Fr Bain is an award-winning, professional clown, who is also an Anglican priest. On Tuesday 26 August, Year 11 students as well as Prep School boys had a chance to watch him perform and listen to his powerful messages.

After watching Fr Bain’s clown routine, the Year 11 group listened to an address on the central Christian themes of ‘Love and Forgiveness’. The boys then broke up into House groups to discuss a number of focus questions such as - What is forgiveness and how far can we reasonably be expected to extend it? Does/should Jesus love Osama bin Laden? What is love?

The student seminar was part of a guest speaker programme aimed at building on the boys’ awareness of philosophical, ethical and religious issues in the Senior School. Though some boys have the option to study Philosophy and Ethics as a TEE course, all Year 11 boys gather three times during the year to hear an invited speaker and stimulate discussion.

For the Prep School boys, from Pre-primary through to Year 7, the message was about the balancing act of life, which was illustrated beautifully by Fr Bain through his series of tricks. His tightrope walking, juggling and balancing act brought home the message of always keeping holding on to your faith, no matter what life throws your way.