Thursday, December 17, 2020

A Fresh View of an Old Story: Christmas in Our Christian School

 I found them in a stable 

Kings and shepherds gathered round 

It seemed there was no room 

For the likes of me there to be found 

I could not understand it 

But I had to see the child 

When the mother bade me to come near 

I swear I saw him smile 

Then I heard what sounded like 

A thousand chains breaking apart 

And a door now swinging open 

Letting light enter my heart (The Innkeeper L.Gallant

It’s not hard for Christmas rhythms and rituals to become detached from their significance and meaning. Routine and repetition of the well-known Bethlehem narrative can dull the event down to a cozy, warm story that is more of a hot chocolate memory than the transformational-for-all- time event heralded by a sky full of God’s finest. 

I`ve always appreciated songwriters who challenge us to rise above Christmas kitsch. Lennie Gallant (above, have a listen with the link) has the innkeeper recount how the story changed him, moving us away from ritual and unrealistic ideas of Christ`s birth toward deeper reflection of what Immanuel – God with us was like for the inhabitants of the chaotic city of Bethlehem, with all of the rough edges included. The innkeeper’s realization above that Christ’s birth was for him too helps us to see God knew of our need of a Saviour that night in Bethlehem so long ago. 

What joy that in our Christian school we can do so much more than decorate with tinsel, or a wish each other “Happy Holidays!” Our students are led to reflect on God’s great love that pierced the darkness of our sin and make us whole again. Now that’s a story that never grows old! 

SJ

Friday, December 11, 2020

Looking For The Moon At Our Christian School

I have memories of one my children noticing the moon, sometimes while camping or on a walk, but also during broad daylight. A simple cry of delight of “moon!” would be heard when I was transitioning them from the stroller to the car seat, trying to get them to brush their teeth when a window was nearby, or hastily going about some other all-consuming task. Until I acknowledged the moon, the word would be repeated over and over. If I had given pause to look, I also would have easily noticed it and stopped to appreciate its grandeur. 

The white reflection of the sun’s rays bouncing off the moon for us to see, day or night, is a thing of beauty. It takes just over a second for the light bouncing off the moon to reach us here on earth. By contrast, it takes 5.5 hours for light to come from the sun. Light travels fast, but if our heads are not raised up to look, we will not notice.

Has COVID caused us to walk though life with our heads down a little more, limiting our ability to notice? Are we more prone to complain or lament, than to cry out with joy? I’ve had the blessings of hearing in our classrooms that students are invited every day to linger at the gift of a child born for us, who is the light of the world. May we join with the awe of the Bethlehem shepherds who first heard confirmation via a nighttime display they could not miss.

SJ

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Praying While We Work at Our Christian School

Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:24-25 

I had opportunity last month to talk with someone from western Canada about our school. A parent considering a job offer in London had found our on-line presence and made contact. After spending some time explaining what an Ontario Christian school looks like, how it is organized, and why parents send their students to LCES, the parent was clearly amazed. “Wow, you have some very committed people in your community! “ I heartily agreed. God has blessed us richly. 

Seeing Christ as the head of our school is integral to how we think and operate each day as we respond to how each day unfolds, how we plan toward the future, and how we learn to walk the line between the Benedictine monk’s mantra of “ora et labora” or “pray and work.” We are to pray daily for the provision and guidance to operate our school, and also work responsibly with the gifts, talents and opportunities the Lord has given each of us at LCES. One side of that expression represents God’s unstoppable grace, the other reminds us that we have a part in working in God’s kingdom. 

Join us in praying for our school. A legacy supporter reminded me years ago of the text of Psalm 50 which makes reference to our God who “owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” His encouragement was this: commit your plans to the Lord, remain unceasing in prayer, and remember afterward to praise him for his faithfulness.” Amen! May it be so.

