I had the distinct pleasure of joining last night with 80 parents, new to the school this year. It was a wonderful evening of conversation and sharing, and a chance for new friendships and connections to begin. I commented, when I spoke, that I felt we doing something strongly encouraged in scripture; my evidence was the hundreds of references to feasts and banquets that any search done in a Bible app will yield.
I was struck by the warmth in the air – not the actual temperature – rather, the high regard that people had for each other. Being part of a group that were gathered with a shared purpose, to build connections within a school community that they were increasingly committed to, generated animated discussions and provided an opportunity for those present to explore common friends and previously experiences they had in common.
Personally, I bumped into parents with connections to my extended family, a previous church I attended and the wife of one of my soccer teammates. It caused me to think how deep and intricate our connections within our community are – how amazing is the web that God weaves in our lives, so that people are placed where we need them at the right time. His planning is so much better than ours. I love it when it soundly becomes very clear to see!
Following on from the release of our strategic intentions book, 2020 Vision, the Board and the Senior Leadership Team of the school have been deep in conversation around the topic of how we identify the good things God is already blessing us with at Donvale Christian College, and how we will know what it looks like when we start to experience the fruits that result from our intended activities, as stated in the ten sections that make up the second half of the booklet.
When asked questions in this vain, I have pointed to the very helpful diagrams that describe, visually, what we believe our DCC identity and character are, and how these express themselves, primarily in the actions and character of our students, but also as they are modelled by staff, parents and other community members.
If we see signs of these godly character traits in the lives of our young ones, and modelled well in our community interactions, I believe we will find it easier to identify the ways in which we know DCC is doing well in all the areas of school life we have identified we will focus on.
I was reminded recently of a quote from Jackie Pullinger, missionary in Hong Kong since 1966. She famously encouraged us to see our fellowship together, and our outreach beyond God’s people this way: “God wants us to have soft hearts and hard feet. The trouble with so many of us is that we have hard hearts and soft feet.”
In the context of our gathering together as a school community, and mindful that we are all flawed, will make mistakes and need to have another go at getting it right sometimes, it is my hope that, when we get together, we will encourage one another in grace and humility to achieve these outcomes.
Being part of a gathering of God’s people last night, all invested in our community, discussing with obvious enjoyment, their children, their hopes, what they are seeing unfolding as God’s plan for them and their family in the context of our school – this was a genuine blessing.
I see it as a great beginning to our intentional plan to gather like this regularly, to talk openly about what God is doing and could do through our school. Doing it around a delicious meal, with great hospitality central to the gathering, is a very enticing prospect. Stay tuned for announcements of other similar opportunities – we’ve plenty to celebrate and much to look forward to.
educating 4 life, too 
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