The Joy of SRE
Mr Fortescue, why did Jesus have to die?
Mr Fortescue, how did Jesus come back to life?
Mr Fortescue, my cat died, will it come back to life?
Mr Fortescue, I have a cat, will it die?
Mr Fortescue, why do you come here and talk about Jesus every week?
SRE or Scripture as it is commonly known, is never dull. Indeed it is an enormous privilege to be in schools every week to help students who want to develop a well rounded Christian worldview. SRE provides a context in which they can think hard about themselves, their world and their God. Those questions I started with were asked of me in one Scripture class almost back to back. Sometimes SRE is a wild ride. Always, SRE is a joy.
The NSW Department of Education recognises that spiritual wellbeing plays an important role in successful learning. Students today live in a fast-changing, uncertain world, filled with confusing messages about who to trust and what to believe. SRE gives them a safe place to explore and discover the Bible alongside well equipped SRE teachers who support and guide them on their path of faith.
Scripture nurtures a child’s sense of meaning and purpose and promotes positive connections with faith and community. It provides an ongoing opportunity to answer the searching, existential questions that every child asks and Christian SRE teachers are trained to encourage every child’s natural curiosity and respond appropriately from a biblical perspective.
It is great work. Week by week, our team of teachers make connections with children and young adults who are keen to learn and who often don’t have the opportunity to attend a church Sunday by Sunday.
And starting this Sunday, we are inviting you to partner financially with us in this work. Our 2022 Scripture Appeal has begun.
Now before I go on, just a note about the closeness of our SRE and MTS Appeals this year. I recognise this was not the best timing but due to some staff complications and illness we could not do the MTS Appeal in Term 1 as usual, so these two appeals are back to back. Thanks for your generosity in seeing the MTS Appeal full subscribed—that was amazing. I do apologise that we are now doing the SRE Appeal. The significant difference between the appeals is that SRE is tax-deductible. This is the best time of year for us to offer this opportunity as many people seek to manage their tax affairs for 2021–22.
We don’t talk much about money here at Christ Church and you’d be forgiven for thinking that everything was handled by some mysterious financial partners—but all our ministry is funded by members like you and me. I actually think we need to talk more about money together but I also recognise two appeals back to back is not the best way to do that and we are already planning to ensure we do it differently in 2023. Thanks for your generosity and kindness in this.
So we are hoping to raise another $100,000—this time tax-deductible—to help us fund this work this year and into the future. The money raised pays for a variety of different things including resources, training and staff costs. Rachael Mayrick is employed to teach High School SRE and a proportion of the week for both Josh, Lauren and several other staff is also paid for from the fund.
To give or to find out more, head to the Appeal page.
The 2022 SRE Appeal is on.
$100,000. Fully tax-deductible. Why not give now?
You will hear more about this in church over coming weeks.
Thanks for partnering with us. Thanks for your generosity. Thanks for your prayers. And thanks for supporting this crucial work of helping children and young people develop in faith.
