Owen Ford – Harristown State High School LCC Chairperson
Harristown State High School currently doesn’t have a chaplain appointed, but that hasn’t stopped LCC Chairperson, Owen Ford, from supporting the school and wider school community. Since the beginning of his involvement in the LCC over two years ago, Owen has committed himself to the cause of chaplaincy.
“At first we just did our bit with it, really observing how it all worked. That’s how I like to do things. In my working years, my wife and I ran a business – an electrical contracting business – for 33 years so I had that management experience in working through problems and fixing them. That’s what I like to do at church as well,” says Owen.
Given Owen’s recent appointment to the role of Chairperson, he is still acclimatising to his function within the committee. But he’s certainly noticed change since he began taking an active role.
“I think it’s still evolving. Because it’s really only May this year that I was given the responsibility of the chairperson. Up to that point I was learning about the group functioned within the community.”
But Owen is feeling comfortable in the Chairperson role and is relishing the challenges that come with it, using his natural disposition to get things moving. The transition from committee member to chairperson was one that he didn’t find too abrupt.
“I think it was a natural progression as I’m in leadership at my church. I see myself, and others might see me, as someone who gets things done and moving. In my business days, if you wanted something done you had to get it moving. So I’m working with the LCC to get things done and develop new ideas.”
Owen’s attitude to furthering chaplaincy in his area is certainly an asset to the committee and school community that he serves.
“I see LCC’s as more than just raising money. I really see it as the connection between the school and the churches and that should be our aim.”
This task-orientated nature aids the LCC because Owen has an emphasis on planning in advance to make it as easy as possible for the school to accommodate events and means that it is more likely to come to fruition.
“At the beginning of this year, the grade 7’s and 8’s were in high school for the first time so our church provided breakfast for the parents and students on one day in conjunction with the school. Grade 7’s one day and Grade 8’s the next. We had coffee and breakfast for all the parents involved and they were able to meet the teachers and the principal and have a chat. They were able to meet on that social platform and everyone loved it.
“This is all part of the art about getting things done. It’s only November and if you want to do something in February, you need to start talking to the school now and see whether it’s ok with them. And then start talking to the year level coordinators and see if it fits their schedule. They need to plan it before school finishes on the first or second week of December. The summer break is long and teachers normally go away on holidays for that so it’s necessary to make sure your planning’s done before the year ends.”
But with the positive results come the struggle and the Harristown High LCC is not immune to those difficult circumstances. An LCC’s finances can be quite limited and Owen’s team have felt this pressure.
“The school has never had government subsidy so the P&C have chipped in the necessary finance to employ a chaplain part-time for 10 years. So a bit of my role is to be the go between to make sure that all parties know what chaplaincy is doing, to keep the communication up because that’s really important.”
These tight finances have shown Owen that communication is of paramount importance. Good communication enables chaplaincy to exist because it builds good relationships between LCC’s, school communities and supporters.
“I see that in a lot of circumstances because school are an entity unto themselves. And I think often churches find it difficult to get involved because it all seems too hard and they are not sure where to start. I say start by being part of the LCC and volunteering for school activities like Breakfast Club. And of course, you can pray for your local school.
“We all drive past schools and say “Oh, there’s the local school. That’s nice; I’m sure it takes care of itself”. But schools are a community with students who have difficulties and that’s where the church needs to come in. We need to be supporting the chaplain, teachers and the school community as a whole so they in turn are able to help the young people.”