School chaplaincy program continues despite recent controversy
By Laurie McBurney
Christian News Ottawa
A letter published in The Ottawa Citizen from a student objecting to the presence of a minister in her high school fuelled a debate that continued for over two weeks on the editorial pages of the paper. However, residents in the area covered by the former Carleton Board of Education, where a high school chaplaincy program has existed since 1981, were left wondering what the fuss was all about.
Alison Bell attends Lisgar Collegiate Institute. Prior to amalgamation, Lisgar was part of the Ottawa Board of Education, which unlike the Carleton Board, never had a chaplaincy program. Bell told the Citizen that, despite being voted down by the student council, her principal had welcomed a priest into the school to provide spiritual guidance.
"Let me mention here that Lisgar is a secular school, attended by both religious and non-religious people . . . I have nothing against this man. He's a really nice guy. I just don't believe he belongs in my school. If I wanted spiritual guidance, I would go to a private school or I would go to church. It's as simple as that," Bell stated.
A follow-up news story in the Citizen noted that the "priest" referred to by Bell -- actually Christian Alliance Missionary Church pastor Wayne Baxter -- was asked to leave Lisgar after both parent and school councils voted against the volunteer counselling service he was to provide.
Principal Angie Spence, who has tried for two years to introduce this type of service to Lisgar, would not comment. "I think it's a very divisive issue and one that should be handled internally through the school," she said.
However, Ottawa residents were quite happy to comment even two weeks after the issue came to a head. Two or three letters debating the issue were published almost daily in the Citizen. Perhaps those concerned about bringing pastors into the school would be reassured by the experience of the Carleton Board.
"Pastoral care has been an accepted program within the former Carleton Board schools for at least 13 years. The experience has been generally positive. To my understanding, there hasn't been problems with the work of pastoral care counsellors," says Marva Major, a Board spokeswoman.
"Because of a shortage of guidance counsellors, pastoral volunteers are seen as an extra shoulder for everyone to lean on," says Maggie Melenhorst of the Board.
According to Rev. Tom Sherwood, who served as a chaplain in three Gloucester schools, the pastoral care program began as a pilot project at Bell High School in Nepean. The positive response led to expansion throughout the Carleton Board.
Sherwood is a United Church minister who identifies himself as a "liberal Christian." The former pastor of Orleans United Church is now the ecumenical chaplain at Carleton University. He acknowledges that there are special considerations to be made when a Christian minister is invited into a secular school.
"I see myself as a missionary from one culture to another. It's a servant ministry; it's listening more than speaking," Sherwood explains. The school principal introduced Sherwood to staff and students as someone who would be available if needed. The minister made a point of attending school functions and also coached the basketball team at Gloucester High School. Over time, his six-foot-five-inch frame became a familiar figure and students of all faiths sought him out for counselling or perhaps just conversation. His outreach was considered positive and Gloucester principal Bob Armstrong is actively seeking another chaplain to replace Sherwood.
Sherwood says in his experience it is not unusual for students to receive representatives of the Christian church with suspicion and hostility, such as that expressed by Lisgar student Honor Brabazon. "There are a lot of really sensitive teen issues that certain religions feel very strongly about, things like abortions and birth control, homosexuality, sex before marriage. If you are walking through the halls and you know the priest walking down the hall fundamentally hates who you are, it makes you incredibly uncomfortable," she told the Citizen.
"I'm disappointed [by that kind of reaction], but not surprised. Students have been socialized into a negative view of the church," Sherwood says, citing examples such as scandals involving sexual and physical abuse in residential church schools. "There are times just to be silent, listen and absorb it. When I receive all that invective, I figure it was just my turn to get it," he continues.
In Sherwood's opinion, Lisgar has done the right thing in withdrawing the minister from the school at this time. "There are teachable and unteachable moments," he says and refers to Matthew 10:14 ("If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town."). "I would take a longer run at it over the years," he comments.
