FROM THE CHAPLAIN

The last two weeks have flown.  Chaplaincy has launched its College-wide Christmas Campaign, held a prayer vigil for those who have suffered through unkindness, started opening our chapel from 7:30 am for prayer times for our exam students, commenced opening at lunchtimes for those students who want a quiet space for prayer and meditation and culminated in today’s Remembrance Day Service. I share my reflection below for those who could not attend.

“First of all, I thank everyone for the opportunity to offer a closing reflection on what you have heard here today, of what this day might mean for you in the 23rd Century, and thank all the contributors in this service for their very moving reflections.   I hope you took them in because I want to ask you a question.

What are you doing or have you even thought about what you are going to do with the freedom, the soldiers’ whose life and death we celebrate today, bought for you?

In his 1914 book, “The War That Will End War”, H.G. Wells infers that World War I was the last time that we would ever see war.  However, in the 20th Century alone, we recorded a loss of 121, 700,000 lives due to conflicts between human beings since that war, and that figure does not include our nation’s own history of 270 frontier massacres over 140 years of Australian history.

So, today we all have a choice to make – will our words and actions add to the harm of others that leads to war, war within our own souls, war against others, and war ultimately, within the arms of our human family?

Or, do we make a choice, right here today, to give our lives to the freedom our soldiers died for and choose our words kindly, walk our actions gently across this earth and honour all people, whether black or white, who come from a different race to ours, believe in a different religion to ours, love differently to us, look different to us, talk a different language to us. Will our friendship groups include difference, diversity, kindness, love, joy and peace? Imagine a world where everyone is living in a way that we don’t have to remember war anymore.

I stand here today for the first time wearing my recently received National Emergency Medal because I choose to spend my time helping others.  This Term, I commenced a Global Masters of Business Administration so that when I finish at Scotch Oakburn, I am prepared to open a Global Franchise of children’s homes in war-torn countries so they can experience the freedom our commemoration today stands for.

I wonder what it is for you?  Scotch Oakburn is about ‘creating our future” and I wonder what future you are creating so that the lives we are commemorating today are not wasted, now or into the future.

Let us pray….Holy One, Please bless us with kindness and a soul full of love, always and in all ways.

Amen.”

May the Lord be with you as you travel this next week with joy and peace also.

Grace Reynolds
College Chaplain