THE COURIERTHE COURIERTHE GENEVA THE GENEVA

SCHOOLSCHOOLNEWSLETTERNEWSLETTERDECEMBER 16, 2011DECEMBER 16, 2011

A Festival of Nine Lessons and CarolsA Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols has its roots in ancient Christian vigils. However, the service in its current format was fi rst held in 1918 at King’s College in Cambridge, England. It was adapted by Reverend Eric Milner-White, dean of King’s College and a former army chaplain. Milner-White was preparing a Christmas Eve service just after the end of World War I. Th e war had taken a heavy toll on his fl ock. About half of King’s undergraduates had gone off to war, and a third of them never came back. Milner-White wanted to do something special.

Th is beautiful service of word and song intersperses prayers and Bible readings amidst choral singing and congregational hymns. It is a musical drama telling the story of man’s relationship with God from the Fall to redemption. Beginning in Genesis with the story of Adam and Eve sinning in the Garden of Eden and tearing apart man’s relationship with God, the lessons move on through the Old Testament prophets, who foretell the coming of a Savior who will restore that relationship. Th e fi nal reading, from Th e Gospel of John, describes the coming of Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Th e light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.... And the Word became fl esh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

December 9, 2011, at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke4th–6th grade choirs, select 7th & 8th graders, Rhetoric Chamber Choir, and Faculty Choir

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Recently the Chandler family were watching the old Cary Grant movie Th e Bishop’s Wife, which was made in the mid-1940s and, though lesser known than fi lms such as It’s a Won-derful Life and White Christmas, be-longs to the “canon” of Christmas movies. If you are familiar with this “canon,” you may have noticed a cus-tom common to many, if not most of the movies made during the ’40s and ’50s: their characters often deco-rate their Christmas trees on Christ-mas Eve. It is true of the Th e Bishop’s Wife, in which Cary Grant’s character, in a hurry, uses his angelic power to decorate the bish-op’s tree in mere seconds. Th e same holds true for George and Mary Bailey in It’s a Won-derful Life: when George has his breakdown, it’s on Christmas Eve as his daughter prac-tices the piano and Mary decorates the tree. Ditto Bar-bara Stanwyck’s Elizabeth Lane in Christmas in Con-necticut, who deco-rates the tree on Christmas Eve as the man she secretly loves plays “Oh Little Town of Bethle-hem” on the piano. A number of peo-ple I have known in the generations previous to mine have confi rmed what these movies hint at: that even very recently it was still common for households to postpone observance of Christmas until, well, Christmas. Th is is in stark contrast to our own time, where private observance—to

say nothing of church observance—of Christmas has pretty much swal-lowed up the Advent season that pre-cedes it, now unoffi cially lasting from Black Friday until the dry, dead tree is thrown out on December 26 or 27.

Th e marking of time—and therefore the reckoning of when the year begins and what constitutes its seasons—is largely a matter of convention. In the present day there are a number of calendars in use. We follow the Gre-gorian calendar, by which today is Friday, 16 December, 2011. Accord-ing to the Jewish calendar today is 20

Kislev 5772; to the Islamic calendar, 20 Muharram 1433. By convention calendaring pegs a frame of reference for measuring time. For those follow-ing the Gregorian calendar, it is more or less Christ’s birth. Muslims mark time from the year of the Hijra, Mu-hammad’s emigration from Mecca to Medina. For the Jews it is “creation,” calculated by adding up the lives of

those mentioned in the Hebrew Bi-ble. But even here there is disagree-ment: Bishop Ussher followed the same method and pegged creation at 6017 years ago. In a world where or-bits are elliptical and where the time of creation cannot be known with certainty, one must simply stipulate a date of reference and then, as best one can, measure from there.

I have alluded to a fourth calendar, one that we follow at Th e Geneva School: the Liturgical Year, or the church cal-endar. Since at least the sixth cen-tury, the liturgical year has begun on

the fi rst day of Advent, a sea-son of the year that begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christ-mas Eve. So, contrary to the retail calendar, it is not Christ-mas right now; it is Advent. We have to wait an-other eight days for the Christ-mas season to begin. Yes, I did write “Christ-mas season,” for

traditionally Christmas is not merely a day on the calendar, but rather a twelve-day season that follows Ad-vent and ends on January 5, the eve of Epiphany. It is this season of the liturgical year that is the basis for the well-known carol “Th e Twelve Days of Christmas.” Sadly, “Christmastide” (as it was known) has almost com-pletely given way to New Year’s Day,

Sanctifying TimeBy Dr. Edward Chandler

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college bowl games, the re-convening of schools, and the various retail sales events. How poorly understood the Christmas season is was revealed to me in bold relief in a conversation I once had with a woman who insisted that the twelve days of Christmas end on Christmas day. She was thorough-ly instructed by retail liturgy, and no amount of appeal to authority would convince her oth-erwise. It is good, I suppose, that she was actually aware of such a season in the fi rst place, an aware-ness that is sadly lacking in much of contemporary Christianity.

