Highlights from the Grade 12 Retreat

Grade 12 students led chapel at Smithville Christian High School, sharing stories and music from their three-day retreat to Silver Lake Camp last week.

Chapel began with Grade 12 student praise team leading in worship with “Multiplied,” “My Redeemer Lives” and “Hallelujah – Grace Like Rain.”

Spiritual life director Gord Park then took over, thanking the Grade 12 students for the privilege of playing, worshiping and growing with them.

“You are an awesome group of people,” Park told them, urging the students to allow the spirit of community and cooperation from the retreat to infuse the entire year.

Park described the great weather, team-building activities and healthy food they enjoyed at the camp, and shared a few photos from the trip. 

(See more photos in the Grade 12 Retreat album on Facebook).

As part of the worship time at the retreat, students had an opportunity to share what God is doing in their lives. Sabrina accepted the invitation to share her story again for the whole school, at chapel.

She spoke of a ministry trip she made this summer to Los Angeles, working as a volunteer at the Dream Centre, helping at a local food bank and praying with people who requested prayer.

Sabrina said she was profoundly affected by the experience, and knows that “God is calling me back. So that is what I am going to do, go back for nine months,” she said.

Sophie shared a devotion about relying on the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in good times and bad.

“On our grade 12 retreat, we talked about being in relationship with God and what that meant,” Sophie said. “The pivotal point of being in relationship with someone is communication. Good communication involves asking and answering questions, as well as listening to the other person speak. In your faith walk with Christ, it is so important to remain connected with Him. He speaks to us in personal ways, we only need to make ourselves aware of His voice and how He chooses to connect with us.”

Sophie urged students to dig into God’s word, to worship him and be used by him “in radical ways.”

“Awesome things can happen,” she said.

The Grade 12 student praise team led in two more songs, “Build Your Kingdom Here,” and “Thrive,” inviting their entire class forward to join in leading.

Mr. Robb presented Jay and Sam with their prizes for reading the New Testament this summer.

Oh, and Mr. Robb also shared two stories from his recent trip to Israel. He said while he was in the Holy Land he met a mathematician who hated negative numbers. He said the mathematician hated them so much, he would stop at nothing to avoid them.

Robb also said that in the airport he met a young boy who had a box of animal crackers. Instead of eating the crackers, the boy was lining all the animals up. When Mr. Robb asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied that he was looking for the seal. Why? Because a warning on the box said “do not eat if seal is broken.”

Chapel is (usually) held on Wednesday mornings at 9 a.m. All are welcome.

We were made to thrive

The spiritual life theme for the 2015/2016 school year at Smithville Christian High School is “THRIVE.”
Borrowing from the Casting Crowns song, “Thrive,” spiritual life director Gord Park told students that they were created for much more than mere survival.

“You were created and born to thrive,” Park said. Being a Christian is “not just a get-out-of-fire-free card that you put in your wallet and then wait and wait for years because you are going to go to heaven some day. You were created and born to know God and to make him known,” he said.

Just as a seedling can only thrive when it is positioned to have the right soil, sunlight and water, so we must position ourselves to ensure we have the right conditions to thrive, Park said. One of the ways in which we can do that is to follow the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus said whenever we care for the hungry, the poor or the imprisoned, we are caring for him. That means if we are caring for someone, we are in the presence of God, and when we are in the presence of God, we thrive.

Park said many of Jesus’ miracles occurred when Jesus had compassion on those who needed his help. Similarly, when we respond with compassion to those around us, “that’s when miracles happen.”

Park told a story about a group of teenagers who travelled this summer with a Serve team and who were assigned to help an elderly woman with painting and clean-up at her house. At the end of the week the woman testified to the teenagers’ compassion and caring, and she told the students how she had prayed in desperation for help. In their simple acts of painting some walls or trimming some weeds, they had been the answer to her prayers.

“If you are made to thrive, the opportunity is here at school every day,” Park said. “In the ordinary moments, when Christ allows you to feel his heart for that situation, you are thriving.”

We have daily opportunities to show compassion and understanding, to smile, to introduce ourselves to someone new or to pray with someone who is having a bad day.

