As today is the day before our March Break, students were given the opportunity to wear casual clothes as an early bonus.
Our Chapel Team opened this morning’s elementary service with the pledges, Lord’s Prayer, O Canada and the Land Acknowledgement. This was followed by the singing of “This is My Commandment”.
The two Grade 1 classes then went up on the stage to recite their memory verse. After two students introduced their chosen verse, both classes recited Ephesians 4:32 with actions. They did it a second time, inviting the audience to join in with them!
This morning’s topic was about respect. The Chapel Team reviewed the expected behaviours of a leader that shows respect. This was followed with a video to highlight the life of a respectful Christian leader, Dr. Martin Luther King. After the showing, students were encouraged to have two short discussions about what Dr. King did to inspire others to work together to ensure respect and fairness for all, and how we can encourage everyone to respect each other.
The Chapel Team then read 1 Peter 2:17 and led the singing of “Mighty to Save”, before welcoming our guest speaker, Pastor Griffith. Pastor Griffith started by asking students about their favourite sports and sports celebrities. Various star players were named and some shared why they liked the particular player. Pastor Griffith divulged that his favourite sport is English football and his favourite player is Ollie Watkins from the Aston Villa FC. He then commented that it is very easy to respect someone that can do amazing things like dunk a basket or score a goal from a very difficult angle. However, the Bible states that we need to respect everyone and treat all with dignity, whether they can do “amazing” things or not. Pastor Griffith shared that we have the power to change someone’s life just by showing them love and respect. He used the example of how Jesus showed a man named Zacchaeus (who was shunned by his community for being a corrupt tax collector) love and respect by going to his house and dining with him. During that evening meal, through Jesus’s conversation and kindness, Zacchaeus decided to change his life completely by returning money he had stolen and giving to the poor. Pastor Griffith also tied his message back to the video about Dr. Martin Luther King and reminded the students that everyone deserves love and respect, irrespective of the colour of their skin. He concluded in prayer, asking God to help each of us show love and respect to one another, in hopes that positive change can result.
After the message, Miss Bartz went on stage and shared some amazing Wesley family news by announcing that Ms. Salazar will be getting married over the March Break! She prayed for Ms. Salazar and two students presented her with a small gift.
Mr. Bailey then followed on stage, expressing a special message on behalf of the students and staff to show our appreciation to Mme. Tsang, who will be leaving the Wesley family today. Mme. Tsang was presented with a gift and card from two students in Grade 7 and shared a few touching words of gratitude including “merci du fond du coeur” (thank you from the bottom of my heart).
Our Chapel Team ended the service by leading the recitation of our aspirational passage.