Advent; Christ-mas; Epiphany; Lent: why should we observe them? I can think of at least three rea-sons. First, and perhaps least per-suasive in our postmodern world, but perhaps most weighty from a biblical perspective, is the fact that our forefa-thers considered it important enough to institute and carry on these tradi-tions for well over 1,500 years. If we have any regard for the “cloud of wit-nesses” that has gone on before us, this fact alone should give us pause. Second, the seasons of the church year are intended to recapitulate the life of Christ (Christmas-Epiphany-Easter-Ascension), the gift of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost), and the Trinitarian life of the people of God (Trinity Sunday and following). So, properly observed, they instruct us in the fundamentals of our faith. Th ird, in so doing, the church demonstrates that it lays claim to ev-erything, because everything belongs to God and is worthy of being sancti-

fi ed, not only our hearts and minds, as is commonly—and rightly—asked of God, but also our bodies, our spaces, and our time. By marking off the cal-endar in such a way, the church lays claim to time itself.

So, for now, it is still Advent, a time of anticipation and preparation for Christmas, the Feast of the Incarna-tion, God’s coming (adventus) in the

fl esh in the person of Jesus. When we “look” to the arrival of Christ on Christmas Day, we look to the past, and so associ-ate ourselves with those Hebrew saints who were anticipating the coming of the Messiah: Simeon, “who was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel”; Anna the prophetess who, when she saw the infant Jesus, reported the news of the Messiah “to all who were wait-ing for the redemption of Jeru-salem.” Advent is signifi cant because by it Christians may participate with the Hebrew saints in awaiting the arrival of the Savior. Th ink of how commonly-sung Advent hymns such as “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” and “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

speak poignantly of the anticipation that Simeon and Anna experienced. Compare that to the joyous fulfi ll-ment they found on that day in the Temple, and how beautifully it is ex-pressed in Christmas hymns such as “Joy to the World” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

Simeon, Anna, and those unnamed others were waiting for what Th e

Gospel of Luke calls “consola-tion” and “re-demption.” Th ey got what they were looking for in Jesus at his fi rst Advent, but that consolation is as yet incomplete. We really are still waiting for Jesus’ second Advent, when all will be fully and fi nally consoled and re-deemed. So my encouragement to you during the remainder of this Advent season is to spend as much time as possible with your chil-dren (or with your parents) talking about—and praying that God would has-ten—his second Advent, when sin and evil will be dealt with once

and for all, and when the children of God will fi nally experience the full redemption of their whole persons, body and soul, and of all creation, both space and time.

Th at is worth anticipating!

Pictures from Lessons and Carols on December 9.

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Although it may sound like an unqualifi ed accommo-dation to modernity and the preeminence of scientism (data, data, data), the title of this article, “Th e Plural of Anecdote is Data,” is actually a helpful truth. How often has a church, school, organization, or individual told and retold the same anecdote about a (not so recent) success? Over time the anecdote grows, becomes timeless, and magically transforms itself from a particular incident into a universal norm. Based on the single anecdotal story, one almost gets the impression that such results are daily oc-currences. A discerning listener should inquire whether this is “data” (that is, plural of many such incidences) or merely an anecdote.Good news. For those of us who earnestly believe that private Christian education makes a profound impact upon its graduates, there is now data confi rming our anecdotal evidence. Th is fall, the results of the Car-dus Education Survey were released to the public, and, while the results are too extensive to report in detail, I am pleased to provide excerpts from the executive sum-mary. Th e research proposal and survey were executed by Cardus, a “think tank dedicated to the renewal of North American social architecture,” in partnership with the University of Notre Dame, and funded in part by the DeVoss Foundation. Over a two-year period, fi ve research teams concurrently carried out research projects to determine the alignment in academic, spiri-tual, and cultural domains of Protestant schools in North America and Canada. Th ese results were then compared to the same academic, spiritual, and cul-tural domains of students in public schools, Catholic schools, non-religious private schools, and religious home schools.Findings and Preliminary AnalysisTh e Cardus Survey included 43 diff erent topics compar-ing each of the above named groupings with one another. Th e major categories encompassing the 43 topics includ-ed the following:

Spiritual FormationReligious BeliefsCharityCommitment to ChurchReligious PracticesReported Emphasis on Faith in Schools

Cultural and Community EngagementPublic GoodServiceAuthorityPolitical EngagementRaceCommunity InvolvementExperience in Christian Schools

Academic DevelopmentChristian School Administrators’ ValuesAcademic ProgramUniversityEducational Attainment

Th e fi ndings leave little doubt as to the impact of private, Protestant education in North America. It is profound-ly formative, lasting (the survey included a longitudinal study of students 20 years after graduation), character based, faith forming, and culturally relevant. Th e execu-tive summary includes the following comments:“Compared to their public school, Catholic, and non-religious private school peers, Protestant Christian school graduates are uniquely compliant, generous, outwardly-focused individuals who stabilize their communities by their uncommon commitment to their families, their churches, and the larger society. Graduates of Christian schools donate money signifi cantly more than graduates of other schools. Similarly, graduates of Protestant Chris-tian schools are more generous with their time, participat-ing far more than their peers both in service trips for relief and development and in mission trips for evangelization.”“Administrators of Christian schools report emphasiz-ing family as one of the most important values in their school. Th is emphasis seems to be taking hold in Protes-tant school graduates, who are having more children and divorcing less frequently than their peers from public and Catholic schools.”With respect to the political environment and cultural engagement, “these (Christian school) graduates harbor distinctive hope and optimism about their lives and their futures, and have the tools to engage in healthy relation-ships and address problems in their lives. In addition, Protestant Christian school graduates are the only pri-vate school graduates to report greater direction in life….Unlike their peers in other schools, Protestant Christian

