By Rev. Dr Katherine Rainger, Senior Chaplain

Father Richard Browning, former chaplain at Radford College, has a fantastic way of speaking about respect. To respect is to "see again, listen deeply, act with kindness."

I have used this definition of respect with students in classrooms, in chapel services, on service-learning trips to Timor-Leste and Myall Creek, on outdoor education experiences and excursions.

Artists have a unique ability to invite us to “see again.” Lisle Gwynn Garrity has created an artwork titled Lost & Found based on Jesus’ parable of The Lost Sheep where the Shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to search for the one lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7). She writes:

"I began my artwork for this series by collaging torn strips of newspaper articles together, overlapping global headlines with photos of current events. Along the torn edges, I added gold leaf. Then I photographed the result, editing the photos in black and white.

These photos would become the backdrop for my pieces, as I wanted my digital drawings to emerge within the noise of the world’s deepest pains, divisions, and everything in between. The collage is also a reference to theologian Karl Barth’s famous quote about reading the Bible and the newspaper together. I wanted the gold leaf to represent God’s presence in the spaces in between the events and forces that tear us apart.

What strikes me is the pursuit of the shepherd, so singularly focused on the one who is lost, vulnerable, and at risk. The Good Shepherd steadies the sheep on his shoulders and steps out of the frame toward us. His gaze finds mine, and I almost hear him whisper, “I will never stop searching for the lost. I will never stop rejoicing when one is found.”

To leave the 99 behind in search of the one does not make a lot of sense mathematically, but in God’s economy of love it makes all the sense in the world.

Spirituality and the Arts RaVE excursion

Year 9 Religious and Values Education students recently explored how the arts can enhance, enliven and embody spiritual ideas on an excursion to Goulburn. Why Goulburn? A few reasons. First, St Saviour’s Cathedral, the Cathedral for the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, is located there. Students were able to connect with Radford College’s Anglican identity by viewing Bishop Lewis Bostock Radford’s cope and pectoral cross. A guided tour also provided the opportunity to learn more about the art and symbolism found in the Cathedral. Please see the slideshow below for a glimpse of the day's activities.

Second, the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery is conveniently situated across the road from the Cathedral. As part of the Year 9 Religious and Values Education (RaVE) unit on ‘Spirituality and the Arts’ students explore the way different artists convey ideas related to belief, meaning, connection and purpose. The students interacted with works in the Primavera: Young Australian Artists exhibition and with those of Jodie Munday’s Woven Stories.

Third, Goulburn has a Public Art walk that invites students to pause and reflect on the effect of having artworks installed in public spaces.

I wonder what you might notice this weekend that invites you “see again.”