I found this chapter very interesting. I have often heard say that the school is a Church unto itself as it provides religious experiences to an often unchurched community. I think Sharkey really clarifies this assumption and cautions the readers in this Model 2 of Church EQUALS school. He explains that,"On a theological level, it is impossible to be Catholic on one's own. One can only be Catholic when one is joined to the broader communion of the Church." This reminds me of a comment a past dean of the Cathedral once said, which I think has great merit, and that is if the families' connection to their faith is only that which is found at the school, then there is the danger that when the student takes off their uniform they take off their faith. Sharkey makes a similar point on Pg 38 of the text.
A question at this point could be how are we at St Patrick's Parramatta supporting the development of a sustainable Church beyond the school fence for your communtiy. Are we delivering inititiatives that matter to our community or ones that we feel they need?
I also like the idea that their could be a Fourth model that has not been suggested by the author.
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Chapter 3 delves deeper in the difference between the 'Bypass' and 'Engage' approaches and also reinforces the need to reduc... -
The first chapter focuses heavily on reducing change to increase improvement. The most interesting point I took out of th...
My question would be - Do we even know the needs of our community?
ReplyDeleteI believe also that the job at St Patrick's is not only about supporting them to make connections with St Patrick's Cathedral but with all the churches they attend. At times it feels over whelming but also so clear and important.
We need to stop the student's graduating from their faith when they graduate from school - but this cannot not be done by the school alone - parents, church communities and school communities must come together and build the kingdom. Faith in our Futures may be one small step in the process - looking forward to working on the answer in community.
I am wondering if many of our community don't feel the necessity to be connected with the St Patricks cathedral and that their family's ties with their own church and the very strong 'non school faith community' will support them so they don't graduate from their faith when then leave school?
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