By
The Reverend Professor Rodney Wolff
Acting Warden
I’m exhausted already!
For the past four months, I have been at St John’s on a part-time basis, as Vice Warden and Chaplain. The rest of my time was spent as an associate priest at St Augustine’s church, Hamilton. As I step into the role of Acting Warden – keeping things ticking over while the College Council searches for a new Warden – I can reflect on the busy-ness of the past semester. DanceFest; One Act Play festival; inter-collegiate competitions in Rugby, Netball, and you name it; the College Ball; the At-Home; and the general frenetic pace of 300 Johnians navigating their way through their curricular, co-curricular, employment, and other commitments.
To be surrounded by such energy is very energising itself. And I suppose what has struck me the most is that every day I come to College, I feel as if I am being welcomed by the students anew. This is the same friendly and tightly cohesive community which existed when I lived briefly in Cripps Court last century (at the age of 29, I was one of “the Elderly”), and then, later in John Morgan’s incumbency, I trained for ordination. The same warm welcome. The same pleasant conversation. The same frenetic life of a John’s student. Surely you remember it?
I look forward, in however long I’ll spend in this role, to immersing myself in this community, and doing what I can to support the endeavours of the residents, not least their academic pursuits. It is those pursuits, in particular, which corporately give the College its distinctive academic prowess. And, naturally, the community of St John’s does not start and stop with the residents: it extends to Old Johnians and Friends of the College. It is a network of strong, long-standing friendships and great achievement in business, the professions, and society more widely.
And so, if you feel like you need a little energising, come back and visit. I’ll be very pleased to meet you.
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