an active approach to their learning outside of the classroom. Their attitudes to homework are positive, and the tasks that they are set engage and develop their learning”. (ISI 2016)

“Pupils demonstrate high levels of self-discipline; they move around the school site in a disciplined and mature manner. In lessons they engage quickly with learning activities and sustain excellent levels of concentration due to the high expectations from staff ”. (ISI 2016)

“Children in EYFS display excellent attitude to learning. They are independent learners who are keen to explore their environment. They display resilience and a willingness to work collaboratively. Junior school pupils have outstanding attitudes to learning”. (ISI 2016)

“The culturally diverse pupil body respects each member of the community, and pupils treat each other with great kindness around the school”. (ISI 2016)

BISHOP CHALLONER SCHOOL NURSERY · JUNIOR · SENIOR · SIXTH FORM

Bishop Challoner's seamless journey from nursery to sixth form is special and unique. The family commmunity is something you will experience when you visit the school.

Dare to do your best

228 Bromley Road, Shortlands. Kent. BR2 0BS E office@bishopchallonerschool.com T 020 8460 3546 www.bishopchallonerschool.com

Icons written at the Bethlehem Icon School in the Holy Land Design by Lee Harding Photography by David Yiu