1 Corinthians 12:12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
On Christmas Day, like many families across Melbourne, across the nation, I participated in the “gathering of the clan” – these days, for me, it includes extras. These “extras” are often potential clan members, attached or affianced to one of the multitude of cousins, nephews and nieces that join the gathering. Christmas Day 2018 was special for our extended family – Kris and my younger daughter, Mary, was able to come home for three weeks for the first time in three years, leaving her husband and moody pup back home in Seattle – Josh couldn’t get leave which was very sad – a hot Christmas experience awaits him some time in the not too distant future.
Mary and I used to thumbwrestle a great deal – it was a father-daughter bonding experience in her teenage years. She is VERY GOOD at it! (She learned from the best!) Low and behold, after Christmas lunch, I found myself competing in a thumbwrestling tournament with Mary, a motley mix of nephews and nieces and some of the “extras”. It was hilarious, a time of getting to know each other in amongst the distraction of determining who would be the ultimate champion. Watching meant getting to know other participants better. Jokes and hilarious stories of life spontaneously poured forth. Fellowship was had.
Longer term reads of my fortnightly reflections would recall that we host a semi-regular gathering of our neighbourhood at our home as part of building local community and reaching out (being missional). Kris, my wife, spoiled me a year or two ago and bought me a massive paella dish. Our Christmas neighbourhood gathering involved serious planning – because I announced to all that we were going to make a massive paella as part of the celebration. For a week beforehand, texts and over the fence conversations abounded, as we detailed who’d bring what, what gaps in the menu and the activities needed filling etc. We had a ripper of a night; countless conversations about God, the world, our families, doing life together. Fellowship was had.
Just before Christmas, I received news that a good mate of mine has been diagnosed with multiple sites of cancer within his lymphatic system. This will be his third battle with the disease. A rush of tests and doctors meetings, while the rest of us were wiling away the evenings watching Big Bash or swimming gently at a nearby beach (both things my mate loves doing), means he knows that he has some very intimidating therapy ahead, to try and extend his time with family and friends. In the midst of much crying and deep soul-searching, my mate has rediscovered a community that care profoundly for him, his family and what the future might hold. Fellowship was and is being had.
Fellowship for me, if we look at the way Jesus modelled it when on earth and how the Bible speaks of it consistently, is more than just gathering. It takes advantage of community, it uses the mechanism that community sets up. We have a common interest, we spend time with people who share a common experience. But, community becomes a commun-unity when fellowship is had; when we share experiences, when we care deeply, when we walk an extra mile or three. When we look to share deeply, hear the other out, hurt when they are, laugh when its joyful, carry an extra burden to help out, serve when no one is looking.
In 2019, may the community that is Donvale Christian College, with its extraordinary diversity and exceptional blessing, be deep in fellowship constantly – parents with each other, parents with children, children one with the other, adding staff into all these mixes whenever its possible, drawing from our experiences into building the lives of others we are sharing school with. May this year be one of surprising and God-honouring interactions; we wait in anticipation for what God has in store for each of us, individually and as a collection of Jesus followers. Bless you all.
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
Welcome – to those 97 girls and 108 boys from Prep to Year 12, joining us across all the years for the first time, coming from a myriad of previous schools and holding passports from twelve different nations. If you are joining a sibling, or a friend, as a student at the school, I trust you find similar joy to what you’ve heard from those who have gone before you. To their mums and dads, coming from 63 different churches in the region – wow! We thank you, in advance, for your partnership with us in the provision of Christian education to this current generation of school students – your loved ones.
educating 4 life, too 
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