The Plural of Anecdote is DataBy Headmaster Robert Ingram

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school graduates do not report feeling helpless when deal-ing with problems in life. In many ways, the average Prot-estant Christian school graduate is a foundational, reli-able, and indispensable member of society.”Th e emerging portrait of the average graduate of a Chris-tian school is very heartening, even when compared to other faith-based alternatives such as Catholic schools and religious home schools. Despite these overwhelmingly positive comparisons and fi ndings, the survey revealed that students from Christian schools are not always af-forded the highest quality of intellectual challenge, nor do they outpace their peers in advancing to the most com-petitive of colleges and universities. Graduates of Catho-lic and non-religious private schools tend to have a more rigorous academic training and favor more graduate levels of education. Mark Noll and other noted church histori-ans have commented on this trend within the evangeli-cal church. Separating the life of the mind from the life of faith is neither necessary nor wise. Within evangelical Protestantism an ongoing struggle continues between those whose heritage is in the academy and those suspi-cious of graduate education and academic rigor. Begin-ning with our name, Th e Geneva (Switzerland) School stands fi rmly in the reformational history of Europe that sought always to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.What do these survey results mean for Geneva families and alumni? On average—and surveys compile data into averages—the whole report is extremely encouraging. Christian private schools seem to be producing graduates whose outcomes are in alignment with the faith and values of their parents. At times, the survey results are positively surprising. Th e results are especially gratifying in that the survey covered such an expansive front of faith, charac-ter, academics, family, stewardship, culture, service, and political involvement. Academic rigor and competitive college acceptances are the sole areas that the survey high-lights as an inadequacy in the average Christian school. Th is fi nding is not newsworthy, however, as the result is predictable with many Christian schools. Even at our founding 19 years ago, Dr. R.C. Sproul made the com-ment, “Some people contend you can either have a good Christian school full of faith and character, or you can have a rigorous education. Let’s make certain that Geneva is one school where both faith and academics fl ourish.” At Geneva, we strive to provide appropriate academic rigor. We do not believe that our academic profi le is typi-cal of those schools surveyed. Our faculty is exceptional. Th ey are highly degreed, passionate about teaching their

subjects, and capable of relating to their students. Th e Florida Council of Independent Schools (FCIS), our accrediting agency, singles out the competency of our faculty as a signature strength. Following our successful re-accreditation process last year, FCIS wrote, “We off er special commendation to Th e Geneva School faculty and staff for its dedication, their enthusiasm for collegial col-laboration, and for their commitment to cross-curricular teaching. Th ey live and breathe the mission of the school. We also commend Geneva for its commitment to seek and retain a highly and broadly educated faculty commit-ted to modeling life-long learning and intellectual curios-ity.” Our graduates score well, aspire and matriculate at competitive colleges, and retain a sense of wonderment through to their graduation. How gratifying it is to see faith and academics brought together in the pursuit of excellence. At a time when the relative value of an educa-tion is under constant review, it is reassuring to know that the plural of anecdote is data. Th e Geneva School appears to be fi rmly entrenched in an educational tradition that is worthy of our best and continuing support. If you would like to read the entire 35 page survey result it is freely available at www.carduseducationsurvey.com

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A few weeks ago I wrote a piece for Tolle Lege in which I refl ected upon the readings from the early church fathers I had encountered with my theology students. In that piece, I suggested that both I and the students had found the readings to be challenging and encouraging. Th e students also prepared some refl ections in the form of brief essay responses to questions I posed to the class. Many of the essays are very good. In fact, after reading them I wanted to share some of what the students had written with the larger Geneva community. Rather than publishing an entire essay, however, I have decided to provide excerpts from the work of several students. For context, I will provide the question that I posed before each excerpt.

Th e artwork accompanying this article is that of rhetoric art

students Shannon Riley (below), Kristen Gray (facing page), and Anna Kester (page 8).

In an assignment dealing with our readings of Clement of Rome (fl . 95 AD), Justin Martyr (103-165 AD) and Irenaeus of Lyon (c. 115-202 AD), I asked students to describe the Christian life as it was envisioned by these early fathers.

Lily Cloke writes: Th e Christian life, as envisioned by the Apostolic Fathers, was one of faith and obedience, obedience not only to Jesus and his teachings but also to the authority of the Apostles and the bishops whom the Apostles appointed. If Christians obeyed, unity would come naturally. Th e Apostolic Fathers emphasized the necessity of Christians walking in faith, not

merely believing something diff erent from most people. Christians were to distinguish themselves in how they acted, bearing witness by their faith and love to the Lord Jesus Christ. Clement said that although we are not justifi ed by our works, we should nevertheless “hasten with all our energy and readiness of mind to perform every good work.” Irenaeus stated the importance of being a disciple rather than a believer, saying “knowing ... your desire to walk in godliness, which alone leads to eternal life, I rejoice with you and make my prayer that you may preserve your faith entire and so be pleasing to God who made you.” Faith, in other words, was essential for eternal life, but never separated from walking in godliness. Christians obeyed the authorities in the church to show their devotion to Jesus, remembering that Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Another piece of Scripture, written by Jesus’ brother James, says that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” Th e Christians’ life was a life of obedience to God’s word and to the authorities in church, a life of faith that embodied itself in the actions of the faithful.

To the same question, Edward Chandler, Jr. writes: Th e Church Fathers envisioned a unifi ed and undivided church. Th ey saw themselves as carrying on Jesus’ and the apostles’ ministry. Christ and his apostles taught that salvation comes to those who have faith, but also, “You see now that it is by doing something good, and not only by believing, that a man is justifi ed.”

