Beauty will Save the World.

Our Office has had a long connection with the Anglican Schools’ Office in Brisbane Diocese, and in recent months we’ve been sharing many more of our resources in both directions across the Tasman. The Rev’d Richard Browning has recently moved into the role previously held by Stephen Harrison, whom some of you met when he came to our Conference a few years ago. Over lockdown, Richard has been applying his amazingly creative mind to a series of liturgies. They were designed primarily for the Easter season, and to be able to be used for digital chapel services, but could really be used any time and in any form. Here’s what he says in the introduction to this series:

The liturgy follows our ancient traditions but seeks also to engage enquiring minds, wondering questions, creative spirits. So the series functions more like a guided meditation with accompanying spiritual exercises. It responds uniquely to the situation we find ourselves being together while apart. Across the term we will build on some simple practices that will invite student’s direct experience of the things we speak of.

The series is created with the understanding that chaplains will significantly adapt, build on, improve, possibly butcher, adopt the materials here.
There are multiple points for interaction and engagement. As the chief focus is beauty within the context of the Easter Season, there will be many staff and departments that can easily contribute: music, art, design, technology. Performances and work should be included and added to the experiences, even as background sound or visuals. These do not have to be specifically religious or spiritual.

Students can engage with the material and the chaplain/department/tutor/home groups around:
 Real Questions. Students could post to the chaplain’s their real questions. This would
provide a rich opportunity for email/talking circle conversations.
 The beauty saves the world images. Should the students be free to participate in
this, a rich tapestry of images, words and people will be collected. This would be
really good to add to the school webpage, or the chaplain site and provide for
further interaction.
 The community engagement opportunities will expand over the coming weeks. This
will give a rich opportunity for chaplain – student dialogue and collaboration.
 Any devices or opportunities opened up by the chaplains

I strongly recommend dipping into the wealth and range of resources contained within these 5 liturgies, and explore what “beauty” might mean in the context of our faith.