Last week, we had the absolute privilege of visiting Rev Janet Costello at Strathcona Girls College at the Tay Creggan Campus in Hawthorn.
We filmed with Janet as part of our Whitley Video Project, with the purpose of understanding how the practice of pastoral care can be applied in various settings. Janet is currently the School Chaplain at Strathcona, and shared with us what Pastoral care means in that context. She has been involved in Baptist ministry for much of her life and has therefore developed a passion for pastoral care.
As a Whitley Alumni, we also asked Janet about what studying at Whitley meant for her and how it shaped her faith and prepared her vocationally.
Janet studied a Bachelor of Theology and went on to comple a Masters in Theology at Whitley College. She shared that studying at Whitley transformed her in both life and faith. Janet was able to understand what it meant for her to be a Baptist in the context of her own experience and discovered a vocational journey in Pastoral Care.
During our visit to Strathcona, we also met with a bright group of students (one of whom is the daughter of Whitley Principal Darrell Jackson). These girls gather weekly for a ‘Mustard Group’ session – it’s a student led session that provides the setting for sharing and prayer. All students are welcome, irrespective of beliefs, and from what we saw and what the girls told us, it’s a safe place to belong and settle anxieties from life and study.
We think it’s an important initiative and you can read more about the Mustard Group here.
We will share more about our visit to Strathcona soon. Until then you can read more about Rev Janet Costello here.