Published on 21 December 2022
Here the Reverend Chris Howson, Chaplain to the University of Sunderland and Anglican Priest at Sunderland Minster, gives staff and students his annual Christmas message.
A few months ago, I was privileged to be at the 30-year celebrations of the University of Sunderland. There is much to celebrate this year, especially as I also managed to graduate with a Masters degree. I can now testify to the quality of the teaching (and the calibre of our students...!)
The university goes back much further than 30 years, with the foundation of the Sunderland Technical College in 1901.The Galen building on Green Terrace taught all the technical skills needed to build the ships our city is famous for. The building even had its own observatory to help sailors learn to navigate by the stars. The College developed many other specialties over the years such as the world leading pharmacy department in 1922 helmed by the extraordinary Hope Winch, who pioneered the way for many more female scientists and academics.
We continue to thrive, with campuses in London, Hong Kong and across the world, producing paramedics, nurses and doctors, world class journalists, business innovators, teachers, ceramicists, youth workers, writers, naming just a few!
Our university supports our local economy and produces workers and thinkers who can shape and change our global community.
Jesus once told the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’, someone who does not walk on the other side but chooses to help when they see someone in need. This is exactly what education can do when a society is in need.
In 2022 bombs started falling in Ukraine, and our university did not walk on the other side. It used its resources to support language classes for newly arrived refugees and to open our sports centre for Ukrainian family and their host families.
At Christmas time, the birth of Christ tells me about a God who does not walk on the other side but sends a child into our midst to change everything. A child teaches us to believe that things can change. Our world can be ‘life-changing’. Not a bad motto for an educational establishment!
Have a great Christmas break and enjoy your celebrations for the New Year. Let’s go out in 2023 and change lives and communities for the better!