When we do these things we help others to thrive. “And because you brought compassion, you are thriving too.”

Students are still auditioning for this year's praise teams, so we were led in worship by a staff praise team. We sang "10,000 Reasons" and "Blessed be the Name." 

What will they say about you at grad?

On the first day of school for the Classes of 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, students at Smithville Christian High School were asked to think about their legacy.

Principal Ted Harris said he has been recently pondering his own legacy, prompted partly by the death last week of school supporter and family patriarch Richard Hoekstra of Dunnville. Hoekstra’s funeral program included pages and pages of testimonies to his loving Christian character, posted by his grandchildren on Facebook. Many of those grandchildren are graduates of Smithville Christian High School.

Harris said June’s graduation ceremony of the Class of 2015 was similarly a chance to reflect on the characters of the students. As the graduates received their diplomas, the commentary which described them included words such as “called by God,” “love for the Lord,” or “spiritual leadership that enabled others to thrive.”

Thinking about what one’s legacy will be is part of what it means to live for Christ, Harris said, “thinking about what our impact will be.”

Quoting Psalm 78:4 Harris said our lives lived well can “tell the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,” and the way we do our schoolwork, or use our gifts or interact with others becomes part of our legacy.

“You need to understand that every single one of you can be a blessing to others here,” he told students. He urged Grade 12s to use their personalities and gifts to shape the culture of our school, the Grade 11s to dig in to their studies and their gifts during this year of academic rigour, and the Grade 10s to be as welcoming and hospitable as they can to the Grade 9s.

To the Grade 9s Harris said they are in a powerful position.

“Today you start forming your learning community, which becomes your legacy,” he said. “Form a strong bond. Be inclusive.”

The opening chapel also included prayers of thanks and blessing from representatives of the various people who make up the community of Smithville Christian High School. Spiritual life director Gord Park prayed for teachers, student council member Brandon Masselink prayed for students, teacher and parent Robert Gerryts prayed for parents and board member and parent Lorraine Vermeer prayed for the board and community of support that surrounds the school.

We also introduced new students and welcomed the new art teacher, Amanda LeBlanc.

Students were also invited to get involved in things like homework club, computer gaming and robotics, yearbook, praise team, boys volleyball, girls basketball, athletics council, cross country, yoga or art club.

Student Tamara Ng'ambi thanked students for praying for her as she obtained her visa to travel from Zambia last year and for making her feel so welcome.

Student Harrison Exelby thanked students for praying for him last year as he battled cancer. Harrison and his family showed their gratitude for the way the school was part of the praying community that supported them by sharing donuts with everyone after chapel.

We were also pleased to welcome so many parents to the opening chapel. Everyone is always welcome at chapel, held Wednesday mornings at 9.

We’re off to a great start!

How do teachers get ready for school?

In addition to making lesson plans, stockpiling supplies and organizing their classrooms, how do Christian school teachers get ready for back to school?

They hold meetings in beautiful locations.

They worship together.

And they learn together.

At the Niagara Christian schoolteachers’ back-to-school breakfast, held the first week of September at Smithville Christian High School, elementary and secondary teachers heard an inspiring and challenging message about power and perfection, from educator and mother-of-four, Sara Pot.

Pot, who has two daughters who have complex special needs, urged teachers to consider how God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9) and how true power seeks the flourishing of all because all people are worthy of love and belonging.

“We are all disabled,” Pot reminded her listeners. “Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.”

Pot said she and her husband did not choose to be “forever parents” of children whose every aspect of life is affected by their abnormalities, and life for them can be like “living grief, although no one has died.”

There are many unique struggles in life that can be compared to the idea of "living grief," she said. How we deal with our own shortcomings and our own struggles will also affect how we help our students.  When we assure our students that though they will struggle, they are all worthy of love and belonging, we allow for God's power to move - and the students will flourish in their own way.  Just as Jesus, in dealing with Blind Bartimaus (Mark 10: 46-52) or another blind man (John 9) did not care why the men were blind, so we are called to compassion and acceptance.  That compassion and acceptance, in the form of God's Grace, reminds us all to forgive and to persevere, knowing His power will ultimately prevail.

