７月７日（土）創立４０周年記念感謝礼拝が行われました。
その中で、地元クランレーの牧師 Nigel Nicholsonさんから頂いたお話と40周年感謝祈祷をご紹介致します。
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Collect for 40th Anniversary
Rev’d Canon Nigel Nicholson
I say to the young people here, I speak as one of your ex-chaplains. I was chaplain at this school for 18 months and I well remember Bishop Paul Saito and Mary, his lovely wife. Now you’re all going off on holiday and you come back on September the 9th and I won’t be here, because I retire on September the 2nd. Whoopee! And I came to this parish when this school was 17 years old, I have been in Cranleigh for 23 years and one of the most special parts of my ministry has been here, in this school and seen you at Cranleigh and I take with me when I go into retirement wonderful memories of a superb school, wonderful staff, great children who work far too hard but are really industrious in what you do. Many memories of seeing you in church. The girls giggling, laughing and taking photographs with the usual ‘V’.
Thinking of the two flags of Japan and England, we did beat you in World Cup at football, but red and white, the sun and the cross, the son of God Jesus who died for you and me, wherever we come from and that’s a wonderful thing. We are bound together on a journey of faith, of goodness and love. And when we sing the school hymn, I’m proud to sing it too, here in Southern England stands midst the hills our school. Day by day it’s girding us with the precepts of love, binding us in friendship with the name of all lands to search out together the way we should go. If when we work together and above all when we pray together we will listen to God and he will help us to understand each other better.
As I say when I go into retirement I shall remember you and I will continue to pray for you: the governors, the teachers and the children of this lovely school. And so a prayer of thanksgiving, for forty wonderful flowering years of this school, let’s bow our head.
‘Heavenly father we bless you for the vision for those who saw this school taking ( ???? ) in the land of England, for those who had the vision to teach and to encourage young minds, to broaden their horizon and to share your gifts with us all. We thank you for the teachers who have shown the children the best way to live and have given them a grounding and a foundation of faith and goodness and love. We thank you Lord for the governors who have supported and cared for the school and the many visitors who have been part of it’s journey. Bless each and every one of us as we continue our journeys from this day onwards. Bless this school, that it may continue to grow and flourish and produce upright men and women to serve you in this world today and may the Lord bless you, this school in all that it does in the name of the Father and the son and the holy spirit. Amen’.
