From the Principal

A Special Easter Message from our Head of Primary

I was talking to our receptionist, Bonnie Worthington, the other day and we were reminiscing about the good old days and somehow, we got onto the topic of the 40-hour famine. Do you remember it?

Now for you young folks, the 40-hour famine was a thing where for 40 hours you gave up eating food, you were allowed to drink water and that was about it. A lot of schools and groups would have sleep overs and you collected sponsors. 

This was in the 80’s so you were allowed to wander around the neighbourhood as a kid asking random people for money without your parents having a clue where you were. And the strangers would often invite you into their home, fill in a tax receipt and then hand you, a complete stranger, some cash.

I dug up this ad from the 1985 forty-hour famine just to bring some of those memories back for those over 40s amongst us.

The overall idea of the 40-hour famine was that you suffered a little bit for 40 hours so that you could not only empathise with people suffering in hunger but also suffer a little bit for the good of others. The money you raised went directly to help the people in need around the world.

I like the parallel of the 40-Hour Famine and the Easter story. We would deliberately choose to go without, to suffer for something, albeit for a short period of time, for the good of others. In the Easter story, Jesus willingly gave up everything. He willingly suffered and sacrificed himself so that we can be saved through His death and resurrection. Interestingly, it’s traditionally believed that Jesus was in the tomb for… 40 hours.

Let’s spend this Easter break as a time of reflection and remembrance of the greatest gift ever given. I encourage you to read the lyrics of the song below and reflect on the sacrifice our Saviour made. 

Happy Easter from Launceston Christian School.

Phill van Ryn