“When that co-worker hurts your feelings, when your students don’t listen, when your lesson fails miserably, when that parent phone call goes south instead of smoothly, lift your head,” said Pot, citing the lyrics of “Keep Walkin’” by hip-hop singer/songwriter TobyMac.

I know your heart been broke again
I know your prayers aint been answered yet
I know you're feeling like you got nothing left
Well lift your head
It ain't over yet

“Seek comfort in God's grace," Pot said. "Life won't be pretty, it will be messy, but we are all worthy of love and belonging. Each day brings a choice: you can choose joy or you can choose the alternative.”

Oh, and one more thing. At Smithville Christian High School, where progress on renovations has been hampered by a delay in shipment of structural steel, back-to-school also means tiptoeing on slippered feet to avoid tracking dirt and dust, cheerfully accepting disruption and temporary classroom locations and joyfully acknowledging that the most important things about school are the relationships between teachers and students and students and students.

Our building may not be finished yet but we are excited for the students to arrive. We’re ready, whether the walls and windows are or not! See you Wednesday morning!

Read more from Sara Pot at her blog thepotfamily.blogspot

All of life is worship

All of life is worship, students at Smithville Christian High School were told at this week's chapel.

As an example, spiritual life director Gord Park used the story of the Israelites who were facing an attack from their fierce opponents, the Moabites and Ammonites, as told in 2 Chronicles 20.

In response to the threat, the people sought help from God, and were told: "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's."

God still asked his people to meet their enemies on the battlefield, Park said, which they obeyed -- "but they put the worshippers out in front" leading the way.

"That's faith," Park said. "They go out thanking God for what he promised them he is going to do.

"We read these stories knowing how it's going to end, but they didn't. Of course they were afraid! They were normal human beings."

Park said our lives are often like that. We can face difficulties, despair, evil, or other troubles, but the promise spoken by the messenger Jahaziel "belongs to you too."

The battle is not yours, but God's," Park said. "We are more than conquerors," (Romans 8:37), and nothing "will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39).

God invites us into intimacy with him, into a relationship, Park said. When we encounter God, his omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience are revealed and we become aware of his greatness. He becomes present in our lives and offers us healing and hope. But doing this is an act of will. God does not force us to worship him — it's a decision we make.

"When you are having a bad day and it's hard to worship, you just don't feel like it, that's the best time to worship," Park said.

How you write a test, how you are with your friends, all of life is worship, Park said. We are to be living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1).  

He then issued a challenge to students to consider ways in which they are gifted, whether it's in art, music, drama, dance or any other way in which they can lead others into worship.

He said the March 11 chapel will be a worship chapel, led by students who are feeling nudged to write a song, paint a picture or to share in any other way they can.

"Do you feel a nudge?" Park asked. "Allow the Spirit of God to lead you in presenting something."

Park said he is "amazed" by the talent and gifts of the students at Smithville Christian High School, and by the atmosphere that lives at school.

"You guys are awesome and the Spirit is alive here," he said. "There are gifts, creativity and boldness that I have not seen for a long time. I urge you to let God be God. This is a safe and loving place and this chapel will be a day in which we all declare together: How great is our God!"

Members of a student praise team also led in worship with "One Thing Remains," "The Stand" and "Grace Like Rain."

Chapel is held every Wednesday at 9 a.m. and everyone is welcome.

No one wants to grow up to be an addict

Addiction does not discriminate against Christians, students at Smithville Christian High School were told at this week's chapel.

John Kowtecky, a chemical engineer and a manufacturing management consultant, told students his impressive credentials aren't the reason he was qualified to speak to them. Rather, he was at school, he told them, because he is an alcoholic "with a story to tell."

Kowtecky, who, in addition to running a successful company, also works with support agency Family Outreach Ontario, said alcohol addiction is "a terrible horrendous experience to live through" and even if we aren't alcoholics ourselves, most of us have or will have a family member or friend who is.

Kowtecky said he wants to prepare students to be able to talk about addiction with their family members, friends, "or people God has placed in your life."

