EarthSong: Chapel Theme 2019
Rockway students, faculty and staff gather twice weekly for chapels. These community gatherings give shape to the core of our school’s identity and mission to “form faith and build character.” Chapels create the opportunity for faculty, staff, students, Alumni and guests to reflect on their faith journeys, how they see the world, and their place within it.
This year, the Faith and Worship team wanted to incorporate the celebration of Rockway’s founding with our mission of building community, and our global focus. Our team read the Colossians verse “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds all things together in perfect harmony” and discussed what the idea of perfect harmony meant to each of us. We began with the idea of music as a metaphor for community, but were unsure of how the intimidating idea of singing in “perfect harmony” fit with those who might struggle to find their voice, or feel unsure of their place in the community.
This brought us to the image of harmony in nature, and how seamlessly perfect this form of harmony can be. The way ecosystems have grown in balance, each element keeping the whole working in what can seem like an effortless manner. And yet, as we have come to realize with humanity’s impact on our world, these finely balanced ecosystems can be destroyed by the loss of any one piece, and the health of the whole relies on the health of each species of plant and animal. Out of this discussion, we settled on the Chapel theme : Seeking the Harmony of God’s Creation.
As we look towards celebrating Rockway’s 75 years of Christian Education, chapel will be a place to celebrate the idea of creation, our world and our community, as well as a place to reflect on how this process of creation is ongoing; an unfinished work in need of our dedication, attention, and love.
