A Space for Faith

By The Reverend Philippa Lohmeyer-Collins, School Chaplain | Mentone Girls’ Grammar, VIC As the School Chaplain, I have been blessed to meet with parents to pray for our School community over the years. These parents are generous in their time. Their support for Mentone Girls’ Grammar has this whisper effect, rippling throughout the area.

However, we had never really had a dedicated space to convene for prayer. At the end of last year, our prayers were answered as the Chaplaincy Centre was established. Due to Covid, we could not gather for an official opening but it has certainly been a wonderful gift to the School community that both staff and students cherish.

The Chaplaincy Centre provides a space where all matters of conversation relating to faith echo throughout the room. It is a decent size commonplace where 10 people can sit comfortably and artworks are slowly filling the walls, which adds to its beauty. It is a space that sits at the heart’s centre of our School, at the junction between Junior and Senior so it is seen as belonging to all. It is a place where faith is made visible.

The Parent group meets with me in this Chaplaincy Centre to read God’s word and bring our concerns to God in prayer. The Senior students have a place now to meet uninterrupted and discuss matters of faith. They have called their group, IGNITE, meeting in this Centre once a week during lunchtime to connect and listen to one another. This space is also a place where Morning Prayer is celebrated with staff and students. On one wall is a tree, styled by one of our Art teachers on the ‘Birthing Tree’ sacred to Indigenous people in Western Victoria. In summer it was covered in green leaves containing prayers written by members of the Junior School.

These have been replaced with red and yellow leaves, reflecting the season of Autumn, containing more prayers by little ones. Some younger students are drawn to the quiet, a time to colour in and talk about God or the story from Chapel.

Having a space for Faith, the physical locale where God is the subject, has brought the transcendent into focus and for that I am most grateful.