5 min read

ACPPA Retreat

Tim has more than 20 years experience working in education. He has extensive experience coaching health and fitness, adventure and leadership camps, facilitating professional developments for schools, businesses and community groups. Tim is an innovative leader in physical and spiritual wellbeing and ACPPA has been pleased to be working with him. Take a moment to read a little about our shared journey so far!

In May last year, I was honoured to guide the Australian Catholic Primary Principals Association (ACPPA) through the early stages of a genuine journey into the heart of their identity. 

The timing was perfect. 

If you are a person of faith, then you are likely to consider all things connected. 

And it just so happens the Catholic Church and education itself, find themselves in the same place. 

Both have arrived at a place where change is both necessary and inevitable but the what and how exactly remain unclear.

It’s one thing to desire something, another to do what it takes, having found a way, to achieve it.

At the moment there seems to be more questions than answers and more ‘hopes’ than clarity on the pathways that might bring these hopes to fruition.

There is definitely a whole lot of excessive noise as individuals take to social media - or whatever platform they can get on - to shout their individual perspective as loudly and proudly as possible – at times with disdain for the opposing view. 

It’s easy to shout what you want and to point out what, in your view, is wrong. It’s also easy to do this without giving any consideration to the ‘big picture’.

At the end of this month ACPPA and I will continue our exploration into their identity. 

We won’t quite be picking up where we left off, because they have had the courage to address the issues that were identified during last year’s retreat. 

I say courage because my invitation to join them last year came with the freedom to prod, test and challenge them on every aspect of their identity. 

 'In essence, they were demonstrating the desire to see beyond what they hoped those outside of their organisation thought of them and into what was – or wasn’t - really happening.’

Such a fitting response for matters pertaining to faith, spirituality and education. 

Even more importantly, ACPPA have given themselves time. 

In today’s world - well at least in high income countries - we are obsessed with speed. 

If we don’t like ourselves, or any situation in our lives we want it changed immediately. 

Many of us tweet and post without much thought, jump from diet to diet and take any opportunity for a quick fix or a quick buck. 

Genuine and meaningful change takes time. 

In fact, it is an ongoing process. 

And far more than change being something we witness purely in our physical world, it will be the how the stakeholders feel that will be the true test of change.

ACPPA seeks to be relevant, contemporary and vocal – a voice for Catholic Education and their leaders.

And they are also committed to being all of these things in a respectful and inclusive manner. 

This is a dance we must all enter into as ACPPA, the Catholic Church, education, the planet and humanity itself all find themselves in a similar situation. 

The approach ACPPA is taking to guide their own evolution is an approach I believe would serve many principals - and the staffs they serve - very well.

I think we all need to slow down. 

I believe reflection, investigation and then measured and considered action will be the most effective way we - and whatever groups we belong to - can move forward. 

This is what ACPPA has done for the past 12 months.

In a fortnight’s time we will add new layers and perhaps new directions to their journey.

What is unveiled will provide the catalyst for focused and ongoing action, sourced in a clear understanding of what their role of service is and how best they can execute that role. 

But that’s ACPPA.

In terms of the Catholic Church and its own direction it is not a time to do anything blindly. 

Or with such speed or lack of care that what takes place creates division rather than unity. 

It is neither a time to reject, disrespect or be dismissive of tradition nor to leap blindly into a new world that takes us further away from God’s true desires for humanity and the earth. 

It is a time to honour our journey to where we are now in all its beauty and ugliness and to take from it the lessons that will serve us in the future. 

There is much to consider. 

And we are a people of many generations, varied backgrounds and with different lifestyle choices. 

But the idea, well at least I hope it’s the idea, is that we come together as one - no matter where any life has found itself. 

As the church itself responds and adapts to the contemporary needs of humanity and the planet it must ensure that doors are left open and the invitation to enter is extended to everyone. 

Any exploration into a collective identity will bring with it, strong views. 

No view should be unwelcome or disrespected. 

The delivery of our own thoughts and ideas should be done with both softness and strength. 

What we write or speak should be expressed in a manner that encourages others to listen. 

That’s the reason you say anything, right?  To be heard...and understood. 

And when we’ve had our turn, we offer our hearts and minds to receiving the thoughts and ideas of others with respect and an open mind. 

Drawing each other in, not pushing each other away, should be the goal of all members of the Church. 

How can we create a church that leaves its doors open to Catholics and non-Catholics alike?

To everyone. 

How can we create a church that is always welcoming and accepting, should someone find themselves with nowhere else to go to for support - no matter who they are or what they’ve done?

We would also do well to remember here that the church is each and every one of us.

If we turn our backs on another, so too has the church.

This is not going to be easy. 

But we can learn a lot from the approach to change I am sharing with ACPPA. 

It is a time for reflection, careful consideration and then measured action. 

That way each step the church takes will be one towards what the world needs from the church today. 

Not what it was or what any one individual wants it to be. 

Our challenge is to look beyond ourselves and into our collective heart - the same heart that fuels both humanity and the planet - and ask it the one question that should guide everything we do in the future. 

‘What do you need from us?’ 

If our hearts and minds are in the right place, then we are free to trust that any action of service we undertake - be it individual or collective - will be worthwhile and will also play its role in making our planet a more peaceful and liberating experience for all human beings and the earth.

If there is one responsibility placed on each and every one of us, it is to do our best to contribute to the creation of such a world. 

And ACPPA is determined to honour this responsibility for the leaders they serve, and in this way, the staff and students and wider communities of their schools.