SJ

Monday, November 9, 2020

Story Telling as Remembering at our Christian School

Why do we gather around cenotaphs, have parades, and lay wreaths each year? Watch a very young child take in such an event and see them absorb the atmosphere of remembrance and you will find the answer. Long before they can understand the depth of loyalty and the pain of sacrifice, young children notice that something happened, that it was important, and that people are deeply connected to it as the tears and silence become tangible.  

Since most of our students have no personal experience of war, remembrance requires the telling of stories. COVID will keep most of the country from being able to participate in remembrance in live group settings. In lieu of those moments, my encouragement is for families to spend time with stories that help us to remember, even as we mark the 75th anniversary of the of the end of WW1 this year. (Here is a link to one of my favorite story tellers marking Remembrance Day. Story begins at 21:30).  

As a Christian school, helping our students to grow in wisdom means teaching the value of remembrance and the cost of peace. They will live beyond us in a time we will not see and take with them what they know of the value of that peace. Remembrance Day reminds us that our world bears the scars of deep conflict, and yet is entirely loved by its creator as it rests in his care. All wars will cease – we know the end of the story!

We will remember.

Students will be observing Remembrance Day on Wednesday within their classroom. We have been supplied with many excellent options from Veterans Affairs and other branches of the federal government. We are grateful for the gift of technology which can link us to live events in Ottawa or other teach selected options.

We will remember.                                        

SJ

Wednesday, November 4, 2020

A Lonely World and Our Christian School

Earlier this fall I watched “The Social Dilemma”, something that belongs to a category I’d never heard of - a “docudrama.” It is 90 minutes of thought-provoking exploration of social networking, information flow, and bias in our tech-intense world. With talks of elections in both US and Canada, it is cause for pause about how we know what we know. As in all things, balance and reflection are necessary to understand how it might shape the world of a Christian parent trying to raise children to love Jesus and exercise biblical wisdom.

There are more social media platforms than you can shake a stick at. Yet in our connected electronic age, people are living lives that are more separate from each other than they ever have been. People long to feel connected, known, and valued. A pre-Covid American survey in January of 18-22 year olds indicated 79% of them considered themselves lonely. (See this) I highly recommend this short small book for parents with children involved in tech in 2020.

Our school theme “The joy of the Lord gives us strength” (Nehemiah 8:10) urges joy derived outside of oneself. God’s original, pre-sin plan for humanity was fellowship – with him, and between mankind. Life becomes flat and incomplete when either or both of those break down. The Christian family unit and the vision of Christian education that we aim to support at London Christian Elementary hinges on the belief that we can be a blessing and will be blessed when we live and work together – in our case to care for God’s children.

SJ

Friday, October 23, 2020

Working for the Lord

 

Heard in a classroom this morning:

Boys and girls, before we start on letters, we need to answer an important question: Why do we always need to do our best?

The students quickly responded with “Because we are always working for the Lord!”

This is a living example about how learning at LCES is about more than letters and numbers; students are being led to make sense of God’s world and how they fit in it.

I often think of the working world of our children’s future as they continue to work for the Lord. Life is more than getting a job, but working is large part of one’s life and means to praise God with what one’s talents and energy. Once per year the World Economic Forum publishes what their researchers have identified as the top skills needed in the current year’s workplace.  

Top 10 skills in 2020

Top 10 skills in 2015

        Complex Problem Solving

        Critical Thinking

        Creativity

        People Management

        Coordinating with Others

        Emotional Intelligence

        Judgement and Decision Making

        Service Orientation

    
    
Negotiation

        Cognitive Flexibility

 

        Complex Problem Solving    

        Coordinating with Others

        People Management

        Critical Thinking

        Negotiation

        Quality Control

        Service Orientation

        Judgement and Decision Making    

        Active Listening

        Creativity.

 It is interesting to notice which skills are new on the list this year and which ones have moved higher on the list. (If you are interested in reading further on this kind of thing, I suggest starting with this. )

The world is changing. I am thankful for Christian Education which continues to wrestle with how education should best serve our students for their future.

