The beautiful distinctiveness of our Anglican heritage

There’s a saying amongst chaplains in Anglican schools: “Nobody needs the chaplain until they need the chaplain.”

The presence of chaplains in Anglican schools suggests that they are a different kind of learning community. If you are new to an Anglican school, you might be curious about why we have chapel services and religious education classes; you might wonder why we commence assembly with prayer and finish with a blessing; you might be puzzled as to why we have Faith and Outreach captains, and why, like today, we start the school year with a church service. You might still ask these questions even if you have worked in Anglican schools for many years. Everywhere you turn in an Anglican school, you will be confronted with its distinctive flavour and culture, which hopefully ought to provoke questions.

One of the beautiful distinctives of Anglicanism is that it encourages critical thought and welcomes honest questions. The Anglican tradition was formed in the creative tension between indigenous Celtic Christianity and the rites of the Roman church. Some argue that Anglicanism’s embrace of the ordinary everydayness of life, its sense of seasonality and its love of poetic language to evoke the beauty of the natural and supernatural worlds dates to Roman and pre-Roman Britain and a more nature-based and mystical spirituality. The benefit of teaching and learning in an Anglican school is that it avails us of that rich heritage and orients us towards a bigger picture of being human.

As a staff, we are invited to embrace and explore our school’s Anglican character. We are encouraged to exercise our curiosity. What you bring to the conversation is precious; we are all better for receiving it. Imagine the positive impact on our students as they witness us engage more whole-heartedly with our school’s Anglican identity.

Many of our students are genuinely interested in exploring faith. They don’t have any preconceptions simply because many haven’t had the chance to encounter the stories. They are hungry for a bigger story, a more generous and dignified vision of human flourishing than the accumulation of academic accolades and the attendant material success.

As I said at the start, “You don’t need the chaplain until you need the chaplain.” Equally, you don’t need faith until everything else fails to satisfy. I sense that this is the territory our world is moving into. It is good to know that we do not go into that future unaccompanied or without resources. The Anglican tradition, and Anglican spirituality, is a rich treasure trove offering valuable things old and new to assist us on the journey.

For now, let’s commit to being curious, exploring what it feels like to engage with our Anglican tradition, being open to the experience of worship, prayer, and song, and seeing where it takes us and what it can teach us about ourselves and others. Above all, let us notice what happens internally as we set foot on this journey and let’s commit to finding ways to talk with each other about what we discover.