Licensing and Installation of Mrs Jomari Miller
The school community gathered in the Diocesan Hall on 17 February for the licensing and installation of Mrs Jomari Miller as Head of the Senior School. The service was presided over by the Right Reverend Dr Vicentia Kgabe, Bishop of the Diocese of Pretoria, and marked the first Eucharist celebrated by Bishop Vicentia at our school.
The occasion provided an opportunity to sing our familiar welcome song as we received the Bishop into our community. The words express our commitment to grow in love together as a family “always there to be strong and to lean on.”
In the act of installation, Bishop Vicentia reminded us that leadership in a Christian school is not authority alone but service. Mrs Miller’s oath affirmed that she would exercise her role “as one who serves, upholding the values of Christ, so that love, truth and goodness may abound.” The school community in turn pledged its support in sharing responsibility for the life and values of the school.
Through prayer, the Bishop entrusted Mrs Miller’s leadership to God, asking that she be given wisdom, courage, strength and love for the work ahead, that the whole school may grow in faith and purpose together. The occasion reflected how our identity and purpose are held in community, from the youngest students to alumnae, retired staff, current leadership and members of the Board.
The service included the blessing of the Board of Governors. As Chair of the Board, the Bishop prayed that their work would be marked by integrity and humility, trust and mutual respect, and compassion and hope. The blessing was symbolised with the gift of candles, a reminder, in the Bishop’s words, that a light does not need to shout to reveal its power.
In her sermon, Bishop Vicentia returned to the words we read each day in classrooms and on our signboards, calling the girls to believe in themselves and to fly, preparing for a world beyond our gates where the education of women of character brings hope and possibility.
Mrs Howard, our Executive Head, shared words of warmth and encouragement, expressing gratitude for Mrs Miller’s love for the girls, her passion for the school and her commitment to excellence. She reflected on the privilege of working alongside Mrs Miller over the past years and offered a prayer for guidance in all that lies ahead.
Using the different languages spoken in our community, our sung worship captured the mood of the occasion: the quiet sincerity of Breathe on me, Breath of God, the joy of the Grade 3s leading Die Here het my mooi gemaak, and the shared voices of Praise, my soul, the King of heaven. Joined by alumnae, parents and Board members, and with an altar party including clergy who are also parents and neighbours, the service was a lived expression of who we are at St Mary’s DSG: a prayerful community shaped by participation and belonging.