Refl ections on Faith and PracticeBy Kevin Clark and Four of his 11th Grade Students

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Th us good deeds were a major focus in the early Christian life. Th ey would take care of the poor, orphans, and widows. Th e orphans were of particular importance because the Romans were in the habit of leaving defective children out for exposure in the street or fi elds, at which times the Christians would come out and take the infants into their homes. Th ey would also often meet for a church service every day. Th e service would consist of two parts. Th e fi rst was called the “Liturgy of the Word” where readings, prayers, and a lesson from various people would take place followed by the “Liturgy of the Eucharist” where the Holy Sacrament would be administered to the faithful. Afterward the members would gather for a communal feast.

A few years ago, church historian Robert L. Wilken wrote a brilliant and insightful article on the cultural impact of the primitive church entitled “Th e Church as Culture.” He proposes the provocative thesis that the early Church’s explosive growth was due to the fact that it developed its own culture in its eff orts to follow Christ’s command to be in the world and not of it. I had students read this article and respond to its thesis.

Jordan Stewart summarizes the main points of Wilken’s argument: Th e Church itself has its own society, material culture, the calendar, and grammar.... At the beginning of the third century, Christians began to create their own space, their buildings having a distinct Christian identity. Th e purpose of these fi rst buildings was to commune with the universal church, all of the saints that had come before, “nurturing the inner life of the Church.” Th ey also cultivated their identity through an organization of time by the calendar. Th e liturgical year signifi cantly imprinted the Scriptures on the people’s minds through ritual and repetition. Lastly, the Scriptures and Christian language … must be retained in order for ideas they convey to remain orthodox. Using these three examples, Wilken contends that establishing and building upon our Christian culture might even be of more importance than evangelizing. Habits and rituals are more valuable right now than great awakenings.… Th en others will see that the kingdom of God is in their midst.

Lily Cloke makes this rather disquieting observation:It is somewhat obvious that if somebody is not Christian, then he does not believe in all of the ideas found in the Bible nor accept all of the truths that characterize what a Christian thinks. But is it merely ideas that distinguish Christians

from non-Christians? In the world today, the answer to this question is disquietingly close to yes. Th e way Christians live and the way non-Christians live is becoming more and more similar and indistinguishable. If somebody converts it is not as if he has to enter into something completely new because the Christian culture is almost identical to non-Christian culture.

A major emphasis in our theology course is that our manner of prayer or worship will determine the character of our faith. St. Augustine expressed this principle memorably in the maxim lex orandi, lex credendi—the rule of praying is the rule of believing. As we are approaching Christmas, I asked students to consider how the lex orandi of Christmas (the way we celebrate it) infl uences our understanding of its signifi cance.

Jordan Stewart writes: Christmas has come to be associated with American consumerism, a fat old man in a red suit, and pretty lights. But has even the church lost its way in celebrating one of the two biggest events on its calendar year? Not entirely,

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but it certainly has changed significantly. The giving and getting of gifts—with an emphasis on the getting—has overpowered the deeply religious holiday. The desire for mammon has stirred up contemporary culture into a frenzy of buying gifts to be happy. It is impossible to avoid when living in America. Even Christians celebrate it in this way, albeit some not to the degree of the rest of the world. However, Jesus has clearly taken a back seat to the jolly old man in the red suit.

Having said this, Christians have not wholly lost the sense of the season. The American tradition of this holiday is rooted in the story of St. Nicholas, a follower of God who anonymously put gifts into the homes of people who were in need. This is a good thing, for the Bible says that when doing a good deed, do it in secret, that you might not do it for the glory or recognition. In this way, Christians can justify celebrating Christmas almost like the rest of the world. But it is still not the reason for the season. The reason for it is the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, who gave us the greatest gift possible, eternal salvation, the opportunity to spend an eternity with him! This gift is worth infinitely more than anything Santa, or even the real St. Nicholas for that matter, could give to us, and we

should be willing to give up everything for it. It is in this spirit that we should give gifts, and give them without the thought of receiving, just as Jesus gave the most precious gift of all.

Sarah Brodrecht also reflects upon the significance of Christmas. Her words are particularly fitting not only for the season, but sound a glorious note on which to close: Jesus Christ … holds the church together. He is the climax of Christian history and serves as Mediator, Lord, and Savior. It is through him that we offer our prayers to the Father and to him that we give praise and worship. Without the hope we have in his resurrection the life of a Christian would be pointless. Jesus is our mediator; through the blood he shed God sees us as sinless. He serves as an intercessor between us and God in prayer. Yet, he and the Father are one, “... being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made ...” Or, as Jesus says in John 14:9, “He who has seen me, has seen the Father.” He is the Lord. “He has been raised to glory and majesty, and sits at the right hand of God. He therefore shares the same status as God and is to be addressed accordingly.” It was the resurrection that provided the proof for Christ’s

relationship and equality with the Father and it is the central hope of the Christian life. With all of the hope and benefits to believing in Christ as eternal Lord and Savior, why would anyone choose not to?

During the Christmas season the church celebrates Christ’s birth. We understand his divine nature, his authority as Lord, and celebrate his coming because of the hope it provides us. The word advent means coming. Jesus came and subjected himself to becoming human, to the everyday tortures of human life, and at last to the suffering, anguish, and turmoil of the cross. He came to save us poor unworthy sinners. He came to make perfect a relationship that had been torn apart. He came as a baby, born in a manger to a virgin, surrounded by no one but livestock. He did not come with glory. He did not come as a king, as he rightfully should have. He came as a baby, born to humble parents. We celebrate the selflessness and sacrifice of Jesus’ birth. We know the rest of the story and it provides hope—hope of a future filled with the presence of God; day and night unceasing, forever.

