Our service this morning was led by Chapel Team 3. After singing O Canada, saying the Lord’s Prayer and listening to the Land Acknowledgement, the chapel team led a time of musical worship with “Desert Song”.
This week, the Grade 8 students played a large role in the service. Representatives announced that their Care & Share will be to support Participation House. This is where more than 115 adults living with disabilities in York Region call home. Their mission is to “be leaders in improving the quality of life for people with disabilities” and to “offer a range of serviced focused on individual needs, community involvement, and respect for human dignity.” This charity has served those who need their services in our community for over 50 years. Participation House has three group homes and four assisted living locations in Markham. It also offers adult day service programs which gives both residents and those with the Markham community living with disabilities a chance to enhance their quality of life through diverse experiences. Care and Share will take place on Monday, December 15th. Donations will help our grade 8 students bless the residents of the Butternut Lane Residence, located near the Markham Stouffville Hospital.
They also conducted and explained a science experiment involving two cups of water – one with salt and another with green food colouring. They walked the audience through the different stages of the experiment. At each stage, the audience had a short period of time to discuss each step with their seat partners. Then, they finally watched the experiment play out and observed how the green water did not mix with the salted water, even after the paper barrier had been removed. Later, they explained that the density of the salted water prevented the green water from mixing.
Chapel Team 3 then led the audience in singing “Trading My Sorrows” with lots of actions!
After the singing, new groups of Grade 8 students led a discussion about how we can use this information to grow in our relationship with God. They explained that we are the plain water in the cup. God is like the salt in the experiment. With Him, he provides the peace and strength we need to withstand and keep the anxieties, problems and fears (green water) out of our lives. They emphasized that we can armour up with peace by fixing our eyes on Jesus – which is not a “one and done” task. It is a constant choice we must make in every situation we face – day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Jesus understands our need for peace in our lives and wants us to let Him help us.
After a short break with singing “Who You Say I Am”, a new group of Grade 8 students gave some practical ways to fix our eyes on Jesus such as:
- Prayer – Prayer isn’t just asking God for things. It is also acknowledging that He is sovereign – in complete control of things. Time needs to be set aside each day for prayer. It can also be a quick moment to reach out to Him in the midst of a busy day.
- Fellowship – Fellowship is surrounding yourself with people that help you get close to Jesus, not drag you further away. We should also strive to be encouraging for the people in our lives.
- Choose God Over Worry – We should make a deliberate choice to pray when we feel worry creeping into our hearts and minds. We should ask for God’s peace in the midst of whatever storm we are facing and ask Him to take over. Another thing we can do is choose to remember God’s promises for love, protection, wisdom, and guidance.
Chapel Team 3 then closed the service in prayer and led the recitation of the benediction before dismissal to start the academic day. What an excellent opportunity our Chapel Leaders and senior students had today to lead and share God’s message!
