Ours is a faith committed to putting its values into action through service and peacemaking, with an awareness of our obligations to one another in community and, to discerning together, what makes for a just and compassionate world.
Chapel at Rockway
Chapel is a key part of our community building at Rockway. Students, staff and faculty attend chapel twice-weekly to sing, pray and nurture spiritual growth, together. Rockway chapels create the opportunity for faculty, staff, students, alumni and other guests from around the world, to reflect on their faith journeys, how they see the world and their place within it.
These community gatherings give shape to the core of our school’s identity and mission to form faith…build character.
Chapel Theme 2025-2026
Rockway ACTS:
Action - Connection - Togetherness - Service
“And we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, prophesy according to the measure of faith you have; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is encouraging, then encourage; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is leading, do it with diligence; if it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.” Romans 12: 6 – 8
Rockway ACTS is a new Rockway-wide initiative that seeks opportunities for our students to engage in collective community service. Rockway ACTS has the following three goals:
Student Learning – Building awareness of needs of others – We will get outside our classroom walls and learn more about the needs in our community
Service of others – In order to contribute to the community, we participate in meaningful acts of service to meet genuine areas of need
Student Well-being – Mental health is enhanced when given opportunities to connect and serve — We want all students to have the opportunities to connect with and participate in acts of service to those around them
This initiative integrates seamlessly with our chapel program, as we explore as a community what it means to live intentionally into our faith, our values, our worldviews.
We acknowledge the importance of bringing our gifts to our community with humility, recognizing that we have much to learn and receive from others. In the reciprocity of giving and receiving, we build the connections that are foundational to our own wellbeing, and the wellbeing of others.
Romans 12:6-8 says “And we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, prophesy according to the measure of faith you have; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is encouraging, then encourage; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is leading, do it with diligence; if it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.”
This scripture passage reminds us that our understanding of what service means can be wide. Service can be giving (in all its facets), and it can also be a prophetic critique of injustice. This passage gives us a non-exhaustive list of ways of using our gifts, and also nudges us to give thought to how and why we are doing this. As the song “You are Salt for the Earth” says, we want our acts of service to be a conduit of mercy, peace, and justice to our world.
Religious Studies Program
Rockway offers Religious Studies (RS) courses at all grade levels. These courses provide grounding in Christian values, beliefs and history from a Mennonite perspective, while respecting diversity of faith experiences amongst our students. We seek to equip students to discern values that will guide them as they participate and lead in their communities, churches and global society.
Who is God? When we look for answers to that question, we develop appreciation and respect for perspectives that are different from our own. Grounded in a Mennonite faith perspective, our RS program explores the resources of Christian spirituality while also making connections with other faith traditions and ethical systems, many of which are represented within our student body.
Community Peacebuilding Certificate
Youth Leading Change
Rockway has partnered with Mennonite Central Committee Ontario (MCC) to launch a new program called YOUTH LEADING CHANGE, a Community Peacebuilding Certificate Program. This program is a unique opportunity for Rockway students to learn in the community, develop a deeper understanding of what practical steps can be taken to build a more peaceful world, connect with their faith and develop important leadership skills in the process. If students complete all of the components of the program, they will earn an official Community Peacebuilding Certificate from MCC that they can use for scholarship and university applications. We know that community engagement and leadership opportunities are critical for students to gain entrance into the top post-secondary programs. This is an exciting opportunity that only Rockway students have access to.
Serving Our Greater Community
Enivro-Social Initiatives
At Rockway, we are committed to putting our faith into action by supporting our community. Every year, our Enviro-Social Committee plans student activities and events that align with the current needs of our community and the larger world. Over the last few years, Rockway students have participated in the Every Child Matters March, planned a pop-up Thrift store in support of The Working Centre and created wound care kits for people experiencing homelessness in our region. Recently, Rockway students collected school supplies for the Healing of the Seven Generations, an Indigenous-led organization, whose Backpack Program supports urban indigenous students in Waterloo Region.
Annual Christmas Food Drive
Every Christmas, for 30+ years, Rockway students, staff and faculty, alongside their families, raise a record amount of money and canned goods for House of Friendship’s annual food hamper program.
Our Food Drive is one of our most valuable relationship-building and long-standing traditions. It creates value for each of us at Rockway, for the House of Friendship, and for those in our region who find themselves in need of food, dignity and encouragement.
