The start of 2019 marks the beginning of something different for me. This is the first year in which I won’t have anything to do with the ministry of Religious Instruction in our Queensland state schools. The ever wonderful Jonathan Kemp will be taking up that work directly.
Some of you will know I left the full time Religious Education Officer job for our diocese about 4 years ago. I loved that work and had been doing it for 18 years. . Personally training thousands of RI teachers each year, working with the Education Department over changes to the RI legislation back in 2006, publishing the RETOP training materials and The Guide for RI teachers, yearly RENEW conferences for RI teachers and coordinators, years on the Education Department’s REAC and then encouraging the government towards the establishment of RIQA, working with various colleagues in the Education department on everything from interview panels for Policy Officers to chaplaincy reform and even collaborating on drafting policy statements remain firmly in my memory. Of course the ecumenical collegiality of RENEW, CRICCS and the task group that preceded it were highlights. What a great ride.
When I began my current role as Director of Lay Education, my focus became more internal, thinking about how we could enable the faith of our diocese to grow. It’s been exciting so far and much more to come. But there were still some roles where what I guess you could call corporate knowledge was useful; I stayed on in them. That meant still working with my ecumenical colleagues at Queensland Churches Together on the Commission for Religious Instruction and Chaplaincy in State Schools. It also meant regular visits to Education House for RIQA, the government’s Religious Instruction Quality Assurance Advisory Group. We’ve also been working behind the scenes towards a peak body for Religious Instruction in our State Schools here in Queensland. You may have seen some press about that. Work continues in that area to dot the ‘i’s and work out what to do with the ‘t’s.
The bottom line is that with my current responsibilities with Lay Education, as well as lecturing at St Francis College and trying to fit in doctoral research, something had to give. It’s great that Director of Anglican Youth Children and Families Ministry Jonathan Kemp will be taking over these reins. So now you can ring him for advice, direction or for info about curriculum! He’s terrific! Long may people volunteer to help younger people understand the faith they encounter in their communities, whether their own or that of others!
Thanks to all of you that I’ve had the good fortune to work with in this ministry area over the years. I learnt so much; it’s really shaped me.
pace e bene
Jonathan Sargeant