Are We Taking Shalom for Granted?

“Donvale is a special community”.  

“God is evident in our daily lives at school”.  

“Seeing and experiencing how Christ is put at the centre of relationships at DCC is why we love the school”. 

Such comments are made regularly and repeatedly by many a parent and senior student, especially in the first or second year of their family’s time as part of the DCC community. 

We have set a high standard for ourselves – we call our College’s strategic intentions document “Shalom”. (If you've been to a reunion over the last couple of years, you'll have seen copies there.)

When it was being developed, I undertook a research project among senior leaders on staff and Board members of the day. I asked them to reflect on their understanding of what shalom is, as mature followers of Christ. And, secondly, how it should play out in the life of our school.

Here are a few of their replies:

• Shalom is a much broader understanding of peace – a peace that’s not absence of conflict, but a holistic, wholesome, flourishing peace
• Shalom means everything is in its right place and free from sin
• Shalom is an active word; it is at the heart of God's mission – the reconciliation of humankind
• Shalom is a way of life, rather than a word that describes an aspect of life. It is the ceasing of striving
• Shalom is the “wind on your back” as you “walk up a hill” in life. It's the joy of the Lord in the middle of rebuilding the wall of Nehemiah.

And here are some reflections in how it affects their actions as workers, colleagues and fellow disciples while in our community.

• Shalom  means learning how to live as a disciple whose actions create an environment for people to thrive in reconciled relationships
• Shalom guides our ambassadorship as children of God
• Shalom is about finding a place where making peace keeps the school in godly community, even if its members cannot agree on everything. It includes reconciling situations and putting relationships first
• It's about recognising the need to rescue the “one” and being prepared to leave the “99”, knowing God will take care of them
• Shalom is seen in the strength of character to wait on God, to be obedient in the face of whatever difficulty awaits.

Christian education researcher Nicholas Wolterstorff, in his book 'Educating for Shalom' writes:

“To dwell in shalom is to find delight in living rightly before God, to find delight in living rightly in one’s physical surroundings, to find delight in living rightly with one’s fellow human beings, to find delight even in living rightly with oneself.”

Our school motto is Micah 6:8

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God

Loving mercy is all about being faithful to our relationship with God and others. It is about pursuing a relationship that acts in line with a covenant of constant love and humble dependence on God so central to seeking shalom. Seeking justice in that communion with one another adds richness to this love and dependence.