THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF THE SCHOOL Welcome … how this session will look and make connections with the rest of the day. Story about how this day is always a challenge as we would have many other places that we would prefer to be. However this is where we are on Wednesday 20th January 2010 and given some of the tragic stories we have heard in recent days about the people of Haiti we are called to be people of compassion, people of gratitude and people of presence. Enter into this day and be mindful of our vocation and ministry in this community of Emmaus. Holidays are times to relax and for me one part of that is to read. Share the story of the book and what message it had for me. Purpose: RLOS will assist school communities in the development of the faith of their members by providing a lens through which their religious life may be viewed and developed. Section 1: Background information and contextualizes the contemporary Catholic school Section 2: Presents the four components for understanding the religious life of Catholic schools. Each of the components is distinctive yet interrelated and complementary. Each of the four components have three elements which help schools reflect on their practices. RLOS matches 4 out of 5 of the Priority 1 of the Strategic School Renewal Framework. Learning and Teaching of Religion makes up the fifth.

Guidelines for the Religious Life of the School Story of this document and the message of affirming what schools are doing. The RLOS has been happening in our schools for the past 150 years and at Emmaus for the past 10 years. An attempt at being specific and concrete about this and giving practical ideas and ways to enhance this dimension of our schools. AFFIRM what is happening and has happened ACKNOWLEDGE the challenges that are faced ENCOURAGE people to see new possibilities Guidelines for the Religious Life of the School

What do we mean by this? Elements within this component include the ethos, the identity and charism; the aesthetic environment e.g. religious art and iconography, provision and design of sacred and reflective space; pastoral care and personal and social development programs; school policies, procedures, organisation and structure. World view expressed through the religious Identity and culture of the school Beliefs, values, practices, relationships, welcome, physical environment, culture Share story about Elliott’s enrolment interview All areas of the school contribute to the religious identity and culture of the school – everyone’s responsibility

Ethos and charism Embedding ethos and charism Living the vision and mission Communicating the ethos and charism The word Charism, in the tradition of the Church, refers to the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit used for service of the whole community. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are graces freely given to the soul which enables the graced person to respond freely and promptly to the inspirations of God. These extraordinary gifts or graces of the holy spirit are given to individuals for the sake of others St Paul lists nine of these graces in his letters to the early Christian communities. Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues. St Paul insists that virtue of charity is above all other charisms (1 Corinthians 13). Charity is the ability to love God above all things and to love others for the sake of God. The Charism of an Ecumenical school provides the pathway to Jesus Christ and God. The Charism is not the end – it’s the way we get there.

Authentic Christian community Building dignity and diversity Building quality relationships Practising Christian hospitality Developing practices, polices, structures that promote the respect for the dignity of each person Welcome, encourage and support the families, staff and visitors Christian hospitality – how are people welcomed into this community, how the values expressed through word and action. Gospel Values – not just talk about, bring it in to every day events.

Creating a sense of the sacred… Enhancing the religious culture Resourcing for a sense of the sacred.. sense of the sacred Sense of the Sacred – through art, design, space, well cared for gardens, school grounds, iconography Engaging the senses – liturgies, prayer rituals Resourcing – the sacred spaces of the school, Professional Learning for teachers about how to…

At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus commissioned his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations”. Read the text from the Bible (Mt 28:19). The term used by the Church to describe this activity is evangelisation. In its broadest sense the word evangelisation is taken from the Latin word “evangelium” which translates to ‘good news’ or ‘gospel’. Evangelisation includes not only the proclamation of the gospel in words, but all of the Church’s ministries and the realisation of its whole mission. So it is not part of what we do, but rather implicit in all we do. There is directive attributed to St Francis of Assisi which says “Preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words! ”Evangelisation is not just about the words but every way the church continues the ministry and mission of Jesus in the world. This includes celebrating the sacraments, doing works of justice, peace and compassion, building up community. Ecumenical Schools are Evangelising Communities When we use these guidelines we are talking about a narrower sense of the word evangelisation. What we are referring to is how schools can contribute to the evangelising mission of the Church. It is referring to how students/staff/school communities can become evangelising communities and therefore be witnesses to the greater mission of the Church.

