2. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education Southwark Diocesan Board of Education Mission at the Start of a New Academic Year - a time to reflect

3. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education

4. Our School Mission Statement In groups of 3 or 4 take time to look at your school mission statement. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education How is this lived out on a daily basis? What part do you play in this? What do pupils see happening around them to make this real?

5. Bishop Christophers Call to Mission is my invitation, as leader in mission, to the people, churches, schools, communities and deaneries of the diocese to reflect on our mission priorities and to commit ourselves to concrete action in our own contexts. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education

7. We witness to our faith in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, and we confess him as Lord and God. When many are confused or unsure, we try to help people articulate the faith for which they seek. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education How does our school articulate faith?

8. We look to an imperishable hope, which will not disappoint us. Whilst many voices speak of anxiety and despair, we try to point people to signs of real and transforming hope in their lives. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education How does the work of our school community transform lives?

9. We love because He first loved us, and the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Spirit he has given us. In a world of loneliness and division, we try to give and to receive true love in our relationships with people. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education How do we express love in our school?

10. Linking the two In your groups go back to your school Mission Statement. The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education ---------&---------

11. Prayer God of faith, deepen our faith so we may bear witness to Christ in the world; God of hope, strengthen our hope so we may be signposts to your transforming presence; God of love, kindle our love so that, in a fragile and divided world, we may be signs of the faith, hope, love which we share in Jesus Christ. Amen The SDBE - Supporting Christian Education