From the Principal
The Faith to Act
If I take you on a journey to earlier this year when the school chose four new core value statements, you'll remember them as:
- Connectedness to People, Place and God
- Faith in Action
- Compassion from the Heart
- Growth as Lifelong Learners
This term we've been blessed to focus in on Faith in Action. I have seen that being lived out in our school community in classroom displays around the school, and in conversations with teachers about their weekly devotion or their daily Bible connect time where they are taking opportunities to encourage students to live out their Christian faith on a daily basis.
Our staff meets weekly on a Wednesday morning at 8 o'clock for devotions with a rotating volunteer roster for sharing. This year we've asked that volunteers share in line with the value of the term. This term it has been Faith in Action. There have been three Faith in Action statements or questions that have really resonated with me this term and dovetailed beautifully with the theme:
"How do we have faith when we have no guarantees for success?" The speaker pointed to Old Testament stories of biblical heroes who stepped out in faith without any guarantee of success, as well as New Testament stories, including a certain disciple who stepped out of a boat, no guarantee that he wouldn't sink. I was really moved to hear the real-life, contemporary application of these examples, with our staff sharing faithful decisions they've made to do something without knowing what would come next. This is, after all, the message of the scriptures.
"We are the same person on Monday as we are on Sunday." Going to church, being involved in worship, receiving good biblical instruction and connecting with Christian community is so vital for spiritual health. Then Monday comes! Our faith is not divided into Sunday and the rest of our life. We need to be making sure that we live our whole life exercising our faith, whether that be in a classroom, doing an administrative task, on playground duty, repairing a hole in the wall, gardening or preparing a lesson. It's a deeper approach to seeing what we do in our work as an opportunity to actively live out our faith.
- "What do we put our faith in?" We can have all the good systems and structures and policies and processes in place, but there is a spiritual realm at play. The Bible asks us to be aware of Satan's "flaming arrows" (Ephesians 6:16), and to ensure that our faith is healthy and aligned in order to deflect and defend what we do. It's not something to be afraid of but aware and alert that there is a need for us in Christian education to be exercising our faith.
Coming Up at LCS
This term break we are hosting the state CEN conference, which will see 550+ educators gather here in our beautiful new facility, The Jubilee Centre. The theme of the conference is around John 15, and asks: How do we remain? How do we respond? And how do we rest as Christians in education? We're really excited to have a keynote presentation on 'Remain, Rest and Respond' and some very practical breakout sessions that will focus on what we can do to ensure that we are resting, remaining, and responding to God in our lives, and then to carry that into the next term here at LCS.
Our focus value for Term Three is Growth as Lifelong Learners, which connects perfectly with the role and function of a school. Schools are all about learning, whether that's spiritual learning, social and emotional learning, or academic learning. You could say that life is a continuous learning journey, and we're really excited to delve into the scriptures to explore this through the lens of our Christian faith. One of the reasons people are drawn to a career in teaching is to see the positive growth that can happen in children who are supported in their learning. I'm so humbled to work with people that want to facilitate that on a daily basis.
Happy Term Break!
Sure, winter in Tassie can be dreary, wet and cold, but it's also a beautiful opportunity to see God's amazing creation differently. Rug up, rest, stay safe – and take every chance to marvel at our good God's wonders all around us.
See you in Term Three!
In Christ,
Stuart Kent
Principal
Launceston Christian School
PS - If you're looking for an injection of Christian culture and conversation, check out the MakerSpace Podcast produced by Christian Education National (CEN) and hosted by Sam Burrows. The latest episode is with Hans Boersma, titled: God Is Closer Than Your Theology Admits. Hans is a Dutch-Canadian theologian and prolific author, widely recognised as a leading voice in retrieving the wisdom of the early church for contemporary Christian thought.
In this conversation, Hans and Sam talk through what it might mean to listen to the church fathers of the first few centuries, what we may miss in our contemporary ways of thinking, and what it might mean for Christ to be in all things.
Listen via your favourite podcast platform:
https://open.spotify.com/show/1DklD6kT4wEWUaF64y8pRh