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Each year the Geneva community joins together to help meet the fi nancial needs of the school, that portion of the annual budget that is not covered by tuition. Th is help comes in many forms—from individual donors to cor-porate sponsors, from auction donors to auction bidders, from faculty supporters to parent, grandparent, and even student supporters. Th e concerted eff ort of all these stake-holders is substantial, vital, and deeply appreciated as we seek to provide an education that is rare in this day and age, an education that seeks to shape the hearts and souls of our children, in addition to their minds. Th e money raised through each of these means is used for academic programming, scholarship assistance, and student pro-gramming such as athletics and cultural opportunities. Student fundraisers are part of this ongoing eff ort to meet the fi nancial needs of the school while encouraging entre-preneurship and generosity.

Th is year’s fundraiser for dialectic and rhetoric students, Matthew 25 Challenge, focused again on student-initiated entrepreneurial projects, inspired by the parable of the tal-ents in Matthew 25. Each participating student was given $10 to invest in whatever way they desired, and the re-sults were often two, three, or even ten times the original investment. Th e projects chosen by students were incred-ibly inventive: for example, Danny Downward, who loves wood working, created hand-turned wooden ball point pens, each a work of art; Jacob Bell provided a service in which he converted old VHS tapes to DVD for his cus-tomers; Rebekah Marsh sold blueberry cobbler, and her sister Rachel made money for Geneva by setting up an old-fashioned lemonade stand in her garage. Th e junior class, led by Shannon Riley, Jared Rivers, and Tim Michaud, recruited patrons to sponsor them in a bowl-a-thon with each student using his or her $10 to rent bowling shoes and buy two games at Aloma Bowl one Saturday morning. Th is proved to be a great class outing as well as a fund-raiser for the school. Additionally, the Fall Festival pro-vided young entrepreneurs with more opportunities: Th e Rader and Dunnavan families, with fi ve students between them, worked together to design a line of Geneva cloth-ing—short and long-sleeved t-shirts and sweatshirt hood-ies—which was a huge hit at the festival; Amelie Streer and Maddie Noll off ered face painting to children; Moi-ra and Lily Cloke sold hot drinks; Andrew Mathias and Nick Gilmet sold ice cream; Gabe and Luke Pederson sold

home-made peppermint ice cream, and Tim Michaud and Th omas Knight provided pony rides. Th ese are but a few of the many projects students created to help their school.

One parent wrote the school to say that the fundraiser had provided his family much conversation around the dinner table concerning generosity, sacrifi ce, eff ort, and steward-ship. When his daughter voiced disappointment that she had “only” raised $40 from her work, he assured her that there was great value in her eff orts. Th is parent wrote, “I told her that I was very proud of her because the return amount was not as important as the initiative and follow-through that she developed. Th e process and commitment of generating an idea, planning, gathering materials, and executing her plan are much more valuable than any mon-etary return. Th anks again for the opportunity to teach my kids about stewardship.”

Th is year’s top earning entrepreneurs and philanthropists were Lydia Francis, who baked delicious bread; Allison Dooling, who sold homemade salsa; and Corbin Martin, who sold “Pencils with Points” that included wise sayings. In addition, students whose projects raised $75 or more had the opportunity to compete in a massive dodge ball game right before Th anksgiving. A good time was had by all!

One of the tangible outcomes resulting from all these in-dividual eff orts was over $10,300 raised for Geneva. On behalf of all who will benefi t from these funds—students and teachers alike—the development offi ce would like to express our deep appreciation to every participant. Your eff orts, regardless of the amount raised, make a signifi cant contribution to the work of Th e Geneva School. Th ank you!

Cultivating Cheerful GiversBy Director of Development Laura Grace Alexander

Final result of Boosterthon 2011:

$24,600Th ank you to all of our grammar

school team!

Sports Round-UpVolleyball and Cross Country

Page 10

Th e varsity volleyball team had an outstanding season all around and far exceeded expectations. Th ree se-

niors, Olivia Hutto, Stormi Prince, and April Jackson, lent great leadership to the team with their encouraging attitudes and perseverance. April led the team in kills, hit-

ting percentage, aces, and blocks. Sophomore Jade Kong led the team in assists, bringing in 404, playing oppo-site April. Jessica McKee secured her defensive position as the team’s libero and picked up 333 digs in just 27 matches. Both Lily Cloke and Shannon Riley proved to be excellent all-around players and were a huge asset to the team in the various positions they played this season. Freshmen Brooke Riley and Grace Andrews were valu-able players in both the middle and outside positions. Brooke brought in the second most kills for the season and Grace followed close behind her.

Th e team placed second at the KSA Fall Classic Tourna-ment, third in the Trinity Prep Gold Division Invita-tional and third in the Gold Division at the Dig Pink Tournament Classic Division. April Jackson was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Trinity Prep Tourna-ment and to the 2nd Team All Central Florida. April is also the third TGS volleyball player to sign a national letter of intent and has committed to play for Rollins College in 2012.

Th e team fi nished with an 18-9 record, won their third district championship, and fi nished second in the re-gion for the second time in TGS volleyball history. Th e coaches, parents, and fans cannot say enough about how incredibly proud they are of the 2011 varsity volleyball team. We look forward to returning almost all of our starters and anticipate another great season next fall.