SJ

Monday, October 19, 2020

The Care of Sheep

 “Take care of my sheep.” John 21:16 

A shepherd is not a common job in East London, which makes it challenging for us to access the wisdom in God’s word as this occupation is frequently used to help his people connect knowing and loving God with daily life. The personal and individual way in which a shepherd knows and cares for each sheep is guidance for us to do the same for his children, our students. That includes all of their needs. 

Earlier this month we had a day of learning for our teachers. A main topic of the morning was mental health as it relates to students and learning. While this isn’t the first time in the recent past we’ve devoted time and energy to this area of our professional learning, it is important for our school as we look to support student wellness and learning. 

Did you know that:     

• Good mental health is characterized by the ability to learn, feel and express pos/neg emotions, form and maintain good relationships with others, and cope with change and uncertainty

• 1 in 5 children/youth have a diagnosable emotional, behavioral or mental health disorder

• 1 in 10 young people have a mental health challenge that is severe enough to impair how they function at home, school or in the community.

Nearly half Canadians:

  • say they have suffered from depression or anxiety have never sought medical attention as part of their response. 
  • believe that people use the term mental illness as an excuse for bad behavior 

While we might find connecting crutches with the injured foot as an intuitive way to care for a child, supporting their mental well-being is so much complex as we navigate through potential stigma, perhaps exhaustion, and likely feeling underequipped with a lack of awareness or experience to “take care of [His] sheep.” If that’s the case, consider accessing Shalem Mental Health Network and Canadian Mental Health Association resources as a place to start. 

SJ

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Parents Tell Your Children: The "Why" of Our Christian School

As a new father, I recall holding our gift of God only about a month old on the day he was baptized as an infant. It was a busy day in our household that had been turned upside down as we transitioned from a home of two to become three. In a swirl of new parent fatigue, excitement, and “we’re really parents to this child?” we were in church. While family and after church lunch details had been on my mind, singing these words abruptly brought the day in to focus: 

God the Father, God of glory,

miracles, and mystery;

generations all adore him,

God the same through history.

Parents, tell your children, age to age the same.

Glorify the living Lord above,

magnify his holy name,

magnify his holy name.

This is a sweeping picture of all of life, much bigger than the exhaustion of infant care. Guiding our children to recognize, love, and serve the God who claims them as his own is a tremendous task. I’m grateful that Christian Education is one of the ways parents can join generations of those who “tell their children” so that they too may know and serve Christ in all things. 

Are you or others you know compelled to ensure that generations will continue to have the opportunity of Christian Education? We need several new board members this year to replace outgoing members who have served and even extended their service as result of COVID. Please contact Dwayne DeVries (board chair) or myself for more details. 

SJ

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

The Power of Our Patterns at Our Christian School

It has been a joy this fall to be able to see at-school classrooms active again. I stayed for a classroom prayer recently, during which a long-ago-memory of my toddler nephew came to mind. He was keen to follow the pattern of his older siblings in reciting:

“God is good, God is great

Let us thank Him for our food.

By his hands, we are fed,

Thank-you Lord, for daily bread. Amen”

Unable to say or understand the words spoken by his siblings, his exuberant version went as follows:

God is great, God is great!

God is great, God is great!

God is great, God is great!

God is great, God is great! Amen!

In his mind, he was participating just as equally as his siblings. Perhaps his rhythmically perfect version contained as much meaning and purpose as his siblings well-practiced versions. The repeated prayer became like were well-worn grooves in their minds and hearts, reminding them of the gift of food by God’s provision.

I’ve noticed that patterns and habits fall off easily
in our COVID confusion as we find ourselves in unusual situations and perplexing decision pathways. In the middle of all of this, how do you instruct children to live faithfully? It strikes me that one of the loudest “voices” in cultivating faithfulness in young children are structures that gently, but deliberately guide them to recognize that God made them, God loves them, and God knows them “by name.” (Isa. 43:1) What a rich blessing that those “patterns of faithfulness” in even the smallest of things can start at home and continue here at LCES. Praise God for Christian education; may it bear fruit in the lives of our children!

