I got asked what the hardest thing about being a school Chaplain is today. It was a genuine question from someone. My answer surprised them.
As a school Chaplain working in a government school, my role is to provide pastoral care to the students, staff and parents. But as it is a government school I cannot talk about my faith.
In this context I cannot speak about God, I cannot share the Bible or offer to pray for people. When I worked as a Pastor this was my go to. I would listen to people, pray and offer encouragement from the Bible.
For me this is so hard and at times very frustrating. When you sit across from someone and see their pain, you just want to pray and offer hope in God. But I cannot do that in my role.
Some days I daydream about what it would be like to work in a Christian or Catholic school and be able to use all the things available to me. To pray or share a passage from the Bible would be amazing.
So the hardest thing about being a school Chaplain in the public system is not being able to be to use my faith in my work. I can be a Christian presence in my school, but I cannot pray or quote the Bible.
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