Th e JV volleyball team had an incredible season this year, setting the JV record for the longest winning streak (seven wins in a row). Th e girls learned many valuable lessons throughout the year in team work, communica-tion, and courage. Th ey were able to overcome a tough pre-season, competing against strong teams, like Trinity Prep, with great determination and perseverance. Th eir hard work paid off and the team fi nished undefeated in all of the district match-ups. Th e girls competed in the annual Ram Jam volleyball tournament and placed third in their division.

A very signifi cant part of the season came when the girls volunteered their time at the Ronald McDonald House

Above: Girls varsity volleyball team

Above: Girls JV volleyball teamBelow: Girls 7th & 8th grade volleyball team

Page 11

in Orlando. Th e team was able to serve families in need a wonderful lunch and to lend their community a helping hand. It was a valuable experience in serving others and reaching out to those less fortunate.

Several of the team members will be participating in club volleyball this off -season. We are excited about the majority of the team returning next year.

Th e 7th/8th grade volleyball team consisted of Kath-ryn Abely, Julia Bryant, Jeanine Buxton, Stacy Helman, Kiki Hooks, Hali Reedy, Nicole Sakr, and Sarah Yanke-ch. Th ese girls had a great season, winning fi ve games and losing three. Th ey had their best week in the mid-dle of October, winning all three home games that week against Central Florida Prep, Azalea Baptist, and Faith Christian Academy. Th ey accomplished all of this while playing in both the Metro League during the week and the Faith League on the weekends. Th is group of girls ex-celled at being devoted students and dedicated athletes.

Th e boys and girls cross country teams had another great season this year. Led by Sarah Brodrecht’s fi fth place fi nish at the District Meet, the girls varsity team ended the season as the Class A District 6 Runners-up, advancing to the Regional Meet. Other district ribbon winners placing in the top 15 included Ellie Dreyer (7th place), Laura Shriner (8th place), Hannah Rader (13th place), Megan Miller (14th place), and Cassidy Goble (15th place), while Patricia Abely (19th place) rounded out the individual places. At the Class A Region 2 Meet, the girls ran well despite two of the top seven runners not being up to full speed because of sickness and in-jury. Th ey narrowly missed making the State Meet by one point.

Th e boys varsity team made great progress and also fi n-ished as the Class A District 6 Runners-up and advanced to the Regional Meet for the fi rst time where they ran well and fi nished 8th. Th is was the second boys team in TGS history to win a district trophy and to advance to regional play. District ribbon winners Isak Davis (8th place), Nicholas Gonzalez (11th place) and Gabe Peder-son (12th place) led the charge, while Eugene Kaleniak and Ben Rader fi nished the team scoring at 16th and 21st place, respectively. Jordan and Codey Prince fi n-ished in 23rd and 27th place.

Th e JV boys and girls also had great seasons and pushed the varsity runners to better results. Th e girls JV runners included Emma and Sophie Vargas, Kristen Gray, Moira Cloke, Anna Grace Shriner, Hannah Guzman, Georgia Miller, and Brianna and Amanda Goble. Th e boys JV runners included Creed Miller, Joshua Meyer, and An-drew Etter. Congratulations on an outstanding season!

Senior April Jackson, in her 13th and fi nal year at Th e Geneva School, signing a letter of intent to play volleyball at Rollins College. April is the third athlete in three years to go on to play college vol-

leyball. Off the court, April is also a leader in the classroom, boasting an impressive 4.36 GPA.

Above: Girls varsity cross country teamBelow: Boys varsity cross country team

Page 12

Grandparents Days

Th is year Th e Geneva School was delighted to host two Grandparents Days during the week of Th anksgiving. Grandparents and special friends of our students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade feasted on the sights and sounds of our grammar school as they visited classrooms, heard presentations from grandchildren and their classmates, and even participated in art projects and interviews.

Held annually just before Th anksgiving, these special days not only allow us to showcase the school and our students to grandparents and friends near and far, but also provide an opportunity to say thank you to these extended family members for being involved in our students’ lives.

Page 13

Page 14

I recently sat down with some students from our early childhood campus. We talked about Th anksgiving—both its his-tory and what it looks like today. I want to share some of the insights from our Geneva four and fi ve year olds. Th ese budding scholars have a lot to say!

What did you learn at school about the Th anksgiving Holiday?

(Pre-K) Bailey White: I learned about turkey! You eat it!

(Pre-K) Caedmon Clark: I learned about being an Indian.

(Pre-K) Savannah Strasberg: I learned that baby Indians go in pouches called papooses.

(Pre-K) Peter Rose: Th anksgiving is real! I learned about Pilgrims and Indi-ans. Th e Indians showed them how to do bows and arrows and how to hunt.

(Pre-K) Luke Reudelhuber: I learned that the Pilgrims set sail in 1620.

(K) Jack Calo: Th e Pilgrims invited the Indians to have a big feast; they were try-ing to be nice and get Th anksgiving to be

born. Th ey were thankful to God.

(K) Rachel Seneff : King James told the people, “Go to my church or go to jail!” Th e jail was stinky, nasty, and dark.

(K) Daniel Crouse: Th e Mayfl ower was the ship going to the New World. Th ere were 102 people and 34 were children.

(K) Autumn Evans: I learned that the children, John and Francis Billington, played with fi re on the Mayfl ower near a barrel of gun powder and nearly blew up the ship! God provided someone to see them and stop them from blowing up the ship.

