This year, the Bishop’s Lent Call focuses on ‘what it means to be a good neighbour,’ rooted in Christian values of kindness, compassion, humility, forgiveness, and love.

The programme is designed for schools working in partnership with churches and communities, gradually broadening children’s understanding of “neighbour” from the classroom to the wider world. Naturally, there will be a focus on our partners in Zimbabwe and Jerusalem.

Over the coming weeks, our pupils will reflect on how kindness looks, feels, and sounds; explore what the Bible teaches about loving others; and discover how these values can be lived out in practical and creative ways. Activities will include prayers, storytelling, art, shared meals, acts of kindness, and collaborative projects involving families, parishioners, and the wider community.

The programme encourages children to see kindness as active and transformative—supporting those who struggle, repairing what is broken, and working together for healing and justice. Through biblical stories such as the Good Samaritan and Joseph, and through symbols like shared bread, repaired pots, stepping stones, and garments of love, children are invited to understand that love of neighbour strengthens individuals, communities, and the world when practised with patience, gentleness, and hope.

More details to follow.