Editorial

Taking Responsibility

We all make mistakes and have errors of judgment at times. I have made some doozies! But what does it mean when we make those mistakes within community?

Here at PVCC one of our core values is Building Community.  We believe that being in it together is better than running the race alone. So what happens when one of us does the wrong thing and hurts the community?

There are two sides to this situation. The first is the person who made the mistake. If we choose to ignore it, or blame someone else or try to back out of it – the problem can fester and often grows. If instead, we take ownership and admit our mistake, we have the opportunity to make it right, to repair the damage and to be forgiven. And that’s the role of the community – to forgive and to stand with someone who is trying to make restitution for their error.

It’s hard to admit fault. It can be embarrassing, socially damaging and there are consequences. BUT then there is forgiveness, the washing away of the guilt and shame and a renewed opportunity to build community, in which we can belong.

Our secondary staff have been working closely with students to help them understand this concept and to learn to own their mistakes and move through them, rather than trying to avoid and step around them.

This reminds me of the story of King David in the bible. He made an absolute whopper of a mistake. Then he tried to get out of it and sent someone off to the frontline of a war to be killed. The bible says that he “displeased the Lord”, which I think is stating it mildly! There were further consequences that were really hard to swallow, but David eventually realized, repented and moved forward.

Just as God is faithful to forgive, we as the PVCC community, seek to encourage each other to own our mistakes, put things right, forgive one another and move forward together.

As we head into the holiday period, my prayer is that we will be refreshed and renewed, but also take time to reflect on the past semester, and see how we can continue to build one another up as a community on our return.

Lily McDonald

Deputy Principal