03.12.2015
The Revd Daniel Owen Commissioned as Chaplain of St Columba’s College
Staff and students of St Columba’s College welcomed a new chaplain at the beginning of this academic year. The Revd Daniel Owen was commissioned by Archbishop Michael Jackson at a service in the school recently. The address was given by the Warden, Dr Lindsay Haslett.
The Revd Daniel Owen (pictured with his family) is originally from Cambridgeshire. He is married to Sonja, a nurse who is originally from Delgany Parish and a past pupil of Rathdown School, Glenageary. They have two sons, Caleb (11) and Jacob (8). Daniel has a BSc in Rural Resource Development from Anglia Ruskin University and BTh from the Church of Ireland Theological College, Dublin. He served his Curacy at St Donard’s in Belfast from 2000 to 2003. He was Rector of Cobh and Glanmire, Naval Service Chaplain and Rural Dean North and East Cork from 2003 to 2009 and was Rector of the Kilgarriffe Union (Clonakilty) from 2009 to 2015. His hobbies include photography, hill walking, camping, playing guitar, following cricket and rugby, bodyboarding, computers and reading.
In his address Dr Haslett spoke of the concept of Christian Chaplaincy and posed the question: “how is a Chaplain to promote Christianity in a school such as ours, one where I am conscious many pupils have little prior idea or experience of worship and liturgy, of prayer and humility, of service to God and one’s fellow man?”
Highlighting the report of the School Chaplains’ and Leaders’ Association, he outlined six key areas of school chaplaincy. The first concerns pastoral leadership of both students and staff promoting good mental health, wellbeing and wholeness in the school community. The second area is liturgical and refers to the chaplain’s role in creating, shaping and leading informal and formal worship in the college.
The spiritual element of the role, the Warden said, sees the chaplain as the embodiment of the sacred dimension of human experience in the school community. The chaplain also has a missional role to communicate the Gospel and a prophetic role to bear witness to truth and justice. The final area of the chaplain’s role is a pedagogic one, he said, preparing students for confirmation and teaching in the formal curriculum.
“Our new Chaplain has already begun his work in all of these different areas and I know you will all want to join me in wishing him well in the exercise of his onerous responsibilities and duties,” Dr Haslett concluded.
St Columba’s College is located in Whitechurch, Dublin. This year 294 pupils are enroled, 242 of whom are boarders.