(K) Samantha Petrak: We learned about the hunters killing the turkeys and we learned about how the Indians taught the pilgrims how to spear fi sh and plant corn and the Indians taught them how to use the fi sh in the soil for fertilizer.

(K) Jason Zirbel: Th ere were 30 sailors on the Mayfl ower and they were not nice to the pilgrims. Th e pilgrims were seasick and the sailors called them “glib, gabbety, puke stockings”!

Did you enjoy performing in the Th anksgiving play?

(Pre-K) Bailey White: Yes! I was an In-dian and I said, “We will teach the Pil-grims how to fi sh and hunt turkey.”

(Pre-K) Caedmon Clark: Yes! I was an Indian. Th ey helped the Pilgrims. It was hard to learn my words. I sang my favor-ite song, “One Little, Two Little, Th ree Little Indians”

(Pre-K) Luke Reudelhuber: Yes! I was a Pilgrim. Th e Mayfl ower was as big as two trucks and the children had no room to run and play for 66 days!

(Pre-K) Savannah Strasberg: Yes! I was an Indian. Th e Indians crept in the door … they crept to hunt buff alo and they were very quiet.

(Pre-K) Peter Rose: I was going to be a turkey in the play. Th e turkeys slept in the trees and they have a spur claw. Sometimes they fi ght with the other tur-keys to get the lady turkey. Th e daddy turkey is called tom turkey and the mom is called a hen.

Pre-K and Kindergarten StudentsTalk Turkey about Thanksgiving

By Patti Rader

Page 15

(K) Samantha Petrak: Yes, I was a Pilgrim. Th e Pilgrims sold furs to get to earn money for their trip to the new world.

(K) Jason Zirbel: Yes! I was a Pilgrim and I got to hold one of the sails on the Mayfl ower.

(K) Daniel Crouse: Yes! I went to jail! But, I got out of jail and went to the New World. I made a Mayfl ower Compact that said, “Work together. Use teamwork.”

(K) Autumn Evans: Yes, I wrote on the the Mayfl ower compact that said, “Be a good servant to God.”

(K) Jack Calo: Yes, I was a Pilgrim. Th e Pilgrims were indentured servants for seven years to pay back money for the purchase of the ship.

(K) Rachel Seneff : I was the mommy of the Pil-grims. I told the audience we needed to leave Holland because they worked my husband too hard and my children were forgetting English.

What is your favorite thing about the celebra-tion of Th anksgiving?

(Pre-K) Bailey White: You get to eat apple pie.

(Pre-K) Caedmon Clark: Pumpkin pie.

(Pre-K) Luke Reudelhuber: I went to a tennis court with my dad.

(Pre-K) Savannah Strasberg: I swam in the pool.

(Pre-K) Peter Rose: I get to watch football.

(K) Samantha Petrak: Swimming in the pool and eating cherry pie.

(K) Jason Zirbel: We got to watch a movie about a rat who cooks food. I also ate macaroni and cheese and Jell-O.

(K) Daniel Crouse: We went to the beach and made a sand castle.

(K) Autumn Evans: Getting everything ready for the Th anksgiving play.

(K) Jack Calo: I like to eat turkeys.

(K) Rachel Seneff : I ate turkey at Nana’s house and I ate turkeys made out of candy and cookies!

Above: Bella Bellamo, Caedmon Clark, Reece Peters, Graham Polk, Savannah Strasberg, and Ava Dunnavant

Above: Rachel Seneff , Rebecca Johnson, Emma Ripple, and Brecken Slockett

Far left: Peter RoseLeft: Emmy Black and Annabelle TurnbullRight: Jack Calo

Page 16

Th e Dodo suddenly called out, “Th e race is over!” and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, “But who has won?”

Th is question the Dodo could not an-swer without a great deal of thought.... At last the Dodo said, “Everybody has won, and all must have prizes.”

Yes, indeed! All must have prizes and we need your help to collect them!

Th e Geneva School’s Annual Auction is just around the corner. Please make plans to join us on Friday evening, March 2, 2012, at the Greek Orthodox Reception Center in Maitland. Th e event is titled An Evening in Wonderland and will fea-ture all the creativity and artistry that are found not only in the pages of Lewis Caroll’s classic children’s story, but also in the halls and classrooms of Th e Ge-neva School.

We need your assistance now to make this event in the spring as successful as possible. Here’s how you can help:

DONATIONS

Th e school needs as many items as pos-sible donated for the silent and live por-

tions of the auction. Th ink of businesses, resorts, air-lines, spas, restaurants, or services you use or frequent, and then ask them to donate something to the school. Gift cards, food baskets, boutique items, jewelry, sports equip-ment, and artwork are just a few items that sell well at the auction. Remember: If you don’t ask, the answer will al-ways be NO!

Also, do you own or have ac-cess to a vacation getaway? Cabins in the mountains, condos at the beach, cottages on islands, bed-and-breakfast inns in great locations—all such weekend or week-long

vacation opportunities are extremely popular at the auction.

“Have some wine,” the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Alice looked all around the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. “I don’t see any wine,” she remarked.

“Th ere isn’t any,” said the March Hare.

Oh no! We MUST have wine!

Please contribute one or more bottles of wine to our Wine Wall at the auction. Donated bottles of wine must have a minimum value of $20. Additionally, we need wine donated for the din-ner itself. Please consider donat-ing wine—red or white—of any value for placement on each din-ing table at the auction.

Whatever you are able to have donated, please be sure to submit a completed donation form for each item. You can fi nd a Donation Form in pdf format at

www.genevaschool.org/auction. Simply fi ll this form out on your computer and submit it either via email or hard copy with the item to Sarah Cloke (sccloke@geneveaschool.org).

