Spirituality at Scots

At Scots our Pastoral Care program plays an integral role in the development and nurturing of students with a variety of specific programs tailored to address the wellbeing of our students both at Primary and Secondary levels of schooling.

Pivotal to this is the role of our School Chaplain Reverend Andrew Delbridge, who conducts an engaging program of Biblical Studies in the Primary School, whilst students in Year 6 onwards are involved on a weekly basis in the discovery of what it means to be a Christian today. 

Weekly ecumenical chapel services unite the entire school in worship, with reflection on the journey of life and the relevance of faith in modern culture.

At Scots our extensive pastoral care program provides an important foundation, linking the academic and spiritual spheres at the school.

A Sense of Spirituality

When we talk about spirituality at The Scots School Albury, we talk about different aspects of people within our community.

It is important to acknowledge that we are all spiritual beings, that we all have particular gifts, talents, skills, abilities and personalities, and that we are all loved by God.

In a formal sense aspects of our spirituality are shared during our Chapel services.  Times of worship allow time for connection, growth and reflection.

Spirituality is also inherent in all that we do and all that we are, both professionally and individually.

School camps and other co-curricular activities provide additional opportunities to reflect upon our spirituality in nature, through outdoor activities and in different community contexts.

As we look outward and inward, allowing for reception and vulnerability, the nature of spirituality begins to be espoused, known, and understood, through different forms and different media.

As Martin Luther once observed:

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.

In this sense, our spirituality can be seen as both a journey and an exploration.  Spirituality is about connectedness.

Albert Schweitzer once reflected: What does the word "soul" mean?"...

No one can give a definition of the soul, but we know what it feels like.  The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves - something that stirs our thoughts, hopes, and aspirations towards goodness, truth, and beauty.

The soul is a burning desire to breathe in a world of light, and never to lose it - to become one as children of the light.  Our spirituality can take us beyond ourselves and into the arms of God - as the ultimate source of light and forgiveness.

In our dynamic learning community the expression of spirituality may evolve in different contexts, but the nature of spirituality has remained the same over the millennia, from the times of the earliest indigenous people through to our current Generation Y and beyond.

Spirituality, in its various guises, is a sense of relationship and connectedness to the divine inherent in all of us.  It is our own search for understanding and truth.  It is at the centre of our being, and the foundation of our soul.

Reverend Andrew Delbridge
B.A (Mgt Comm)., Dip.Ed., B.D., M.R.Ed., M.A.C.E.L