ANGLICAN IDENTITY
from the Chaplains
Mrs Cathy Carden Cathedral College Wangaratta
The Reverend Noel Oakey Frederick Irwin Anglican School
The Reverend Sarah Stapleton St George’s Anglican Grammar School
I have been Chaplain in the Junior School at Cathedral College Wangaratta for three years, working alongside our Senior Chaplain, The Reverend David Jones.
What do you do when events, out of your control, remove the ‘everyday’? The ‘everyday’ where you and those around you felt challenged but comfortable. The ‘everyday’ that does not return as it was before, because the events that changed it, are still there, seeking to intervene again and again.
The opportunity to be a Chaplain in a city school is something for which I am profoundly grateful.
We have the privilege, opportunity and responsibility of leading the community in areas of Anglican Identity, worship, Religious and Values Education, prayer and liturgy. We are an integral part of the wellbeing and pastoral care team, where we get to sit and journey with people during the crises and traumas of life. These COVID times have of course presented challenges, particularly here in Victoria with extended restrictions and further Remote Learning. However, I have found that there are also opportunities. I have a personal mantra, of wanting to provide a positive experience of ‘church’, faith and God, and Remote Learning has enabled us to connect with families and homes in new ways. We have adapted our Chapel services, presented them online to classes, or sent links for students to watch in their homes. Similarly, RAVE lessons are now being ‘shared’ into homes, providing opportunity for discussion with family members. Example lesson: ‘Slowdown World Reflection’. We are finding that staff and students are turning to the Chaplains during these stressful times, and we remind our communities of the love and faithfulness of our God. I have encouraged staff and students to use these times of enforced lockdown to perhaps find time for meditation, spend time in nature, and in the quietness, remember Psalm 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God.
To lose the opportunities to share with the school community, chapel worship, house worship and house days, staff eucharists, overseas and camping programs, regular contact with staff and students, as well as local Sunday worship, flew in the face of our understanding that we believe in a relational God, who was ever present. How could we continue to work with Him to make Him present in the lives of those that He has called us to minister to and with? Paul sums up well in his Letter to the Romans how we should and have managed this situation. “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8.38-39, NRSV)
The city is a wonderful place for learning about the highs and lows that people can experience in life. We see luxury cars ferrying people to hotels, homeless people carting their belongings around the streets and families on shopping trips. St George’s Anglican Grammar School students have the privilege of learning how to navigate the city as a part of their school experience, and it is a great education for them. In the city the parable of the Good Samaritan takes on vivid meaning as we learn not to judge a book by its cover, and how to inhabit our environment with care and compassion. When moving around the city, I have a profound sense of being ‘sent’ by God, into the world. I am energised and inspired by the presence of God in the city scape. In the city, we are called to share the Gospel in word and action, to shine the Christ light in the darkness. School in the city is a fantastic way for young people to learn the value and joy of serving the greater community.
The internet, often a hindrance, became an ally as services were constructed and delivered to House groups, and primary students delighted in Esau the Orangutan’s valiant attempts to be prepared for Easter amidst the looming COVID-19 crisis. Our belief in the resurrection gave us hope and that translated into energy to be creative and energetic by remote.
ASC News 19
