Religious Faith And Education

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29384, 10 December 1960, Page 2

Religious Faith And Education

Never before had education been so widely discussed in New Zealand. The sittings of the Education Commission, the interest in religious education, wide publicity in the press and the electoral campaign had all contributed to that, said the principal of Rangi-ruru School (Mrs M. G. Patrick) at the prizegiving ceremony yesterday. “It behoves us to think of what we are seeking to do in our school and what our hopes for the future are,” she said. In the world of today, knowledge was of ever-increasing value. “And that we certainly seek to impart,” she said. “But in the uncertainty and turmoil of the world, we feel ever more

deeply the need of wisdom, of some standards, some foundations which will keep men secure in the storm of power, politics, racial tensions and the intoxicating excitement of man’s increasing power over the physical universe.” Best Foundation

How was the school to help girls gain wisdom? What was the best foundation for life in the swirl of the 20th century? she asked.

“We come back to the ancient words, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’,” Mrs Patrick said. “In our best and wisest moments, as we control and lead this school, we know that it is the building of religious faith, of Christian character that is our most important task. “Sometimes we are distracted by the manifold details and distractions that make up the school programme; often we are discouraged by evidence of failure among our pupils.

"But sometimes, too, we are cheered and encouraged by finding that what we sought to give has been accepted, that honour and uprightness are being followed, and that our girls are seeking to live the Christian life, and to gain the wisdom which is the fear of the Lord,” Mrs Patrick said.