Learning at Our Christian School: What's your cornerstone?

 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” Psalm 111: 10

Some of you may know that this text is built right into our building in the form of a keystone installed as part of a wall. It is located immediately outside the kindergarten classrooms. At one point that text was actually outside our building; now it is inside our beautiful facility that the Lord has blessed us with to live out our vision statement which states  “To educate children, equipping them for a life of faithful, Christian discipleship.”

I echo the strong emphasis that the founders of our school placed by choosing this anchor text for our anchor stone in 1962. We can’t truly know anything rightly unless we begin with God. For instance, consider two viewpoints from which to view life:

Lense A	Lense B
What do I get? Motivated by personal gain Live for yourself Truth is relative, you decide You are what people say about you Fulfill your dreams Motivated to do one’s best by fear of failure or rejection Things happen by random chance	How can I help? Motivated by advancing the kingdom of God Lose your life, they you will find it Truth is absolute, we pursue it together Identity comes from what God says about you Fulfill your calling Motivated to do one’s best in gratitude to God as a faithful response The world is ordered and upheld by a living God

May God bless our very important work of nurturing biblical wisdom in His children everyday at LCES!

SJ

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

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

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

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 75^th 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

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

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