Putting aside our differences

Over the next few weeks, students, volunteers, teachers, and a veritable community of people are pulling together our spring production of 'Stone Soup'.  Whenever an event like this comes together, it's a reminder once again that it takes many talents, many ideas, many gifts, and much patience to pull together something of such magnitude.  In a lot of ways, it is a micro-burst experience of what it is like to have a school society such as ours.

The story that unfolds in our spring production begins with three homeless soldiers looking for a meal, travelling with little to nothing to offer the village they stumble upon.  What they discover is a community steeped in rivalry, one where differences are so deeply rooted, they are passed along to the children, and lived out in frequent insults cast at one another....  (Thankfully, the playful antics of a dancing horse bring a bit of levity to the whole situation.)  As many of you know the story, the visitors rouse the curiosity of the children in the village by beginning to make 'stone soup'.  it just needs a little something else......  

As the story progresses, differences melt away in the preparation of a meal.  in the end.... well, in the end, you'll just have to come and see. "When you have friendly people and some good food to eat, you just naturally have...."

In an article written for the Christian Courier, Monica deRegt writes... "the story of Stone Soup is a refreshing perspective that sometimes all it takes is giving what I have, and allowing God to use the transforming power of community to turn it into something that will bless everyone. (1 Corinthians 12)" (Sept 28, 2015 issue, p 13)

I'm thankful this morning for a community of believers pulling together with what they have, allowing differences to melt away in the service of the nourishment that Christian Education provides for our children, and for our families!  Come join us on Friday, April 22 at 7:00 for our production of Stone Soup to celebrate the gifts with which God has blessed our student body!

Do not abandon yourselves to despair...

Do not abandon yourselves to despair....

A two week March Break is something very out of the ordinary for us, and it will be Easter Monday when we meet up again in a few weeks.  I thought a few words on the defining moment of Christendom might be fitting this week!

As I look back in time at the church, I'm both encouraged and discouraged.  Perhaps I'll start with the tough side.  Arguments, differences of opinion, heartache, and misunderstanding still seem to plague the church and body of Christ. The liberation that a direct relationship with our Lord and Saviour brings is coupled with the challenges that we won't always see things in the same way.  We will interpret scripture differently, and we will find items upon which we don't agree.  This is evidenced by the multitude of Christian church denominations all seeking to live faithfully.  This fragmentation can seem crippling at times.

Why am I encouraged in light of this?  I'm encouraged as I watch students grapple with issues of faith, and are able to end up in a position of respect for one another.  Even as early as 10 years of age, we see students arguing about the finer points of doctrine as they are learning at church.  The more we can teach them and model a position of community and respect for one another in our multi-denominational community as like-minded believers, the closer we approach the vision that Paul had for the church as he wrote to the Philippians (1:1-2):  "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind."  I see this daily in our small, increasingly diverse community of believers at CCS:  a common desire to love and serve Christ because He died for us, freeing us to live in God's amazing world and to serve Him....

As we approach Easter, I invite you to ponder the words of a past church leader:  "Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and Hallelujah! is our song."  Pray as families for continued understanding, respect, fellowship, and unity among followers of Christ, even in (and sometimes especially because of) our differences.  And sing where you worship, bringing back the richness of your denominational traditions, ready to safely explore our faith in community.

Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.  Hallelujah!

The right question...

"The morning is as usual, kids getting ready for school, breakfast is getting started when across the room comes sound of a cereal box pouring over the table and spilling on to the floor. Every fibre of my being wants to ask "Why did you do that?!" "How could this happen?!" "Why.....?!" BUT, my brain stops a second and goes back to our seminar the night before, and I remember that there's another question in my toolbox.... Instead of 'Why', I ask "What happened?" What was about to be a defensive quarrel, possibly littered with yelling and tears, became a moment where I listened. We had a simple conversation about how the bag was ripped, and an accident happened. Our daughter had a chance to explain the facts, and we cleaned up the mess together."
This story was told to me following our WITH... not AGAINST seminar. A very good question from a parent that evening asked 'What's the difference between asking 'Why did you do that?' and 'What happened?' On the surface, they are both addressing an incident. The first question, however assumes guilt and culpability. In essence, by asking 'Why did you do that?' we say 'You did something wrong, now explain yourself...' By asking 'What happened?', the conversation is now open to listening, empathy, perhaps dialogue, and instruction.

It's a amazing how such a simple small change in wording can transform a morning from chaos to calm, from defensive to cooperative.

Will this change everything? Of course not. We will still find ourselves at odds with one another, but beginning from a place where we open ourselves up to relationship rather than jumping to punishment. Our seminar introduced us to working away from punitive/blaming and permissive/excusing to restorative/ cooperating.

Want to know more? The content from both seminars is uploaded to our website at http://covenant.nace.ca/news-and-info.html . These will also help you to understand how we are striving to address relationships here at school as well.