Justice Seeking

God of Justice, Saviour to all

Came to rescue the weak and the poor

Chose to serve and not be served

Jesus, You have called us

Freely we've received

Now freely we will give

This is one of the songs we have sung at our chapels during this past month. We are reflecting on Justice Seeking and discovering what the Lord requires of us. 

(Our Grade Two class led our worship with song)

We must go live to feed the hungry
stand beside the broken

We must go

Stepping forward keep us from just singing

Move us into action

We must go

This week we are moving into action. In light of the great devastation in the Philippines, our students are gathering donations though a hot dog sale and through cash donations in order to send those who can help into action. They have been encourage to act by earning or giving their own money to send others. 

Our school nurse will be receiving these funds and sharing more with us on Friday. You can see her story in the Standard

We pray for those in the Philippines. 

Daniel is a man who risked his very life to seek justice, moving into action.
Today, all of our students participated in the monthly drama.

To act justly everyday

Loving mercy in everyway

Walking humbly before You God

Our students were also shown this brief clip about the Philippines.
We will be collecting donations until the end of the week.  

You have shown us, what You require

Freely we've received

Now freely we will give

Fill us up and send us out

Fill us up and send us out

Fill us up and send us out Lord

(Here is a link to this moving song if you aren't familiar with it)

Justice Seeking - Queen Esther

Today we had our weekly chapel. Our throughline this month is Justice Seeking. "God has decided to use us, His people, to do His work in this world. What a responsibility and privilege!

"We  lead our students to see the injustices in this world—the injustices of poverty, racism, war, exploitation in work places, abuse in relationships, poor governance etc.

"But seeing injustice can't be where we stop. That would leave us discouraged and hopeless." (Doug Monsma, Teaching for Transformation)

Today we looked at Esther as someone who put her life at risk to seek justice.

Using a reader's theatre based on what you see here, our students, in their cross graded GIFT groups, saw how the Bible leaves no doubt that Christian lives must be lives of justice. 

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We also enjoyed some praise songs led by our Grade 5 students. 

A Trip to City Hall

 Today our Grade Two students went on a trip to city hall to meet the mayor. 

This was in connection with their Creation Studies unit: 

One Body, Many Parts: Our Local Community.

Our students were able to sit in the councillors' chairs.

Our students have focused on the words from 1 Corinthians 12:The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 

 The mayor is the head of our body of St. Catharines, our councillors are important parts, but so also is each citizen of this city. And there is much our 7 year old citizens can do!

 They had many questions for Mayor McMullan, such as "What do you like about your job? What kind of education do you need to be the mayor? What are the biggest complaints that citizens have? 

What is your favourite colour? 

Where do you live? How many hours do you work a day? What is the biggest part of our taxes for? What can we do to be good citizens?

What can we pray for for you as mayor and for all of city council?

The students researched  what riding they lived in and who their councillors were. They then prepared a card for one of them and we presented them to the mayor to pass out to all the councillors at the next meeting. 

Being a good citizen means praying for our leaders as "No one rules unless God Has given him the power to rule". Romans 13:1 

We will continue to support them with our prayers and continuing to discover ways to be good citizens.

We Remember

Yesterday, we took time to reflect and be thankful for a peaceful country to live in and remember and be thankful for those who work to protect the peace in our country and in our world. 

We also remembered the many who gave their lives for this goal.

Our Grade 5 students shared Flanders Field at our Remembrance Day ceremony at school.

Our Grade 7 and 8 students went to the cenotaph for the

Remembrance Day ceremony and laid a wreath.

Our students observed a moment of silence.

Students also reflected through visual arts.

We also watched this powerful video created by a local woman.

We remember. 

Justice Seeking

This month, our throughline is Justice Seeking. 

The Bible is clear that justice is a central part of the shalom of God’s kingdom.  

The Bible leaves no doubt that Christian lives must be lives of justice.  

It is the first requirement listed in answer to Micah’s question, “What does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Today, we put a face on what justice seeking looks like in our local community. We were happy to welcome 3 guest speakers to share how they are actively pursuing justice in our community. It was great to hear from a lawyer, a police officer and a refugee settlement worker.

(And, we are proud to say they are all Beacon graduates!)

Fabulous Friday!

Today was a fabulous Friday in Grade Two.

Here's a snapshot of a few moments in the day:

We played some vowel bingo... long or short, which is it?

...posed for a picture with  friends...

Then, in connection with our Healthy Eating health unit, we took a walk to Zehrs grocery store...

...and met with a registered dietitian. 

She led us around the store, showing us all the foods from the Canada Food Guide. 

We got to see a lobster up close and personal. Some of us even gave him a touch.

Then we enjoyed a healthy snack of yogurt, granola and fruit!

..and finished the day with a little art. What a fun Friday!