SJ

Friday, September 18, 2020

Of COVID and Conflict At Our Christian School

 

Frequently my work as principal involves working with situations where conflict is present.  Sometimes the conflict centers around what is actually the truth, what is best in a given situation, what happened, or what didn’t. Conflict reveals a lot about situations and people.  Jesus challenged his listeners that “…the mouth speaks about what overflows from the heart.” (Matthew 12:34)

Conflict doesn’t sit well with most people. In many ways, we have become a polarized society struggling to love those who we don’t agree with. Conflict makes us uncomfortable, restless, and often drains energy and emotion if it drags on too long in unproductive ways. On the contrary, harmony and synergy enjoyed around God’s love and his purpose for us motivates, energizes, and sustains us. But it is hard to get there.

In several places and by different means I’ve been reminded in the last number of weeks that shalom isn’t simply the absence of conflict. Peace, understood as the absence of conflict, falls short as a complete definition. Shalom is best understood to be the complete fullness of “all things are as they should be, as God created them.” Shalom is the deep satisfaction of understanding and experiencing everything God made as he originally intended it. COVID makes me desire that even more.

St. Augustine once summarized this tension this way: “Our heart is restless until it finds rest in You.” I’ve always thought that to be a challenging summary of what we do in Christian education. We challenge our students with the world they live in and make them restless and uncomfortable in accepting it as is. We seek to instill in them a hunger for shalom in God’s coming kingdom – the world restored and renewed.  This is what we aspire to do every day at LCES – shaping hearts, souls, and minds.

SJ

Sunday, September 13, 2020

A Joyful Start To A Unique Year

JK Adventures on "Lava"

Words don’t really describe how good it feels for us to have students walking the halls again. The building feels more aligned with our school’s core purpose today: educating children, equipping them for a life of faithful, Christian discipleship. While there are all sorts of new things that we need to get used to doing differently, we have started with the assurance this morning that God is our refuge and strength, and that God’s claim on us is so much larger than COVID’s. We are eager to be safe, and at the same time not to have COVID author every part of this year. God’s world is still a place to discover and enjoy. We are still called to love, learn, and growth in wisdom as we serve one another.

“The joy of the Lord is [our] strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 

At the launch of remote learning in March, I mentioned Psalm 137 as a lament of the Jewish people taken away from the land God gave them. Thy were exiled to Babylon against their will. Our theme this year (above) comes from the return of God’s people back to the land God gave them. Nehemiah and Ezra spoke to the people and helped them understand the times. I am sure they were overwhelmed with rebuilding structures, reawakening patterns of faithful living, and adjusting to things that seemed new and overwhelming to them. Nehemiah urges them not grieve their situation or their past sins, but rather to rejoice and delight in the goodness of God’s faithfulness. 

That’s our task too; delight in the unshakable faithfulness of the Lord even as nations are in uproar and our footing gets shaky. (Psalm 46) Even though what was as solid as the mountains in our lives falls into the heart of a sea of what can feel like chaos, we are reminded God tells us to “be still” and know he is God. 

That assurance is the very best back-to-school supply we have this year. 

SJ 

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Easter & Resurrection Gardens







Christ is Risen, 
       He is Risen Indeed! 

Our grade ½ students were challenged to create resurrection gardens this week as part of their remote learning. They gathered natural materials such as stones, wood, dirt, and vegetation to create unique and personal depictions of the physical settings of the events of this holy week as we approach Easter. Their busy hands and creativity were evident in the unique end results they shared with their classmates using pictures. What a joy to see them proudly share, even though they haven’t been together in a physical classroom in some time.

There will be stories told about these times for many years. This all feels pretty significant, and for some the story is perhaps starting to feel heavy, hopeless, and unending. Although the last month has led us through things we’ve never seen and had us living with challenges we were not expecting, we desire to remember and celebrate a much bigger, more important story of the gift of a Saviour who made all things new and gave us abundant life. May we marvel at the words of the angel who met the women in the most important resurrection garden, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” (Matthew 28:6) Christ is risen! SJ

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Remote learning: Singing The Lord's Song In a Foreign Land

It's surprising how quickly a scene like this one, taken last December, seems to be a time and place that feels odd to us today as our school remains active, but not our building remains closed. Clearly we were socially connected then, and not too physically distant from each other. I can remember the sounds of  this Christmas lunch merriment, with all those students, teachers and parents in the gym. That was a fun day.

