Aged care, education and the power of connection
In July, just before heading away on leave, it was a privilege to be part of a combined spiritual and professional development day that brought together two Lutheran ELC to Year 12 schools serving regional and remote communities, alongside representatives from Lutheran Education Australia, Lutheran Education SA/NT/WA, the LCA SA/NT District, Australian Lutheran College, Australian Lutheran World Service, Lutheran Media, Lutheran Care, International Mission, and Lutheran Disability Services.
Built around the theme ‘Our Lutheran Story’, the day was a genuine reminder that the 500-year-old thread running through our tradition still connects everything we do across education, aged care, and community services today. Sitting in that room, hearing stories from teachers, school leaders, chaplains, and sector colleagues, it was clear that when we come together, we are so much more than the sum of our parts. Unity has a way of revealing possibilities that none of us could see alone.
As part of the day, I had the privilege of running a session on Aged Care and Compassion, exploring the challenges and opportunities of working alongside aged care and community services, and what our sectors can genuinely learn from one another. The conversations were honest and grounded. What emerged was not just a list of ideas, but a shared sense that we are all still part of the same story, whether we are standing in a classroom, a retirement village, or a residential care setting.
What was particularly encouraging was the openness among school leaders to engage more intentionally with this space. There is a growing recognition within our school systems that aged care and community service are not separate from the Lutheran education story but deeply woven into it. Leaders are beginning to ask how they can give that connection more shape, more structure, and more presence in the life of their schools.
There is enormous room to grow something more deliberate, more widespread, and more connected.
What excites me most is where this could take us as we pursue it together. From the workshop conversations that day, there is an increased appetite to move beyond one-off activities and build intergenerational connection into the curriculum itself, so that engaging meaningfully with older generations becomes a genuine and ongoing part of a student’s Lutheran education. Imagine what that could look like: students who grow up understanding aged care not as something distant or unfamiliar, but as a living part of their own community and faith story. And beyond that, we can actively nurture our next generation of aged care and community leaders through our school systems, so that the young people we walk alongside today become the compassionate, mission-driven professionals our sector needs tomorrow.
This is also a conversation that should not stay within any single state. Intergenerational programming linking Lutheran schools and aged care is happening in pockets across the country, and rather than each state developing programs in isolation, there is a real opportunity to compare notes, share what is working, and shape something more cohesive together. Because what we can achieve through connection and collaboration is so much greater than what any of us can do alone.
If your organisation is doing anything in this space, or would simply like to swap ideas, I would love to hear from you. The conversation has begun. Let’s see where it takes us.
