FROM THE CHAPLAIN

Welcome back for Term 3 everyone.

This Term’s theme is “Friendship”, the third spiritual value of our student cohort.

At our staff chapel on Monday, I spoke about what values you want in the friends that you allow into your inner circle, the ones you trust and value; and then consider, what are the values of those you don’t want in your inner circle.

Jesus says in John 15:15, “I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father”, and it is the last part of this verse that shows us why Jesus called people friends; it is the ones that he told everything to, that he knew about God.

So I wonder, who you might call friends, who do you allow in your inner circle?  Whoever they may be, ensure they are good soil for you, friends who will help you grow your humanity, help you stay positive in the face of conflict and help you through and past things rather than staying in the denial game, blaming and shaming everyone else for what goes wrong in our lives.  Let’s be responsible for our friendships and who we gather around us so that we can grow in our spirituality and our humanity.

I leave you with a prayer that was written by a friend of mine who is a chaplain at Ravenswood School in NSW and I adapted for Scotch Oakburn.

May you be well this Term, always surrounded by friends who help you shine.

The Cycle of Time

Our Loving God,
Seconds become minutes
Minutes become hours
Hours become days
Days become weeks
Weeks become months
Seasons turn
Each term moves to the next
And we are presented new opportunities
To connect
To care
To teach
To learn
Nothing good comes without effort and cost
And we look in faith and hope for the good to come

We look with gratitude to our colleagues and friends
With whom we share this journey
Celebrating each other’s strengths, gifts, skills and experience
Seeking to support and encourage one another

We look to our students
Seeking the good that they hold
Knowing their potential likely exceeds our expectations
Drawing on their strengths
Sharing our enthusiasm
Providing them challenges and support
And finding meaning and purpose in helping them discover new things in themselves,
In others and in the world.

This is the work of love.
May we work together,
In this greatest of endeavours.
As we hope they will as they grow and develop.
We remember ourselves at their age and stage,
And we look to continue in this cycle of human learning,
Where each can play their part
Hopefully, becoming the best that they can be
As we offer our best in this pursuit
And striving always towards better things.
Beginning with this next turn in the cycle, we pray.
Amen.

Rev Grace Reynolds
College Chaplain