In Psalm 137:4, we read “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” The Psalmist was lamenting that he was no longer living in the promised land, but rather struggling in captivity under the Babylonian empire.

While the bricks and mortar of our building have not moved, we do find ourselves taken away to a foreign, new land of remote learning. There has been lament and loss, however we also have seen new beginnings and opportunities this week. God is good. We will return to the land of familiar classrooms, playground adventures, chapels, and in-person conversations and, something I really miss, groups of students laughing and singing.

Meanwhile, we will aim to be faithful “singing the Lord’s song in a "foreign land.”

SJ

Friday, February 28, 2020

Flourishing Students At Our Christian School

In several prominent places in the building, the vision statement of our school is displayed. Here it is: To educate children, equipping them for a life of faithful, Christian discipleship. What does that statement say to you and your family about why you are here? Would you agree that it is a central, motivating reason for your participation in what we do? How do we know if Christian Education is valuable for our children?

First, it is important we view Christian education as in investment in your child’s future as we seek to “start children off on the way they should go” so that “when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). The full implications of faithful patterns created now are will only be fully known in the future.

Second, we can see immediate, tangible benefits today in the here and now. In the past, someone I follow on twitter has offered a “flourishing index” for students in a Christian school measured by 10 indicators:
• passion for learning
• desire to serve and make a difference
• ability to see connections
• blooming where planted
• thinking divergently and creatively about problems/solutions
• ability to demonstrate empathy for others
• desire to act morally and ethically across all aspects of life
• understanding of how God has gifted and called them
• demonstration of effective life habits and spiritual disciplines
• determination to bring joy and hope into the lives of others

As we continue to plan another school year into existence, let’s remember the important vision for which we strive!

SJ

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Mopping, Grace, and Learning at Our Christian School

I mopped up a mess in a classroom today. The kind of mess that makes stomachs unsettled as they see the end result of someone else whose stomach couldn’t keep it all in. I’ll leave it at that. Since the class was not able to retain focus for the few moments it took to clean up, I gave them two thoughts to think on while I cleaned up that mess in front of them.

Learning is never wasted in God’s kingdom. I suggested to the class that the skill of learning how to mop, which I acquired when I was a fifteen year old McDonalds employee, is still something I can use today. I suggested to the students that you never know where the pathway of God’s purpose in your life may take you. A wise custodian said that to me in my first year as a teacher.

We have a unique opportunity to help when people are hurting or vulnerable. How we treat others in these moments is revealing about what we think about our calling, our community, our neighbour, and ourselves. Extending grace and service to someone else who is an awkward or embarrassing spot is our chance to respond to God and love our neighbour. Someday we will be on the other side of the moment, looking for someone else to be gracious in our moment of vulnerability.

It’s a joy to be able to frame these teachable moments within our Christian school. We pray often as staff that our students will grow in grace and wisdom during their years here at LCES. God bless us in that important work.

SJ

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

A Connected World at Our Christian School


My parents once pointed out to my children where they were both born in Europe. The two very small towns were less than 100km from each other, however they lived in two very separate experiences that may as well have been worlds apart.  Only after travelling thousands of kilometres to a new land called Canada did they meet and eventually get married. I could see that it was challenging for my own children to understand that they lived so close together but were yet so far apart.

If I want to check out where my parents lived, or what the hotel I am about to book on the other side of the globe, I can virtually “walk” down the street. Surgeons are doing live consults with people who are half a world away. Voice recognition to tell your device to search for information is more than a party gimmick, it is a viable way to use a computer, tablet, or phone.

