If you watch the coronation of King Charles III, you may notice a berobed and stately person actually placing the crown on the new king’s head.
That is the Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping that, in his words, billions of people don’t see him drop the crown!
Fortunately, this is not the only role Archbishop Welby plays as a church leader. He, with the Archbishop of York, has been busy clarifying some of the key components of the Church of England’s (Anglican) faith and mission.
Their most recent document is called Love Matters.
This document sets the benchmarks of the Anglican faith in regard to our interactions as people of the Church.
It is a document that provides our School, as a part of the Anglican community, with some excellent guidance on how we should live and work together.
Here are some of the key messages:
- Love is what must bind us together if we are all to flourish. We are not referring here to love as an emotional feeling, but rather that which takes us into the realm of deep, sacrificial, enduring commitment to the flourishing of one another.
- This kind of love is at the very heart of the Good News: for God so loved the world that he sent his son, Jesus Christ, to live among us, to demonstrate a radical new way of relating to one another, to show abundant care, grace and mercy to the least likely people.
- We must value families in all their diversity, meeting their basic needs by putting their wellbeing at the heart of Government policy-making and our community life, including religious communities.
- Discrimination, division and deep inequality are pernicious barriers to those seeking life in all its fullness.
- The Church of England must lead by example, witnessing to the love of God, seeking the common good, and providing a place of safety and welcome for everyone. Love Matters delivers a powerful, deeply compelling call to action for all of us: put families first – place the hopes, needs, priorities and aspirations of families at the very centre.
- As individuals, whether married, single, in a couple, or any other form of household, we are called to commit to relationships of all kinds that build up one another.
St Columba is happy to use this document as a further guide as to how we continue to shape and share our learning community.
We acknowledge that our Anglican expression of the Christian faith is an invitational one:
“The School is a community school in the sense that its doors are open to all, so long as they are sympathetic to and support the School’s Christian foundation.”
School Mission
Want to share your thoughts on this story, or do you have something you’d like to add? Email me at principal@scas.nsw.edu.au