He described his childhood, growing up in a Bible-believing, church-attending family, his leadership in his church and his success as a student — both in high school and at the University of Waterloo.

"From the outside looking in, you would say I had my act together," he said. "But inside, I was very much a scared and insecure person, and my pride would not let me expose those doubts to anyone."

He experimented with alcohol as a high school student, but didn't drink much. As a university student, he began drinking more because he "liked the escape it gave me from the pressures of performance. It allowed me to relax and forget about the pressure."

Looking back, Kowtecky now knows that's when the desire for alcohol became embedded in his soul.

He got married to the sweetheart he had met in Sunday school, graduated from university, got a good job and embarked on a career that saw promotions and advancement. His children were born, his family was churchgoing and everything seemed to be going well.

But Kowtecky was drinking more and more, consuming hard liquor from a mickey in big gulps to get through the day. He denied that he was doing it, telling "creative stories to hide the truth,"  reassuring himself he could quit at any time. But actually he was caught in a downward spiral of hypocrisy and denial.

"I fooled everyone, and myself," he said. "But I had crossed the invisible line — I was totally dependent on alcohol."

By 2000, when he was 45 years old, he had "hit bottom." He was drinking 26 ounces of hard liquor a day, 40 ounces on the weekend. His marriage was "all but over" and his children despised him.

"I couldn't get drunk and I couldn't get sober."

He had prayed for willpower many times in the past, but this time, his prayer was different.

"I totally surrendered," he said. " I admitted I couldn't manage my life anymore. And with that prayer of submission my journey of recovery began."

The next day, his boss confronted him and told him that if he didn't stop drinking, one of three things was going to happen. He was either going to die young, or worse, he would die old, but be alone and estranged. Or he could choose to join Alcoholics Anonymous and live a normal life.

Kowtecky joined AA and spent three months dealing with the tremors and pain of withdrawal. His family was loving and supportive and "by God's grace I was given another chance."

Then, at Christmas, he thought it would be fine to have another drink, "and within three months I was drinking as much as before."

That spring, his wife and boss confronted him again. His boss said he was going to lose his job and "this time my wife really was going to leave. My kids were disgusted with me and never wanted to see me again."

He entered rehab again and this time, through counselling, he learned that his mistake had been relying on his own strength. If he was going to make it, he had to "give control back to God."

He has been sober since May 27, 2001. "Jesus Christ was my higher power and did something I could never do for myself," he said. "He replaced the desire for alcohol with the desire to know him better." Through Bible study and prayer, Kowtecky says he has been healed.

"Jesus healed my marriage, my wife is now my dearest friend," Kowtecky said."He restored my relationship with my children. I had to accept the fact that I am an alcoholic in nature but not in identity. Today my identity is in Jesus Christ and I thank God every day."

Kowtecky said he doesn't like telling his story, "because it exposes more of myself than I prefer. But I am doing it to give you permission to talk about it," he told students. He said they are almost certainly going to have to make decisions about alcohol use, if they haven't already.

Kowtecky said 83% of Grade 12 students in Ontario admit to drinking, with 49% admitting to binge drinking.

43% of college and university students are binge drinkers, while 81%  of students living in college or university residence are binge drinkers.

Heavy drinkers are two times more likely to die of heart disease, two times more likely to die of cancer, 12 times more likely to die of cirrhosis of the liver, three times more likely to die in a traffic accident and six times more likely to commit suicide, he said.  "A lot of people are affected by alcohol," and the Christian community is no different, he said.

"If something you are doing hurts you or hurts someone you love, there is a good chance you are addicted to it," Kowtecky said. "No one desires to grow up and become an alcoholic. It happens slowly and it happens without you knowing it."

Principal Ted Harris said he hoped students would talk about this topic among themselves.

"Many of you are already confronted with questions about alcohol and drugs," Harris said, urging students to make good decisions and to support each other in making good decisions. He encouraged them to "shine the light of Christ."

Kowtecky said Family Outreach Ontario's website has information about alcohol and drug addiction and a toll-free number to reach out for help or more information for yourself, a family member or friend.  Visit familyoutreachontario.com,  call 1-888-809-0464 or email info@familyoutreachontario.com.