Living the Gospel creating a Christ-centred environment A call for openness that invites each person to experience a change of heart by engaging with the world of Jesus. There is invitation for discipleship and ministry. Evaluate the effectiveness of how Christ is presented and interpreted in the life of the school e.g. on websites, in rituals, inconograpghy Using restorative justice practices to develop a Christian culture of forgiveness and reconciliation Identify and use scriptural texts to promote and support the Christian values of the school creating a Christ-centred environment embedding the gospel in practices and processes celebrating the Good News

Spiritual Formation Providing formation for staff Spiritual Formation is orientated to the spiritual growth of each individual. Engage people with expertise for staff formation. Incorporate the Catching Fire framework. Provide faith formation for student by intentional planned moments, retreat, meditation, prayer experiences Celebrate the religious unity and diversity; invitation for other representatives of other faith traditions to participate Express spiritual awareness through creative arts, dance, drama, technology, media Providing formation for staff Planning formation for students Responding to diversity Seeking creative expressions

Witness to the Wider Community Participation of families in the life of the school and engagement with wider faith communities of participating churches. Give witness to the beliefs and values of the Christian Tradition and authentically proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Invitation for students to be involved in retreats, camps, reflection days Develop ways of meeting the needs of the community and beyond Encourage connections with others in youth ministries Communicating the school values/beliefs through newsletters, blogs etc celebrating with others reaching out making connections communicating the Message

Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the request of asking good things from God. St Augustine “Prayer is communication with God” Worship is described as the adoration of God that may be expressed through praise, self-sorrowing, thanksgiving, sorrow and petition. Worship of God is described as private when it happens anywhere, anytime. Liturgy is public worship centred on Christ.

Christian Prayer Drawing on the tradition Nurturing prayer life Teach and use a variety of traditional prayers Nurture prayer life by modeling and explaining gestures Provide a variety of prayer devotions, silence, mandalas, litanies and mantras, traditional prayers Drawing on the tradition Nurturing prayer life Providing a variety of experiences

Celebration of liturgy and sacraments Developing skills in liturgy Promoting participation in liturgy Celebrating sacraments Liturgy is the formal public ritual of the Church made up of very specific elements and structure set down by the Church. Liturgy is the term used to describe the official public worship of the Catholic Church – Sacrament of Eucharist, other sacraments, Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Hours It is the action of Christ and the people of God to give praise and thanks to God and celebrates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. In the liturgy, the Christian community, expresses who they are through words, symbols, gestures, music and movement, expressing their faith and having their faith nourished and strengthened. Prayer rituals are flexible. They are not part of the formal, public ritual of the Church, but can be prayed by individuals or groups whenever they choose. The Rosary, Novenas and the Stations of the Cross are Prayer Rituals. Sacraments are Liturgy and therefore there are structures Show video of the Sacrament of Penance Preparation: the more involved the participants in the preparation, the more meaningful is the experience. Teach about silence, gestures, prayers, ritualistic actions, Sign of the Cross, tracing the cross before the Gospel, processing to Communion or for a blessing, the Sign of Peace

Ritualising everyday life Ritualise everyday events – bring in scriptural texts when talking about Gospel Values Commissioning and Blessing ceremonies – birthday blessings Promote simple rituals for families – part of the evangelising mission of the Church Promote and use prayer rituals in the classroom, with staff, whole school Incorporate sacred spaces Ritualising life events Using prayer rituals in the classroom

Justice in the school community Give witness to the beliefs and values of the Catholic Christian Tradition and authentically proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Invitation for students to be involved in retreats, camps, reflection days Develop ways of meeting the needs of the community and beyond Encourage connections with others in youth ministries Communicating the school values/beliefs through newsletters, blogs etc Respecting the dignity of all Praying for justice Building a just community

Action for Justice Applying Catholic social teaching Caring for the environment Learning through service Give witness to the beliefs and values of the Catholic Christian Tradition and authentically proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Invitation for students to be involved in retreats, camps, reflection days Develop ways of meeting the needs of the community and beyond Encourage connections with others in youth ministries Communicating the school values/beliefs through newsletters, blogs etc

Reflection on Action for Justice Give witness to the beliefs and values of the Catholic Christian Tradition and authentically proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Invitation for students to be involved in retreats, camps, reflection days Develop ways of meeting the needs of the community and beyond Encourage connections with others in youth ministries Communicating the school values/beliefs through newsletters, blogs etc Promoting critical discernment Building a culture of reflection

On the inside page of your booklet you have one of these images On the inside page of your booklet you have one of these images. Find the page that this image is on and read the description at the top and then the list of examples. This list is by no means prescriptive nor exhaustive and all examples have been gathered from real schools. Complete the 3 2 1 strategy and then I will ask you to find others with the same photo and share. These will be collected at the end of the session in sets so that they can be used by the leadership team to assist with planning etc.

Your Task… Each person select a component Use 10 words or less to explain the elements to the people at your table Find one idea for each that your school is doing and share Find one idea for each that you would like to try at your school or in your classroom and share at your table Your Task… Each person take a picture from the table Find that picture in the RLOS Guidelines book and look at what it is connected to. Read that part and come up with ten words to explain that part and share with people at your table. Find one idea in this section you are already doing and share at your table Find one idea in this section you think you might like to try and share at your table.