From the Chaplaincy

Valuing Connections

This year’s school theme is about ‘Valuing Connections.’ In Christian Science we always start with the highest sense of connection. A spiritual connection to God, and through that, to our true selves and each other.

Humanly speaking, anthropologists have determined we are all related and the furthest apart anyone on the planet can be is 42nd cousins! So, we are all connected. More importantly, speaking spiritually, as reflections of the one infinite Mind, we all have the same Father, Mother, God and so have a higher connection with each other.

Mrs Eddy says in Science and Health, "As a drop of water is one with the sea, a ray of light is one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son are one in being."

Using astrology as an analogy, just think if the earth said to the sun, ‘Hey look I’m casting a shadow over the moon.’

Then the sun asks, ‘But what is a shadow?’

The earth said, ‘Look, the moon is in darkness.’

So, the sun peered around the earth to look at the moon and said “what, I can’t see any darkness?”

We need to encourage all to see everyone’s true spiritual essence, not from a physical perspective, but from a higher viewpoint. When we connect at this higher level we are then more prepared to face down individual envy, fear, negativity, disconnectedness or isolation. We can think ‘we are one, we are all in this together.’ We can all contribute by taking a moment each day to look for the true connection with ourselves and our children, who are just like our us – perfect, unlimited ideas.

How can this be manifested? Let’s look at some real examples and think about the level at which these connections are happening.

• A disgruntled student, who was the first wanting to leave school as a senior, is the first to sign up and help organise his school class reunion.

• A group of Year 12 students return to the junior school to farewell a retiring Junior teacher they haven’t had for 7 years.
• The IT department solve a problem before we’ve realised it was problem.
• A 12-year-old NZ student arrives at HT not being able to read, he graduates with his peer level with a pass in English.
• A teacher on an excursion, is at the rear trying to catch his group, against his impulse he still makes time to kindly interact with some other elderly hikers. They find a student’s lost phone and through this connection it is returned.
• The school is led to design a pool in the hope one day it will have the funds to build it. The next term the Government announces $2m grants to kick start the economy.  It is one of the first Victorian private school projects to be approved.
• A man breaks habit and unprompted goes for a late-night walk and stumbles across his friend about to be assaulted and is able to scare the attacker off. 
• The same intelligence/Mind that sets exams papers, sits them as well…

Some of these examples rely on a purely human/physical connection, for others there is a deeper connection based on the idea that we all emanate from the same divinity or Mind or Good.

"Can height, or depth, or any other creature separate you from the Love that is omnipresent good, - that blesses infinitely one and all?"

Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings 8: 13-16

The Chaplaincy Team