Here is something else I keep returning to as I notice these changes. Although we as parents and grandparents feel the whiplash of how fast these things change and how different it all is from a world we once knew, for our students there is little remarkable about this technology rich landscape. This is their normal, what they consider their starting point.

We are wise to follow those before us who have faced sweeping change and chosen to boldly say “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) Training our student’s hearts and minds toward biblical wisdom remains our task and our best way to equip them to live in ways that are faithful in a world increasingly disconnected from our own experience.  I`m thankful for our Christian School who aims to do just that. 

SJ

Thursday, February 6, 2020

Having a Party At Our Christian School


Reasons to Celebrate

We’re going to have a party.

The longer we move along God’s story for LCES, the more we become aware of God’s incredible faithfulness. From the first prayerful conversations about the possibility of a Christian school in 1960 to our joyful 2020 daily operations, God has blessed us with people, a building, and funds to carry out distinctly Christian education. The Deep Roots, Clear Vision, Bright Futures capital campaign that is wrapping up is an exciting chapter of that story.

We’ve sent out invitations far and wide to present and past supporters of LCES to a special dinner on Friday, March 6. We’ll join together as a community and give God the glory for the great things he has done. The dinner is free of cost thanks to a gift to the school. A goal has been set to add $100,000 to the $1.123 million received over the campaign. Ways and means will be provided that night for those who have never given, or wish to give again, however your presence there alone can be your participation in this evening of gratitude.

So come and be our guest at the Lamplighter Inn for a fun night of food and fellowship! You won’t want to miss this event.

SJ

Friday, January 31, 2020

The Big Things of Learning at Our Christian School

I’m delighted to have students come to my office who want me to come back with them to their classrooms to share what they’ve been doing. I’ve been invited to sample green eggs and ham, see bridge models, watch butterflies emerging, taste homemade bread, or been asked to be an object to measure with a metre stick. Exciting moment of learning happen every day!

How do we shape learning at LCES? Consider the following four pillars:

Connectedness We aim for our students to see God’s creation as an intricate, complex, and amazing example of how purposeful God is. God’s world is something to be studied as a whole, as well as in parts. 

Discernment We want our students to develop tools and have opportunities to practice, under the watchful idea of a passionate educator, figuring out what is God’s truth and what is means for them. God’s world is designed around God’s truth.

Service We strive to have our students live out the truth of biblically knowing as the study the Lord’s handiwork directs them to love their neighbor in every way, in everything they do and say. Community is God’s good gift to us.

Wonder God’s world is a thing of beauty and we wish for our students to meet God in new ways as they learn. God’s world speaks of his greatness.

Big things guide our learning!

SJ

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Cold Armour At Our Christian School


As I greeted our students this frosty winter morning, I couldn’t help but smile at their layers. The smaller they are, the more bundled up as their parents attempt to keep winter’s chill out. Some are so bundled up that we don’t know who we have at school until they start to peel off their “cold armour.” Coats, snow pants, gloves, mitts, scarves, balaclava, boots, and more protect their skin and keep them warm against the frosty chill. 

Some of our students, perhaps out of a desire to get outside quicker or frustration at the effort it takes to put it all on, decide not to wear key pieces of this “cold armour.” After some minutes outside they realize they made a mistake in their haste and it has consequences.

Perhaps this is a helpful metaphor for growing in faith and wisdom through the elementary school years. Armed with truth, faith, peace, righteousness, salvation, and the Spirit, our students are being prepared to take on the challenges of learning and living by faith. Much like the tedious process of putting on winter gear, it takes time and discipline to be prepared. It is also true, however, that time and discipline invested equip them to be ready for whatever the Lord calls our students to do today, and in their future.  

In between zipping up stubborn zippers and locating stray mittens, LCES staff are at work as a faithful presence for our students. They shine the light on truth, nourish faith, value peace, demonstrate righteousness, and listen for the Spirit’s prompting. We pray that our children’s amour of God will be an intricate part of their way to love and serve the Lord forever, whatever the temperature. 

SJ