Though your sins are as scarlet

Though your sins are like scarlet....

I'm not going to lie.  The snowfall last night and this morning were not my favourite thing ever.  I actually like winter, but sometimes in this part of the world it seems to take a while to go away....

Last night I was out on the highway after a family visit driving home.  The snowbanks underneath had all melted, and the fresh blanket of snow covered everything.  There was no grass showing, there was no pavement showing... even the edges of the road were covered by the blanket of white.  It was dangerous driving so we took it slow, but the extent to which everything was now covered over and made white struck me. 

God's resurrection power over sin and death didn't only cover over my little area of sin.  It covered everything.  There are many stories in the Bible and otherwise of people who think they are 'too far gone' to be loved by God.  Over and over again, Christ reminds us that his grace is sufficient.  We need to be reminded of just how all encompassing God's redemption and grace is.  As good as the creation was when God spoke it into being, as deep as we are affected by sinful decision, so deep and far and wide is the love of God that it blankets and covers over everything.  Just as the new snow shows no evidence of anything underneath, so all encompassing is the power of the cross.

In our staff devotions this morning, Mrs. DeHaan shared the song "Glorious Day" by Casting Crowns.  As I pondered the snow cover, the lyrics of the Easter Sacrifice in that song wonderfully encompassed this truth we live with:
One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me...

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

Perhaps I'll continue to grumble about this late snowfall for the inconveniences it brings, but I will also give thanks for the picture of grace and purity with which it has blessed us!

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.

Telling Stories, Seeking Justice

This week is an exciting one for our grade five class.  They have been studying the book "A Long Walk to Water", a true story based on Salva, a child who walked to Ethiopia, then Kenya, lived in refugee camps to escape the civil war and being forced into child soldiering; and on Nya, who lived 23 years later in the new region of South Sudan, walking all day to get a jug of water for her family. The two stories merge when Salva, a grown man, dedicates his life's work to drilling wells for the poor communities of his country and helps to dig a well in Nya's village.

Inspired by the story of Salva and Nya, they have set a goal of raising $400 within our own community for the effort to bring clean water to places that need it desperately.  The organization they have chosen to work with is Water for South Sudan (www.waterforsouthsudan.org).  As a class, they will host a bake sale on Wednesday, selling baked goods (so easily at our finger-tips) for $2 (extra donations accepted).  

Today, I was privileged to hear two of the grade 5 students read a speech they had prepared to educate and inspire others to participate in this bake sale.  It was evident that the story had been the vehicle through which they sensed a need for justice and access to basic human needs before anything else could happen (education, health care resources).

Times like these remind me of the richness of Christian Education.  An intermingling of literature, language arts (discussing, analyzing, writing, speaking), media arts (advertising, spreading the word, preparing print media, accessing online media) with themes that make our faithful response real and tangible; this marries excellent education with application, real issues, and real work for real people.

This class is truly plugging in and taking the opportunity to shine as children of light!!  May God be glorified in their work, and the people who benefit receive the clean water they so desperately need to thrive.

Growing connections professionally

Last Friday, our teachers were away in Hamilton for a day of professional development.  Together with educators from Drayton, Guelph, Kitchener, Dundas, Hamilton, Cambridge, St. Catharines, Dunnville, and Stoney Creek, we delved into four different educational topics.  The day was set up so that theory and stories were presented followed by teachers re-grouping and sharing what they were doing, challenges, and opportunities they had to grow.  "Theory really met practice" in this day of learning and sharing.

'Culture and Character' focused in on how we are building schools where Christ is centre, and how to develop a community of learning where each builds one another up.  'Beautiful Student Work' allowed us to explore how to raise standards for our students and give them opportunity to work toward better products that wouldn't be necessarily only for a teacher to mark and hand back.  'Mastery of Skills and Knowledge' gave us space to investigate the requisite 'things' that kids need to know as they move forward through school in each subject.  Finally, 'Deep Connection and the Holy Spirit' allowed us to share stories and experiences about how God is working in our classrooms, schools, and region.

As an increasing need in a quickly changing world, our teachers need to become more connected as colleagues to one another, and to support not only their own students and classrooms, but to rely on and support one another to further the project of Christian Education.

As you can see, that is being well met in our professional development. We are thankful for a community of passionate Christian Educators. To God be the glory!!

February: Relationships and Family

Relationships and Family

I turned the calendar to February this morning. Valentines day, Family Day, our seminar on Restorative practices.... it seems a theme is emerging.

Our social nature defines so much of who we are. We were created to be in relationship certainly with one another (it was not good for us to be alone), and with God as well. So much of our daily experience is shaped and formed by our interaction with others.  It follows, of course, that those interactions will inevitably be 'very good' and 'very broken' as we believe that God created a world He delighted in, and that sin permeates all parts of that creation as well.

February, in some ways, is a time when we call attention to the potential of the relationships we have with one another and the ways in which we can honour God through them. The very presence of a system of education in which we learn together in community is a humbling opportunity to model and form good relationships.   Bruce Schenk, director of IIRP Canada writes:

"We are called to a ministry of reconciliation. As Christian people, this is our call in all areas of our lives, starting with reconciliation to God through Christ's death on the cross (2 Cor. 5:18). Throughout scripture, the emphasis on the central role of forgiveness and reconciliation in our faith is akin to the core values and purpose of restorative practice. When hurtful behavior occurs, the restorative mantra of talking about what has happened, looking at who has been affected or harmed and how, and what is needed to make things right, is similar in the Christian context to acknowledging our sin, confession, honest contemplation and reflection on the impact of our actions, reconciliation, and healing."  (Full article here.) Relationships feed us and address a central part of who God has created us to be, but they also take work.

Consider joining us for a focus on relationships in parenting this February. Anne Martin of Shalem Mental Health Network will lead us on February 22nd to present "WITH, not AGAINST:  dealing with relationship strain or conflict in parenting."  Perhaps by attending, this is a gift you can give to your family as we seek to work for God's kingdom in all of our relationships.