From the Chaplain

The SCEGGS Podcast “Walk The Mile”

During the years of lockdown due to Covid, many organisations like ours had to rethink the way that we communicated with our community. Our weekly chapel services continued but in a very different format. Part of those services were recorded interviews with different members of staff having discussions about faith and belief from a wide range of perspectives. These were very well received by students (even some parents got involved too) so we decided that this format was a good way of involving more people in important conversations. This is where our podcast evolved from and continues to be a means of finding out more about people within our community, what happens in it and it has furthered connections amongst our members. They are simple conversations about a wide range of topics. We are published on Spotify, Apple, Google Podcast and Deezer, so you can access it easily from your preferred device. You will find each podcast as they are produced in this newsletter and on the other platforms as well as our website. I always welcome your feedback and suggestions for further conversations.

Episode 31: The carer that cares and caring for the carer

Going to school is more than just sitting in a classroom and absorbing information. Pastoral care and wellbeing play an important part in many schools today. Laura Connolly is our Director of Student Wellbeing and she talks about the challenges and the vision that she has for her role and the students of SCEGGS. Laura only stepped into the position last year and it has come with many challenges. We hear a lot about self care these days but sometimes it isn’t always clear as to what it might mean for us personally. I hope that this discussion might help you in your own understanding of pastoral care and wellbeing.

Harvest Festival and Monday Food Delivery for Rough Edges Community Centre

Harvest Festival

Next week, we celebrate Harvest Festival, where each student is asked to bring to school at least one non-perishable food item which will eventually be distributed to those in our city whose lives have been affected by misfortune and underprivilege. Harvest Festival recognizes all of the good things that we have been given and the opportunity to give to those in need. Each year, the Chapel is decorated beautifully with these items and other produce and our services are dedicated to the themes of generosity and thankfulness. At the end of the week, the donations will be taken to the St Vincents Community Centre at Redfern which provides for those within inner Sydney. Thanks to all of those who have already donated food and please continue to bring in those items as soon as possible. I appreciate your generosity and thoughtfulness in these difficult times.

“Rough Edges” Cooking with love: A great opportunity that the whole community can be involved in

SCEGGS has had a great connection to many of the local welfare agencies for a long period of time. One of those services that we are consistently working with is Rough Edges, a community centre for the poor, lonely and marginalised, located under the hall of St John’s Anglican Church, Darlinghurst. On Wednesdays and Fridays, our staff take whatever leftover food we have at the end of the day from our cafeteria to Rough Edges so that they can provide it to those that attend this centre.

Unfortunately on Monday nights, food is difficult to come by for the centre. In the middle of last year, we started a program where families and individuals were invited to make fully cooked meals, enough for about 6-10 people. In the month after the program started we were able to get almost 70 volunteers from the school community which was amazing. Each week, 8-10 families or individuals would cook enough food to feed Monday nights clientele.  It wasn’t a regular weekly commitment as we had enough people to create a roster where most people cooked once a month. With the more people that we have involved, the more we can share the love around. The food gets dropped off to me at the Forbes St gate on a Monday morning and I deliver it to Rough Edges later that day. If you would like to join our current team of generous volunteers or have further questions, please let me know via email. I have a list of menu ideas, preparation requirements and other important information that I can send you. It has been a great thing for us as a school community to be involved in and a great thing for our local community as well.

Garry Lee-Lindsay
School Chaplain