ASA Conference 2025 – Exploring Anglican Identity

After sixteen years as a School Chaplain in an Anglican school in Melbourne, I’ve learned that clarity can be elusive. I’ve also learned that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But I’ll admit, I arrived at this year’s ASA Conference in Brisbane with a quiet hope: that I might leave with a clearer sense of what Anglican Identity in our schools really is—or at least what it should be.

The theme of the conference was Immersion, and it was a fitting one. We weren’t just dipping our toes into theological ideas or educational frameworks—we were invited to go all in. To let Anglican Identity seep into everything we do and everything we are.

And yet, what became clear was just how unclear this identity can be. It looks and feels different in every school, shaped by context, community, and culture. That’s both reassuring and unsettling. Reassuring, because it means we’re probably not doing it wrong at our school. Unsettling, because it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m doing it well. We’re all on a journey.

One of the highlights of the conference for me was the series of reflections offered by Dom Fay, our Conference Reflector. His words were thoughtful, poetic, and often disarming. He helped clarify that Anglican Identity isn’t a fixed formula—it’s a story we’re invited to live into, one that touches every part of our lives, our values, and our ways of being.

Look Again

Dr Beth-Sarah Wright challenged us to see the world through a Dignity Lens. She asked whether our actions truly reflect the inherent worth we claim to believe in and encouraged us to conduct an Integrity Audit. Dr Wright used a phrase that’s stayed with me: ‘look again.’ Respect, she reminded us, literally means to re-spect—to take another look. So with that in mind, I include some of my sketchnotes from the conference: visual invitations to pause, reflect, and look again.

Kicking with the Wind

Max Jeganathan’s keynote was a cultural diagnosis and a call to hope. He named the dominant narratives of competition, scarcity, and consumerism—and reminded us that our students are hungry for a better story. He said, ‘we are kicking with the wind here.’ That phrase has stuck with me. It’s hopeful. It suggests that, despite the challenges, the Spirit is with us, propelling us forward.

Max also reminded us that uncertainty is not a problem to be solved, but a gift to be embraced. That resonates deeply with me. I often question myself in this role. Am I doing enough? Am I doing it well? But  maybe the questioning is part of the calling.

Sometimes chaplaincy feels like being in a small boat in a big sea—doing your best to stay afloat and guide others through the storm. That image, shared during the keynote, felt deeply familiar.

Dream Big, Leave a Legacy

Nat Cook’s keynote was a burst of energy and encouragement. She spoke of dreams, goals, and legacy. Her message was simple but powerful: go all in. As chaplains, principals, educators, board members and leaders we’re not just managing schools—we’re shaping lives. Nat quoted the All Blacks: ‘Leave the jersey in a better place.’ That’s our task too. To create an environment, to offer experiences, to share lessons and to tell great stories so people in our school community, our students, become better because of what we’ve said and done.

Reawakening the Right Hemisphere

Dr Iain McGilchrist’s keynote was philosophical and profound. He spoke of brain asymmetry and the dominance of left-hemisphere thinking—our tendency to analyse, categorise, and control. But the right hemisphere invites awe, presence, and encounter. He said, ‘When we live according to the left hemisphere, we are not actually alive really.’

That’s a confronting thought. But it’s also an invitation. To be immersed in Anglican Identity, we must live it—not just think about it. We must encounter it, feel it, and let it shape us in ways we can’t always articulate.

This immersion isn’t confined to RE classes or Chapel services. Anglican Identity must permeate every part of school life—on the sports field, in the maths classroom, during assemblies, in the Board Room, in our staffrooms, and in our interactions with one another. It’s not a subject to be taught, but a story to be lived.

The Panel

An interesting session during the conference was a panel made up of chaplains, educators and Principals who engaged with questions from the floor. There was general agreement that if the Principal doesn’t support and express the Anglican identity of the school then it doesn’t spread far. That said, all members of the school community have a role to play. As leaders, we must develop the courage to live with authenticity and recognize the privilege we have of inviting our school communities into an opportunity to encounter the divine.

Conclusion: The Invitation to Look Again

This conference didn’t give me a neat definition of Anglican Identity. But it did give me something better: permission to keep asking questions, to keep listening, and to keep living into the story—even when I’m not sure I’ve got everything right.

The conference provided an invitation to look again—to see things from a different perspective. To pause, reflect, and maybe even find yourself in the story.

Because in the end, maybe Anglican Identity isn’t a set of rules, but a rhythm. A way of being that invites us—and those we serve—into the divine dance. Keep dancing!