Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It was lovely to see lots of staff, children, parents and carers from school communities across the diocese attending the Church School Carol Services this term.

I always love it when the church school family comes together to celebrate in the wondrous Cathedral. We understand that not all schools are able to join us for the services but that doesn’t mean you are not with us in our hearts and minds.

The Carol services this year were extra special in that we celebrated Christmas Around the World. It was great that the services were conducted in multiple languages and that we were able to get a greater insight into how Christmas is celebrated around the world.

In the service last week, Reverend Canon Sudharshan Sarvananthan led the homily reminding us that God gave His only Son as a gift for the world. The gift of Jesus would bring ‘great joy for all people’ (Luke 2:10). From this we see that God’s love is universal and encourages us all to love one another regardless of the language we speak or the country we are from.

As we approach the end of a very busy term, I would like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas. The DBE team looks forward to working alongside you in 2026.

from Canon Paul Thompson, Diocesan Director of Education