David Wells Staff Formation Videos 

Introduction to the Hope Video Series — in the Spirit of the Jubilee Year of Hope

In August 2025, across the Diocese of Palmerston North our Catholic school communities gathered at St Peter’s College in Palmerston North for a Teacher Only Day focused on the vital and deeply Christian theme of Hope. As we journeyed together through the Jubilee Year of Hope, this focus became even more significant. A Jubilee invites the whole Church to renewal, reconciliation, and joyful expectation — a time to notice how God is already at work and to rediscover the hope that sustains us.

To support this ongoing journey, we have the Archdiocese of Wellington to thank for sharing a series of seven short videos presented by David Wells, a Catholic theologian and inspirational speaker whose gentle wisdom and humour have encouraged so many across our diocese and beyond. Each video offers a simple, engaging reflection that can be incorporated easily into staff meetings or formation sessions. Alongside the videos, a workbook provides reflection questions for each session, helping staff deepen their personal and communal engagement with this Year of Hope.

As educators, you accompany young people daily — forming hearts, shaping perspectives, and modelling what it means to trust in God’s promise. By grounding your staff formation in hope, you help cultivate school communities that:

• look to the future with confidence rather than fear,

• build bridges rather than barriers,

• and witness to the Resurrection in the ordinary moments of school life.

May these reflections nurture your own hearts and renew your shared sense of mission. May they remind you, again and again, that we are pilgrims of hope — walking with one another and with the God who continues to make all things new.