Wavell State High School LCC chair, Andrew Hassum believes wholeheartedly in the power and importance of chaplaincy for the wellbeing of the whole school community.
The North East Baptist Church associate pastor, who moved to the Brisbane suburb and joined the LCC in 2015, knows the school wouldn’t be the same without Chappy Sarah.
“I have always had a passion to see children and teenagers reach their potential, and believe that chaplaincy is a huge piece of the puzzle in enabling that within the school context,” Andrew said.
“One of the main things that I love about chaplaincy is how chaplains are empowered to speak into students’ lives and journey with them no matter the season. And as a member of the Local Chaplaincy Committee, I have the privilege to serve our Chappy Sarah and enable those conversations to continue occurring in the Wavell High School, five days a week and fully community funded.”
Andrew said joining the LCC and becoming the chairperson in 2017 opened his eyes to what chaplaincy means to a community and how important it is for an LCC to look after their chaplains with more than just funds.
“Chappy Sarah is not only a pivotal figure in the school for the children, but plays a huge part in caring for the teachers, staff, and parent body within the school – what she accomplishes and the way in which it is achieved is truly amazing,” he said.
“With that huge workload, comes lots of pressure, so ensuring that we love and care for our Chappy is also hugely important!
“The beauty of having a long-term chaplain at Wavell High is that we have such strong relationships between the Chappy Sarah, the LCC, and the school community.”
But Andrew said while Chappy Sarah is full time and fully community funded, attracting new, regular donors remained their biggest challenge.
“It’s one thing to put on a stand-alone fundraising event, but we believe it’s more important for people to partner with the service to ensure its longevity and sustainability, which is what makes initiatives like Fiver for a Future and Champion your Chappy so necessary,” he said.
Andrew’s Top 5 for other LCC chairs:
- Pray – Never underestimate the power of prayer
- Don’t assume – Too often I have found myself assuming answers from people rather than asking or seeking help. People will generally surprise you if you give them the option!
- Dream – It is my personal goal to see our LCC have 12 months funds in our account at any one time.
- Love your Chappy – A simple “thanks for what you do”, a card, some flowers, or other kind gesture might just encourage our chappies more than we could ever know!
- It’s okay to not have the answer to everything!