The Journal: Summer 2021

What a challenging start to the year we have had as educators! Few were anticipating that we would again be back in a prolonged lockdown. And we certainly weren’t thinking we’d be juggling ‘hybrid learning’ again, flitting between classrooms and computer screens, delivering lessons and setting work online as well as supervising students in buildings.

Praise be to God that we now are out of this partial schools closure, hopefully for the last time, and back with our students, where we can attend better to their educational and emotional needs. This term is going to be a period of rebuilding relationships, addressing many problems created by the pandemic, and of course, getting pupils’ learning back on track. We’ll also be discovering more than ever what it means to rely on God and ‘find grace to help us in our time of need’ (Hebrews 4:16). And perhaps God will give us special opportunity to minister His grace to those children in our care.

In this special ACT Golden Anniversary edition of the Journal, we want to look back and look forward. We want to give thanks to God for His faithfulness, and for the obedience of those who first discerned His prompting to form the Association. How encouraging it is for Christian teachers to engage in mutual support! It has been humbling to learn of the founding members’ vision and we are even more determined to honour those servants of Chris through the continuance and expansion of the work of ACT.

Please check out details of our online programme of evening seminars for the year, for example we have ‘an evening with the Christian Institute’ in May, and there will be more opportunities for teaching and equipping ourselves later in the year. Our website will have further details of these events.

Finally, do consider being part of our celebratory events. We’re excited to be able to host a social time for members in the Reform Club, in London in July, and a service of thanksgiving, in Manchester in September, being an opportunity to re-dedicate the work of ACT to God and to pray for the future of the Association.

He who promised is indeed faithful (Hebrews 10.23). Thanks be to God for 50 years of ACT!

Lizzie Harewood

ACT Executive Officer