
Ben Arcus
Rathkeale College
It has been said that Religion and Politics both seek to answer the same question: what does it mean to be a human being? The Anglican Special Character at Rathkeale College answers that question by pointing, as all Christian traditions do, to Jesus Christ.
Through weekly whole-school chapel services, fortnightly year-group chapels and Thursday Night Prayer, as well as celebrating the significant events on the Church Calendar, we seek to celebrate and unpack what the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus has to teach us about our humanity – what we are and what we could aspire to be.
Consequently our aim is to teach and model the values of Love, Social Justice, Compassion, and whatever else makes for a good person. These values are embedded in our concept of The Good Rathkeale Man, which is an ideal for our students to aspire to, in a world where ideals and values are being abandoned.
Our Anglican heritage requires us to not only be connected back into the historical tradition but to work within the five fold mission of the Church of the Province of Aotearoa New Zealand, which is to:
We want to be serious about the spiritual journey for our student body, which inevitably involves the whole person, their attitudes and behaviours to the outsider, the poor, the weak, the marginalised and the Earth. By doing this we are setting ourselves a hard task but one which we believe our special character demands of us; to love justice, to do mercy and to live humbly with our God.
Acting School Chaplain: Rev Ben Arcus ph 06 3700175, ext 7717