Back to School

by the Revd Hannah Cartwright

Those three words are enough to simultaneously illicit a deep sigh of anticipatory exhaustion from pupils (and some teachers!) and provoke a small sigh of relief from parents, joyful but weary from six weeks of finding meaningful, fun, and enriching entertainment for their kids!

For most of us, our lives were governed by the pattern of school terms for several years and for some of us they still are. Routine can be tiring and at times mundane, but it can also be comforting, dependable and necessary. As the University Church, we also run on a parallel academic term system, as well as a secular and liturgical calendar, which can lead to some fascinating seasonal clashes … Oxmas anyone?

Having a break from routine over the summer can provide a chance to recharge, re-evaluate and regain perspective by stepping off the wheel for a short while, but it can also slightly ‘throw us off kilter’. Yet, whatever the change is, a time set aside with a different character to it can help us appreciate the people, places and activities we fill our lives with and re-kindle relationships we have perhaps allowed the busyness of daily life to overtake. This is the principle behind taking times of retreat too; whether we go away for a longer time or simply take a few hours in our daily life one week, perhaps we may be accompanied by a spiritual director, or we may spend a day with a local religious community. If we take a break from the day-to-day and spend some time getting to know God again outside of the normal pressures and expectations we face each day, it can aid us in finding God more-fruitfully in the day to day when we return to it, and re-energise us for term and year ahead.