Weekly chapels are a highlight for students and staff at Smithville Christian High School. The regular opportunity to be together as a whole school – worshipping, learning, and celebrating together – builds both community and participants’ faith.
Throughout the pandemic, Smithville Christian has continued
with chapels, using Zoom and custom-built pages on the school website to share
content. When we are able to be in school, students join the chapel with their
classmates, tuning in on a screen each of their first period classrooms. When
we are learning and working from home, the school hosts large Zoom meetings,
with as many as 150 screens joining at once. Some weeks, student praise teams
have also been leading worship – masked and safely distanced, on stage in the
lounge.
At this week's chapel, we celebrated what our students are doing by sharing a video of a "typical" day in Grade 9 English class, made by students. (You can find the link at the end of this post.)
Our chapel speaker was teacher Stu Bender, who said the experience of living through a pandemic is similar to what the Israelites experienced when they were in exile in Babylon. God’s message to them, through the prophet Jeremiah, is relevant to us today. God told them to continue living life to the fullest, and to seek the prosperity and wholeness of those around them.
“Don’t dwindle away,” said Bender, quoting Jeremiah 29:6
from the New Living Translation. “Promote the welfare” of those around you.
Bender offered suggestions for ways students can live well
in their current situation.
·
Look for God in the little things around you,
like sunshine or starlight.
·
Learn a new skill, like knitting, or playing the
guitar.
·
Be kind to people, bring joy to those around
you.
·
Send a letter or a card through the mail, the
old-fashioned way.
·
Do your best at your schoolwork – it’s your
current vocation.
· Rebel against your phone – put it out of sight so it is out of mind and you aren’t tempted to scroll endlessly. To live life to it's fullest, you need to be present and fully living in the world, rather than living behind a screen.
·
Be proud to wear a mask.
Bender said no one likes wearing a mask, but with the
current pandemic guidelines, wearing a mask is one of the best ways you can
live well and help others live well too.
“You are protecting people,” he said, “especially the most vulnerable in our communities. You are protecting the teacher who has health concerns, or you are protecting someone’s grandparent.”
Mr. Bender shared the worship song “This is Living” by
Hillsong Young and Free, and said the lyrics are worth keeping in mind as we
look for the good that is happening in our lives.
Waking up knowing there's
a reason
All my dreams come alive
Life is for living with You
I've made my decision
You lift me up, fill my eyes with wonder
Forever young in Your love
This freedom's untainted with You
No moment is wasted
See the sun now bursting through the clouds
Black and white turns to colour all around
All is new, in the Savior I am found
This is living now
This is living now
You lead the way, God You're right beside me
In Your love I'm complete
There's nothing like living with You
This life You created, I choose
See the sun now bursting through the clouds
Black and white turn to color all around
All is new, in the Savior I am found
This is living now
This is living now
You take me higher than I've been before
It's Your perfect love that sees me soar
God your freedom is an open door
You are everything I want and more
[LeCrae:]
Maybe I ain't really know what livin' is
Is it love, if it was, am I livin' it?
Do I live in it? (yeah) So astounding
Love is an ocean, you can drown me
The sweet embrace, the lovely taste, I taste and see I'm under grace, the place
to be
It means I'll never need an umbrella
I'm cool in the cold and the hot weather
Whether or never I ever, understand I'm a man in the hands of great plans
I stand with faith in a life I never known or touched, it's still outside my
clutch but
I'm like what's to dream of? What's to hope in? What's to die for? Live to no
end
This is living, the life I've been given's a gift
If I'mma live it, I'mma live it to death
So what's to dream of? What's to hope in? What's to die for? And live to no end
This is living, the life I've been given's a gift
If I'mma live it, I'mma live it to death
This is living now
This is living now
You take me higher than I've been before
It's Your perfect love that sees me soar
God your freedom is an open door
You are everything I want and more
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