News

Demand for chaplains remains high

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:24:24 +1000

To download a pdf of this media statement, please click here.

MEDIA STATEMENT: Tuesday, 10 January 2012

Chaplaincy figures released today by the Minister for School Education, Peter Garrett, show while demand for both chaplaincy and student welfare services is high, most government schools continue to want Chaplains.

The figures show 89 per cent of schools requested to continue receiving Chaplaincy services, while eight per cent requested secular youth workers and three per cent were undecided.

Dr Evonne Paddison, ACCESS ministries chief executive officer, said only four out of 295 of the Victorian schools to which ACCESS ministries provided Chaplains last year had changed to a secular youth worker service.

"Chaplaincy is a great service to schools and is something Christians, with their belief in helping people in need, do very well," Dr Paddison said.

"Most schools would know that Christians providing Chaplaincy services is no different to Christians providing welfare services like the Brotherhood of St Laurence or the Salvation Army, or hospital services like the Order of the Sisters of Mercy who set up one of Australia's first hospitals."

ACCESS ministries said demand for new Chaplains from schools applying for the new funding was also extremely high, with more than 200 schools contacting ACCESS ministries after the federal government announced additional funding last year.

"First and foremost schools want a high quality service provider, which means experience, highly qualified people, and having sophisticated systems and processes in place to provide a highly professional service," Dr Paddison said.

“ACCESS ministries has been providing Chaplaincy since the 1950s, has a reputation for a high quality service, and schools continue to refer us to their peers. We expect the strong demand to continue in the future.

Chaplains serve the school community in a ‘first-response capacity’, by providing general support and care services, and by referring people in need to other support specialists.

They are an important part of a many-pronged approach to dealing with personal and community issues."

ENDS

Fact Sheets - SRI and Chaplaincy

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:36:04 +1000

ACCESS ministries welcomes the current debate about the way Special Religious Instruction and Chaplaincy is conducted in government schools, while emphasising the importance of a constructive, well-informed debate based on facts. With these principles in mind we provide the following facts about SRI. ACCESS ministries will continue to review and update this information periodically.

• Special Religious Instruction fact sheet
• Chaplaincy fact sheet

Christian Religious Education in Schools â�� Why Not!

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 14:19:20 +1000

Like me, you are probably aware that Christian Religious Education in Schools is currently under attack from various individuals and groups within our community. It seems that every second day there is an article in the paper criticizing the current legislation that stipulates that Christian Religious Education can be taught in Public Schools in Victoria. Talk-back radio has had disgruntled parents complaining that their child has been disadvantaged because they have chosen to remove them from CRE classes. The criticism extends to the appointment of Christian chaplains in our Public Schools. For example, in the Sunday Age last week the following appeared under the headline Backlash as God forced into schools:

The Victorian Education Department is forcing public primary schools to run Christian education classes taught by volunteers, angering parents and schools that do not want to host them. An email exchange, obtained by The Sunday Age, reveals the department told one parent that his school “must” keep its Christian religious instructor whether it wanted to or not.*

I don’t have a problem with the right of individuals to question the current legislation. I don’t have a problem with the right of parents to remove their children from CRE classes. I would suggest that these are issues worthy of community debate.

I do have a problem with what I perceive as the current media bias against both CRE and Christian chaplains. Here are some facts that don’t get reported. Thousands of volunteers go into our public schools each week to teach CRE. These people are warmly welcomed by principals, teachers and parents who see their input as very positive and adding real value to the school community. The same can be said of the Christian chaplains in our schools. They offer wonderful support to the school communities they serve and once again it is the principals, teachers and parent groups who are so supportive of the work of Chaplaincy because they see first-hand the positive contribution the chaplains are making. They help nurture the heart and soul in school communities.

For what it is worth, here is my view. The Christian message is one of respect, tolerance, forgiveness, encouragement and love. How foolish it would be if such a positive, community-based initiative (CRE) was removed from our schools. As for Chaplaincy, it would be madness to rob school communities of the person who has a mandate to pastorally care for children, staff and families associated with the school.

Can I suggest that a letter to your local Parliamentarians in support of both CRE and Chaplaincy would be a great way to represent the silent majority.

David Ratten, Senior Minister - One Community Church, Blackburn, Victoria

(Click here for more information on how to email your MP.)

* Michael Bachelard, The Age, March 27, 2011