The Rev Polly Butterworth - Chaplain at Abbotsleigh 

I have worked in school ministry since 2015, and became a chaplain at Abbotsleigh in 2019. 

About half of my time is allocated to preparing chapel services, overseeing the Christian lunchtime group along with Christian leadership development, meeting with students to talk about faith concerns and preparing for our Christian group camp. I also prepare for special services such as Easter, Christmas or confirmation. The other half of my time is spent in the classroom, teaching Christian Studies, Theology and Studies of Religion. 

A big part of my role is contributing to the academic and character-forming goals of the school and all that comes with teaching. My day could also include professional development, conversations about pedagogy, looking after a pastoral care group, going on camps, carnivals, parent-teacher interviews and reports.

While I’ve spoken about these as two “halves” of my role, really each interaction with students, staff or the community feeds into the other. The job of the chaplain is to be embedded into the fabric of the school, to be “delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well” (1 Thess 2:8). 

School chaplains are all things to all people – sometimes that means you’re a marker of essays, or a chanter of house songs; a preacher, or a listening ear. The gospel opportunities are abundant. This can be seen explicitly through teaching the Bible each day in class, exposing the gospel clearly in chapel and facilitating student opportunities to share the gospel with their friends. 

Opportunities can also look like bringing a gospel perspective to bear in the lives of the people we serve, to help them understand and respond to the joys, difficulties and competing perspectives of our world with the hope of Jesus.

The vast majority of my role is serving students. We have a great team of chaplains, and senior chaplain the Rev Sarah Hobba facilitates staff prayer and pastoral care, which is fantastic. We are always looking for ways to serve beyond students. 

I love seeing the positive impact that the gospel can make on the lives of our community. Whether that’s sitting and praying with a struggling student, hearing the joys of students singing proudly about their faith in the chapel band, seeing the quiet contemplation of a student as they consider the Bible, or encouraging staff members and families in their faith. 

There are endless things I want to do with my time. There are thousands of people that we are connected with – students, staff and families. We are constantly generating ideas to support everyone in our community further, but our time is finite and knowing the things to prioritise is a challenge.

Please pray

• for wisdom as we seek to help people “taste and see that the Lord is good”.
• that we would consistently lean on God for his direction and guidance in sharing the gospel and supporting our school community 
• that God would raise up and equip more chaplains for this vital ministry

This is part of a three-part series on school chaplaincy.
This story is part of our Choices: Anglican Education feature in the June-July edition of Southern Cross magazine