A Hopeful Heritage

Our Jubilee Year

Donvale Christian School, now Donvale Christian College, has been “in” (operating as a school) for 50 years. This year we are celebrating our Jubilee Year, seeking to observe this celebration of our longevity through the lens of how the Scriptures encourage us to approach such milestones.

In Leviticus 25, we read God’s particular instructions to His people about what to do in the 50th year. There are almost 50 verses of instruction, let’s just look at a few of them (verses 8-10a) here:

“And you shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall send abroad the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall send abroad the loud trumpet throughout all your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you”

The Jubilee year started at Yom Kippur – the day of atonement. The people first consider those actions and thoughts that they need to repent of, bringing it before God and asking for His forgiveness of these sins. As Christians, we know that this forgiveness is only possible through the saving work of Jesus Christ and that it is eternal and absolute in its extension to us from God.

The word "jubilee" is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, which means "ram's horn"; it was, in ancient Israel’s time, a ram’s horn that was used as a trumpet; its sound – well known to them – was anticipated by everyone as they waited for the beginning of the jubilee year. 

The book of Leviticus has a particular focus on providing detailed descriptions of holy living, but in its description of the significance of the jubilee year, it essentially describes it as a year of liberation like no others, a year where – in grace and mercy – families regather, communities forgive one another, and Godly righteousness at all levels of society is sought and restored. Traditional labours are put aside; special emphasis is placed on living as God intended us to do so, and the fruits of this were seen in, intentional, selfless and sometimes anonymous acts.

How might we do this as a community together? 

As we start the year, it is always a good thing to have had a good break, to recharge and reset for the year ahead. All our students progress to the next year in school; staff begin again with fresh class allocations and curriculum to be delivered (at Donvale, Christian to its core) and we are excited and raring to go.

Repentance and atonement are an important first step in the practices of the Jubilee Year.  So, individually and as a community, we should pause and consider the things we need to bring before God in humility, asking for his mercy and grace where we haven’t done as he would have expected us to do.  

Individually, it may be attitudes of our heart, the way we have related to (some) others, the ways we have left undone what should have been done, or done what we shouldn’t have.  As this community’s leader, I place before all of you, both individually and collectively, my sincere apology if you feel I have let you down in these ways. 

Before God, I will seek to be more like God has called me to be, as His disciple in the role I play. I trust you can accept this in the spirit in which it is offered – it is something God calls us all to do, regardless of position. I present this to you and ask your acceptance of it.

As a community, we seek God’s wisdom each day. And, as we start this year, we will hear in assemblies –  in Primary and Secondary – of plans for renewal and doing better in the ways we gather under God’s name.

As I mentioned in my last networks of 2024, our number 50 – in our 2025 email signature and as it will appear in other published material this year – has a particular message embedded within the “zero”.

And I quote from late November: 

“The zero tells a story that is "the opposite of zero" - it tells a story of completeness. This image tells the story of God's embrace of all of His image bearers, His people. 

The circle is a representation of God's arms in the embrace position. Inside His embrace are His people, symbolised by small ''u's" - an Aboriginal Australian artistic representation of the mark people leave when they sit around the campfire - a mark made by a combination of their "seat" and their "thighs" - try it out for yourself on some sand; it will make perfect sense then.

God's grace has impacted this community every single day we have been a school - at its formation, at its first day, as we start another year's worth of days in our Jubilee Year. And all the days in between”

In the end, it is grace extended from God that makes our atonement possible; it is our understanding of this perfect embrace that equips us to mirror that grace as we live alongside one another, in community – celebrating God’s grace.

A Hopeful Heritage

In Term 1, we are focusing on those who went before us. 

Our longest serving Principal, Yvonne Bradley, once said: 

“‘One thing that links us is that we are all learning - whether we like it or not...All of us learn, but not all of us study. Study is that structured, dedicated commitment to learning...If our study doesn't lead us to God and to following His commandments, it is valueless. If it does not lead us to truths that will change our lives, it is pointless. If it does not challenge our attitudes, our prejudices, our behaviour and our lifestyle, it is a waste of time.

'That is why Christian Education is so important...It is concerned fundamentally with learning and study which leads to wisdom, to the truth that God reveals in Jesus Christ.”

Our first Principal, Stewart Miller, reflected on the first days of our school’s operations:

“We asked ourselves, 'How do we sharpen children for service in the Kingdom of God?' Deuteronomy. 6:4-9 gave us a clue - The Word of God must be central, direction-giving and constant in their learning. Romans 12: 2 cast further light. Sharpening for service entailed being transformed; having their minds renewed. 

We set out, not only to read and study the Bible every day but also to bring it to bear on the curriculum; to accord God His proper place as Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer. We explored and discussed every corner of our Father's world in the frame of reference provided by the Bible; in short to model a living, biblical view of world and life for the children and to call them to share that view of the world - to think biblically about all areas of life.”

Yes, and again, yes. These truths are maintained, and built on, by all staff working in partnership with the parents of our school. Our founders spent 13 years – from their first planning meeting in 1962 in Box Hill – preparing a school that would live out these truths, to be a beacon for Christ-focused education in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne.  

They were filled with hope for what it could be; God honoured their hopeful humility and blessed them over and over. We are thankful for those who passed on this incredible heritage to us.

We focus first on this; we thank God for all His mercies to us – from the earliest days forward. Tell those stories to one another of those in this community who have blessed you in the past. Give thanks to God for them. Take the story of their blessing of you and turn their godly intentions and actions in the direction of another – and multiply the blessing. Become someone else’s story …

Coming up …

On 14 February, we will re-enact the first day of school in 1975, with some of our original students hopping on a bus and coming up Tindals Road to be dropped off – just in time for our whole-school Founders’ Day service in the Community Hub.  

And the celebrations will commence in earnest! Don’t forget, too, our Welcome Fest – hosted by Friends of Donvale – on Saturday 22 February. It promises to be a huge day of fun for the whole family!