Thought For The Day – Tuesday 1st April 2025
Diversity, Unity, Reflection
Above: TBSHS last evening.
Our Lent and Easter services continue at Saint Michael’s Church. Thank you to all for their leadership and participation yesterday. Thank you to Year 10 and Year 11 for their very positive conduct. Please continue this excellent standard. If you can afford, and wish to do so, please bring a donation for the church. Today also marks the six years since the funeral of our former Headteacher, Mr. Shaw.
As we think of, help others, this forthcoming holiday season, before and beyond, we continue to collect Easter eggs for “Bishop’s Stortford Food Bank”. The deadline for this will be Thursday in Room C05. There will also be another staff charity football match tomorrow. This is for Years 9, 11 and the sixth form to watch. Entry is £1. There will be a game for other years in the summer term.
Charity, or Zakat or Zakah, is a key aspect of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, still being celebrated. We continue to think of Muslims, who have been observing Ramadan, and continue to think deeply of God, the Qur’an, their family and other people, including those who have passed from this life.
Giving to others (Tzedakah, meaning righteousness or justice) is also a key part of the festival of Passover in Judaism. This year, in the holidays, commencing on 12th April 2025, the Jewish community will remember Passover (Pesach in Hebrew). Passover remembers freedom and liberation from oppression. A key part of this is a special Seder (meaning order) meal, with prayers and readings, where each item represents an aspect of the Exodus and Passover Story: the lamb bone (sacrifice); a roasted hard egg (resilience); vegetables (new life) in salt water (tears); bitter herbs (suffering); and chopped apples, walnuts and wine (sweetness, hope and bricks used to build homes). In the month before, Jews clean all their house of leavened bread, and eat unleavened bread at Passover, for when being liberated from slavery, they did not have time for their bread to rise.
All of these religious and theological beliefs and practices, and more and others, are unique, having their own form of life, inspiration, story and truth.
Some common themes are remembrance and respect of God, family, and other people, especially those suffering, charity, hope, goodness, love, peace and new life.
Whatever our appropriate beliefs, and practices, we continue to reflect on the precious nature of life, and on how we can continue to improve. Together.
