End-of-term chapel services involve us saying goodbye to girls who are leaving our school. It is never easy for the girls to bid farewell to friends, classmates and teachers.

In the Anglican church, the prayer service for farewell reads:

O God our Heavenly Father, whose glory fills the whole creation and whose presence we find everywhere we go, we give you thanks for the love and fellowship we have enjoyed with N and N. Surround them with your loving care and protect them from every danger, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

In his book, Umsindleko: A Gcaleka Ritual of Incorporation Patrick McAllister writes about the Xhosa rituals of sending migrant workers off and receiving them when they return. He describes the actions as rites of incorporation. This ritual is of interest as it shows us one society’s response to migrant labour and its attempts to cope with it. This rite symbolises the importance of community. It symbolically unites and separates the person moving between two worlds.

The cultural practice resonates with our view of the girls as belonging to St Mary’s, yet leaving us to join another community. Our task is to send them on their journey meaningfully. We do this by giving the girls a St Mary’s candle and sending them out in God’s name, asking Him to guide, strengthen and protect them in the days that lie ahead.

REVD RAKGADI KHOBO

CHAPLAIN