Love Your Enemies

Next Friday 19^th March is the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, which coincides with Pacific as a Peace Place. This is an important day on our calendar, as it reinforces our stance that bullying and violence are not to be tolerated. Everything we do at Pacific should reflect our core principles of Care, Dignity and Respect:

• Care for ourselves and each other;
• Dignity in how we act and interact; and
• Respect for each other.

Even though these days are only on the calendar once a year, the principles of our Pacific community extend far beyond just one day. Around this time of year, I am often reminded of the words from the Gospel of Luke (chapter 6, verses 27-28), “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”.

To many, it would seem counter-cultural to align ourselves with this line of thinking. The world tells us that we should only love those who love us and hate those who hate us. It isn’t always in our nature to “pray for those who mistreat” us! However, Jesus has called us to a higher level of thinking when interacting with each other.

There are so many positive interactions and achievements each and every day throughout the College and it is important to celebrate these. It is also important to remember how Jesus calls us to act when relationships break down. So, as we approach this significant day on the calendar next Friday, my prayer is that we all remember how to treat each other with care, dignity and respect.

For more information about the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence, please visit https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/nationalday.

The journey through Senior College provides students with a range of leadership opportunities. I encourage all students to get involved in the many and varied aspects of service and leadership at the College. A great way of doing so is to join a Pacific Action Group. We have groups for Academic, Culture, Spirituality and Service, Sport, Pastoral Care and Environment. The groups are led by a student captain and are overseen by staff members. These groups meet every fortnight during lunchtime on Wednesdays. If you would like more information on these groups, please speak to me directly.

We are also privileged to have access to the Lutheran Youth of Queensland (LYQ) who run leadership days for our senior students. The Year 10 cohort will have their first LYQ Leadership Day in Term 2 and we look forward to hearing of their experiences. The Year 11 and 12 students have had sessions with LYQ previously and enjoyed the days immensely. I encourage all students to start to thinking about areas in the College where they can lead, regardless of whether they would like to pursue a formal leadership position.

God bless.

Mr Mark Hauser, Head of Senior College Students