Advocating for others

Witnessing the interactions between our Year 12 students and members of the congregation, and the shared joy and learning was indeed a special highlight. Bishop Jeremy Greaves spoke about the Hope for the Future of the Church, provoking deep reflection about our church of today and tomorrow. Bishop Jeremy spoke about the dynamic tensions of honouring church traditions and the importance of embracing new ideas and approaches to meeting people where they are, instead of waiting for our younger generation to enter the church building on Sunday.

Earlier that day, The Reverend Kate Ross led the Easter Service at St Luke’s, and Jenny Moreny from the congregation received the donations of our Lenten Pantry Appeal. These traditions help to build connections across our flourishing faith communities and reinforce the understanding that we are all part of a wider church.

We are truly blessed to be a connected community that is inclusive and intergenerational. Students are enriched through our times of worship at Christchurch, and through the invitation to serve the community through the Dorcas Soup Kitchen.

As part of the Camberwell Girls Grammar School ‘Upskill’ program, Year 7 and 10 students learn about advocacy. They explore questions such as: What does it mean to be an advocate for people, or for nature? What makes for effective advocacy? How might advocacy be creative?

These questions were at the heart of a Year 10 workshop led by Anglican Overseas Aid (AOA) Chief Executive Jo Knight, and resourced by the Mustard Leadership Australia, a group that supports Christian fellowship in schools.

Jo gave examples from her own extensive experience in advocating on behalf of a range of people. One interesting focus was on ‘craftivism’. Jo gave the example of a campaign calling for action on climate change. This campaign involved supporters handknitting colourful scarves, (the use of colours illustrating 101 years of climate data), which were then gifted to Federal MPs.

At the time of the Year 10 workshop, AOA was part of the Fight Famine campaign. Students learned about the dire level of famine in a number of countries, and heard the story of a woman named Mali from Ethiopia. They were then invited to write their own messages to Monique Ryan MP, using paper plates as the medium. Jo subsequently took the messages to Canberra as part of the delegation including Fight Famine and Micah Women Leaders. Following this, Monique Ryan displayed the plates in her electoral office in Hawthorn.