Did you know SU Australia supports RI classes in QLD?
SU Australia has long supported the delivery of Religious Instruction (RI) in the Northern Territory and Special Religious Education in New South Wales through our Generate team. Earlier this year, we were able to partner with our first two Queensland local Christian RI committees in Ipswich and Redcliffe, which has been exciting.
We caught up recently with Dr Michelle Carty, our employed Christian RI Coordinator for the Redcliffe committee, to find out more about this new ministry opportunity for SU Australia in Queensland.
Could you tell us a little background about yourself, Michelle?
Sure, I am from Redcliffe and in addition to being an RI Coordinator, I have a Bachelor of Social Science in Psychology (Honours) and I’ve completed a PhD in the field of neuroscience. So when I’m not coordinating RI, you’ll find me in my research role.
Can you tell us what you do in your role as an RI coordinator with SU Australia?
While part of my role is teaching RI, I also coordinate the activities of our amazing and dedicated volunteer Christian RI Instructors in schools across the Redcliffe region. This allows them to focus on teaching RI. I am also responsible for connecting and liaising with the local churches to promote Christian RI.
Which schools are in your region?
We have five schools in our region including Scarborough, Clontarf Beach, Hercules Road, Humpybong, and Kippa-Ring State Schools.
For those unfamiliar with RI, can you share what RI looks like in your schools?
In a nutshell, Christian RI informs students (who opt in to the program) about the basic beliefs of the Christian faith from a non-denominational perspective. It gives students the opportunity to discover the Christian faith for themselves.
Our instructors use either the GodSpace or Connect program materials, both of which have been reviewed by independent third party curriculum experts to ensure that the content of each lesson is age-appropriate and aligns with Queensland Department of Education’s policies.
What do you see as the value of having RI in schools?
I see RI as an important part of an education system that caters for the whole child, in much the same way that sport and music also play important roles in our state school system. I also think that Christian RI is valuable because it provides children the opportunity to question, explore, and discover the beliefs and values of the Christian faith for themselves.
Do you have any highlights from your time in your role so far?
Yes, certainly. The two that stand out for me so far have been getting the opportunity to meet with 16 local ministers from different denominations across the [Redcliffe] peninsula and talk with them about Christian RI.
Another highlight was being able to start up Christian RI again at Clontarf Beach this term which has been really exciting.
How can we be praying for you?
It’s winter now of course, so it would be amazing to have people praying for the health of our RI Instructors and of course the students too. There’s plenty [of sickness] going around at the moment, so please do pray for everyone’s health.
Please also pray for sufficient instructors to cover all year levels at our five schools across the Redclffe region. It would be good to be able to offer Christian RI at every year level from Years 1-6 at every school, so that all children who have consent to take part in Christian RI will be able to participate in Christian RI and learn more about the Christian faith.
It was lovely to chat with you, Michelle, and may the Lord bless the work you’re doing in this space!