Ministry 

Semester One Thanksgiving Service

It was a joy to join together on Monday for our Secondary and Primary school Thanksgiving Services. This is a slightly editted version of Chaplain Fiona's Thanksgiving Address.

I find it interesting that one of the first words parents try to teach their kids, is “ta”. “Ta” or “thanks”. 

Why? Because we want them to be thankful. Thankfulness is important. Giving thanks, and cultivating gratitude, is a priority at Lakeside College and it’s also a priority in the Bible. 

Psalm 100 is an example of this. The Psalms are a book of prayers and songs of God’s people. Psalm 100 is overflowing with thanksgiving and with praise. 

“Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever.” 

So I wonder… what is it that you are thankful for today? What do we at Lakeside College have to be thankful for at the end of semester 1? 

I suggest we have lots of things. New buildings and facilities, a new Principal, new initiatives and new faces. Learning, laughter, friendship and fun. 

Though when I think about what I am most thankful for at Lakeside, it’s always going to be about the students. 

At the Primary Thanksgiving service, Year 5 and 6 students sang us the “Circle of Life” from the Lion King. There’s a quote from this movie which sums up an attitude we seek to cultivate in our students at Lakeside. 

“While others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give.” 

When Mufasa is looking over his kingdom and teaching his child Simba about the Circle of Life, he wants him to be a giver. To not just look for what he can take, but to serve. 

This is an attitude we seek to cultivate in our students at Lakeside College. I am thankful when I see it reflected in their lives. When they serve. When they give. When they don’t just look for what they can get out of a situation, but what they can contribute. 

We’ve seen this during the semester in formal ways. Our Year 11's have brought lots of joy to our Primary students this year as they’ve helped out in classrooms as part of their Service Learning. And we’ve seen it - or sometimes haven’t seen in - in small but significant ways, as students take quiet opportunities to show love to those around them. 

I’m thankful because it’s what we’re on about as a College – giving glory to God and serving the world in love. 

And I’m thankful because it reflects the attitude not just Mufasa, the Lion King, but Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. The one who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). The one who showed us his love most completely, by giving up his prestige and position, to serve and to suffer, so that we might know restoration and relationship with our loving heavenly father. 

And that’s something for which we can be so thankful. To quote Psalm 100 again… “Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever.” Amen. 

God’s blessings to you and your family.

Chaplain Fiona