Chaplaincy

Here’s Hoping!

Welcome to the 2023 school year at Calrossy! I do pray, and hope, that it proves to be a wonderful year for you and all those in the Calrossy community.

There’s an old proverb that you may have heard a number of times: ‘Where there’s life, there’s hope.’

It rings true – especially because the two things are bound together in so many ways.

Every day of our life, we live with hopes – particularly about situations where we aren’t really in control.

The hope that the bus comes on time, so that you can be on time for your appointment.

The hope that the rain will hold off till you get in the harvest – or that the rain will actually come, so that you can have a harvest!

Then there are more serious situations, such as the case of the submarine many years ago which was rammed by a ship off the coast of Massachusetts and sank at once, with the entire crew trapped.  Frantic rescue efforts ensued.  Near the end of the ordeal, a deep sea diver working on the rescue attempt heard tapping on the steel wall of the submarine.  He placed his helmet against the side of the vessel and realised that the noise was a message in Morse Code.  The message being tapped out was repeating this question: “Is…there…any…hope?”

In our minds, though, I reckon the idea of hope isn’t automatically associated with life; it’s mostly associated with uncertainty.  We “hope for the best”, or say, “Here’s hoping!”, with varying degrees of confidence. Whether waiting for a bus, or stuck in a submarine, you still ask the question: Is there hope for me in my situation?

If the foundation of hope is indeed uncertainty, then why has our School called this year our Year Of Hope?  Why focus on something about which you can’t be sure?  The answer lies not in just having hope; but in what is the Source of that hope.  In the uncertainties of life, we can look to One who has gone before us to guarantee a hope and a future that can’t be taken away.  Is there any hope – for certain?  Yes – in the Jesus of whom the prophet Isaiah said, ‘In his name the nations will put their hope.’

School Community Prayer Breakfast

Mark Rundle

Calrossy Anglican School Chaplain