mgpcpastor's blog

One of the things I do is chair the local Schools Ministry Group. Our responsibility is to be the official employer of our local Christian Pastoral Support Workers (formerly called School Chaplains in South Australia, but still called that in other States). In Mount Gambier and District we have twelve positions available in eleven local primary and secondary schools.
The CPSWorkers carry out a role ‘helping a young generation discover purpose, value and hope’ in our local schools. In addition to our support the CPSWorkers are supported and overseen in South Australia by Schools Ministry Group, an incorporated body established by the South Australian Heads of Churches.
Each school community is unique in its size, characteristics and needs. Each CPSWorker is unique in their experiences and skills. Because of this there is no ‘standard’ role for a worker in their school. The role needs to be worked out and discovered by a process of exploration and trial. Careful feedback is required from the School leadership and a humble serving atitude is necessary for the worker.
When the role is established the fruit that it produces and the appreciation which is forthcoming from the School community is gratifying. Each quarter we meet with the workers and hear reports on their progress. We provide a listening ear, whatever counsel we feel is appropriate and seek to encourage them.
The Workers are subject to guidelines, developed in conjunction with the Government of South Australia and the Education Department which provide boundaries of ethical behaviour that mean that prevent prosletising behaviour. These boundaries are also recognised by the Federal funding scheme.
There are those who philosophically believe that a Christian Pastoral Support Worker has no place in a State School. Others do not accept the Federal Government’s support of the program by way of funding. No doubt overseas readers would be astounded to know that the Goverment of Australia funds the presence of Chaplains in their schools. (This funding and support is not limited to Christians, thought Christians fill a vast majority of these positions) Though the local churches provide some financial support for the program the overwhelming majority of the hours presently served were made possible by the Federal scheme.
The feedback that we receive is that the outcomes which are realised by the presence and work of Christian Pastoral Support Workers could not be achieved by any similar investment of funding.
I hope that next year another round of funding will be forthcoming and that even those who are philosophically opposed to the program will be swayed by the simple pragmatism of the fact that it works. This funding is not guaranteed, and in the present economic circumstances nothing is guaranteed. Continuation will depend on the Government committing new money, as the original funding was a finite provision. Not continuing the program would not even count as a budget cut, as it is not a recurrent expenditure.
Obviously prayer and a thoughtful presentation of the case for more support is required. We’ll be trying to improve our efforts in telling the story of Schools Ministry so that more young lives can be positively impacted.