From Father Gift
School Chaplain
St George's Anglican Grammar School
Why Anglican schools are places of hope
In his keynote address at the 2024 Anglican Identity Day, Bishop Hans Christiansen addressed challenges in Australian schools, including teacher burnout and heavy workloads due to teacher shortages. He also said students were stressed by a variety of pressures from schoolwork and personal issues, as well as the ongoing global crises such as wars and global warming. Bishop Hans, however, was optimistic, pointing out that Anglican schools remain places of hope. He said this hope comes from the fact that Anglican schools are rooted in values inspired by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who became human to demonstrate the true meaning of love.
Our schools foster a sense of belonging, where we come together to pray, sing and worship, ensuring that no one feels alone. Through service learning, we demonstrate our love for our neighbours in practical ways. There are more than 160 Anglican schools across Australia, all sharing and practising these same values and all grounded in the person of Jesus Christ. During our Term Three School Eucharist, we focused our thinking on how every one of us has a role in making St George’s Anglican Grammar School a place of hope, like the other Anglican Schools are also doing.
The Gospel reading, John 14:1-18, reminds us that Jesus is always present with us as the Advocate who intercedes for us (Hebrews 4:15 & 7:25), stands by our side, counselling us on matters we do not understand and helping us to bear our burdens.
Ephesians 3:14-21 reminds us always to pray, knowing that Jesus can do far more than we ask or imagine. But even more important was to encourage students to be Advocates to one another, to keep an eye on others who may be struggling and offer that word of H.O.P.E—Hold On Pain Ends!
Yours in hope,
Fr Gift Makwasha
School Chaplain