General News
22 May, 2024
Special SRE session at GHS
Students of Gilgandra High School were given the opportunity to receive special religious education.
Students of Gilgandra High School were given the opportunity to receive special religious education (SRE) as part of a lecture given Tuesday, May 14. The lecture was held in the school’s library and presented by Paul Bedwell, a high school SRE teacher.
In attendance were local Anglican Church school liaison Stuart Border, Heartland Church senior pastor Simonea Barden, and NSW Australian Christian Churches (ACC) state leader for SRE Barbara Scott. SRE is overseen by the ACC, who approve a curriculum to be taught in schools each year. According to Ms Scott, a new curriculum called ‘life questions’ was recently approved and was the topic for Mr Bedwell’s lecture.
“Students [should] always have the opportunity for religious education,” Mr Bedwell told The Gilgandra Weekly. He has been an SRE teacher for over five years and has also worked with charity organisations such as Youth for Christ Australia. Mr Bedwell teaches Christian religious studies, but SRE covers multiple faiths.
“In 2024, we now see SRE across [many] faiths such as the Muslim, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths,” he said. “Children can connect with the faith of their culture, which supports multicultural Australia.”
According to Mr Bedwell, his aim in teaching SRE is to empower young people to live their best lives following the virtues of faith. Mr Border thanked Mr Bedwell for coming to Gilgandra for the second year in a row to deliver his lecture for the high school students. Ms Scott shared his sentiment and thanked the school for their hosting of the event.
