A Vision for our Church

By Nicholas Townsend, Deputy Head of Junior School | St

Vision for St James Anglican Church: An inclusive Christian community, serving one another, the School and the wider community.

With 118 staff and 996 students, an opportunity awaits for St James’ Anglican School and the St James Church to serve the local community together. The St James Church and its parishioners are keen to grow the church and to work closely with the School, which led to a group of parishioners and school staff meeting for a visioning session. The group shared positives and identified areas for improvement. It soon became clear that the Church seeks to build closer ties with the School and to increase its membership base of a younger generation, in particular. Together with coffee and cake, the group chatted and brainstormed. What became apparent was that inclusion was important. Our community is diverse – not everyone is Christian and some people do not know a lot about Christianity. We need to educate our community and spread the message that wherever you are from, however you identify, you will be welcomed in our church!

Some of the more practical ideas were shared with the School Executive and a plan was devised for ways in which St James Church and St James’ Anglican School can work together to reach a wider community. The first of these will come to fruition in May – a coffee morning for parishioners and parents. Selected students from the Early Learning Centre will also attend to foster the diversity of the School and church.

Advertising was another key area for improvement, including sharing the topics of the School’s Christian and Values Education. These include more exposure in the School newsletters, the posting of worship times on the School social media pages and the sharing of church services at assemblies. Sharing with the School’s parent body about the importance of faith was highlighted as a priority. This will begin later in the year with an update to the St James’ Anglican School website with information and videos about the significance of the Eucharist in the Anglican faith and how to participate respectfully.

Other ideas included; excursions to St George’s Cathedral; setting up a Facebook page for the St James Church and; having student work samples on the topic of faith displayed around the School.

Many thanks to Phil Ridden from Phil Ridden Consulting for leading the visioning session and challenging our thinking.