Career Day Advice: take risks, expect the unexpected

There's a good chance the career path you choose or the field of study you pursue won't be where you end up, students at Smithville Christian High School were told at the Career Day Chapel.

"Over 70% of college and university students change their major within the first two years," said Heidi Kooiman Vanderkwaak (Class of 1998), who described how "torn" she felt about abandoning her long-held plan to be a teacher. "I felt that switching my major meant failure. Had I known that at the time, I would have been comforted knowing that I was far from the only one who made discoveries about my future" along the way.

Kooiman Vanderkwaak, who now works for the City of Hamilton as a Program Review Officer in the Ontario Works department, told students there is no clear vantage point from which they can see the road ahead. But she shared seven "Ah-Ha!" moments she had in the 17 years since she graduated from Smithville Christian High School.

#1 Do your research. If you have a career path in mind, investigate it, practice it, shadow someone who has been working in the field, interview people practicing in that profession. If you don't have a particular career in mind, find out about more jobs that you are interested in by reading, shadowing a professional, interviewing your parents' friends. Get a real idea of what each job is like on a day-to-day basis.

#2 Listen to others. There are people in your life who know you very well: they have seen you grow up, they know your strengths and weaknesses. Ask for their opinion and advice about your career path. Listen to a variety of opinions.

#3 Expect change. God will take you in directions that you can't see at the time. He'll  use decisions and sidetracks that you take to your advantage. You may graduate with one degree or as an apprentice in a trade and five years later be doing something completely out of your field. Your degree, your apprenticeship, your experience is not wasted. Almost everything you learned in life will come in handy at one point or another.

#4 Travel. It doesn't matter where you go — spending three or more months in another part of the world learning alongside your peers will change your life immeasurably for the better, even though it could be really difficult at the time. It will open up desires and passions you didn't know you had, and it will open a world of possibility and understanding that will serve you well wherever you go.

#5 Take risks. Try things you've never tried before. Step out of your comfort zone. God will speak to you as you learn what you love and have gifts at. If you don't try something, you may not discover a hidden talent or gift or passion you have. This means you have to try something that you are not normally drawn to, but it will stretch and challenge you.

#6 Rely on your values. Ensure your career or job complements your values -- which are shaped by your faith. For Kooiman Vanderkwaak and her husband, that meant taking an unpaid leave of absence from their jobs and travelling with their two children on a year-long bicycle tour of North America, cycling from Hamilton to Vancouver, to Panama and then back up the eastern seaboard through Washington, D.C. and New York City to home. "Throughout our year off employment, we deepened our relationships with each other and learned so much about God and his calling for how to serve him in our community in Hamilton."

#7 Be still and listen to God. God doesn't usually directly tell you what to do. It is not very likely that the heavens will open up and you will hear a loud voice commanding you to choose a specific career path. A relationship with Him means you are asking through prayer and questioning and listening through His word and his direction through other people in your life, and through the passions and gifts he has given you. Kooiman Vanderkwaak said God has often spoken to her through people in circumstances that at first appeared to be mere coincidences. "He spoke in my discovery of things that I am good at, and the gifts that developed as a result of practice and use. You often don't realize the 'God-is-speaking-to-me' moments until after they've happened, but if you tune in to Him, you'll start to hear it while it's happening and it's one of the most amazing and wonderful experiences."

Kooiman Vanderkwaak said she loves her job, "one I didn't even know existed when I was sitting where you are." She told the students she hopes the same for them.

"I want to wish each of you God's richest blessing as you make discoveries and enrich your understanding of who you are, who the Creator is, and how you are called to serve in this world."

A student praise team led in worship with "Oceans," "I Lift My Hands," and "Not Ashamed."

Career Day continued with workshops on topics such as:

• Rights in the Workforce
• Apprenticeships
• Transition to Life After High School
• English as a Second Language at the Post-Secondary Level
• Vocational Inventories
• Selling Yourself
• Finding A Job
• Interview Skills
• Applying for OSAP and 
• Discerning God's Will for Your Life.

After lunch, students each attended three different sessions with presenters from 35 different jobs or careers.