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE

We must have all donations in to Geneva by Wednesday, February 22, 2012.

SPONSORSHIPS

Alice felt so desperate that she was ready to ask help of any one: so, when the Rabbit came near her, she began, in a low, timid voice, “If you please, Sir—”

We need your assistance in promoting the auction to corporate friends who may want to be a sponsor of the event. Sponsorships are available at multiple levels, from $500 to $10,000 and provide the sponsoring business a number of marketing opportunities, depending on the level of support. If you would like information about corporate sponsorships for your own business or someone else’s, please contact Laura Grace Alexander (lgalexander@genevaschool.org).

An Evening in Wonderland Update

Page 17

PRAYER

Alice said, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“Th at depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.

“Th en it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

We know exactly where we want to go for this year’s Geneva Auc-

tion, but unless God is pleased to bless the event from start to fi nish,

we will never get there.

Please join with us in praying for its success—that resources of peo-ple and items will be bountiful, that businesses and individuals will give generously, and that the event would build up the community of Geneva.

Th ank you in advance for whatever help you can lend to make this year’s auction our best one yet!

GUESTS

Th e table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it. “No room! No room!” they cried out when they saw Alice coming.

“Th ere’s plenty of room!” said Alice in-dignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

Indeed there is plenty of room—at the moment.

We need your help inviting potential buyers to the auction. Th is year we are able to seat up to 300 guests. Would you consider buying a table and fi lling it with friends or fam-ily who will, as the saying goes, “Bid often and high”? A table sponsorship costs $1,000 and provides you with 10 tickets at a reserved table. Even if you cannot sponsor a table, please invite as many buyers to the auction as pos-sible. Tickets will go on sale after the New Year.

VOLUNTEERS

“A knot!” said Alice, always ready to make herself useful, and looking anxiously about her. “Oh, do let me help to undo it!”

Help is always a good thing!

We need help setting up and breaking down the auction. If you are available on Friday, March 2, during the school day, we could really use your help setting up tables and displays for the silent auction and transforming the dining room into Alice’s Wonderland for the live auction.

After the conclusion of the auction that same night, we need a team of people to assist in breaking down tables and chairs, loading backdrops and scenery onto trucks, and in general putting the facility back in order. If you can help with either set up or break down, please contact Katie Deatherage (kideatherage@genevaschool.org).

PRAYER

Alice said, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“Th at depends a good deal on whereyou want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.

“Th“““““““““““ en it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

We know exactly where we want to go for this year’s Geneva Auc-

tion, but unless God is pleased tobless the event from start to fi nish,

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Page 18

Orlando Sentinel Holiday Art Contest Winners

From top right counter clockwise: Caroline Dooling (4th/5th Grade Merit

Award Winner); Benjamin Lachance (K/1st Grade Honorable Mention); Riley

Martin (K/1st Grade Merit Award); Ellie Austin (K/1st Grade Merit Award);

Lainey Gordon (4th/5th Honorable Mention); Brett Paul (4th/5th Grade

Honorable Mention)

Page 19

No doubt you have already been inun-dated with year-end appeals from many of your favorite charities (and perhaps some you have never even heard of!). Hopefully, within that growing stack of requests is one from Th e Geneva School that was mailed last week. Although we typically send out a holiday letter asking for your consideration for support, this year’s request is a bit diff erent. Th e Gene-va School has been off ered a unique op-portunity. A small group of loyal sup-porters of the school have off ered to double, triple, or even quadruple the eff ect of any year-end gift given between now and January 10, 2012, up to a max-imum match of $200,000. Here’s how it works: for any donation up to $999 this group will match that amount one-for-one, doubling the eff ect. However, if a donation comes in between $1,000 and $4,999, the group will add double the amount of your gift using matching funds, so that the school ends up with

triple the amount. Even more amaz-ingly, if any gift is received by January 10th that is $5,000 or more, the group will provide a 3-for-1 match! Th is is an amazingly generous off er from several friends who love Geneva and, more im-portantly, who love what God is doing through the school in shaping the minds and hearts of our students.

All donations given to this challenge match, regardless of the level, will be used to support the ongoing work of the school, including academic programs, scholarships, and student program-ming outside of the classroom. A gift to our Annual Fund helps us to continue providing an exceptional education for Geneva students. We trust that God is producing through Th e Geneva School an ever-increasing host of young men

and women able to think, write, speak, and live thoughtfully, confi dently, and wisely for the glory of God. Would you prayerfully consider making a gift this year-end, not only to take full advantage of this challenge match opportunity, but also—and more importantly—to sup-port the ongoing work of the school in the lives of our children?

Every gift matters. As you are able, please support Th e Geneva School this year-end by giving a gift to the Annual

Fund on or before January 10, 2012.

Note: Th is generous group of Geneva friends who are off ering this giving chal-lenge established January 10 as the end-ing date of the match in order to provide the opportunity for donors to give in either 2011 or 2012, depending on their own particular situations. Regardless of which side of December 31 you give, please do give as generously as you are able!

Any gift given from $1 to $999 will be matched 1-for-1Any gift given from $1,000 to $4,999 will be matched 2-for-1Any gift given from $5,000 and above will be matched 3-for-1

Multiply Your Impact

Nativity: During this Advent season, let us not forget the Nativity. Th is time of preparation for God’s coming seems perennially—and not without good reason—to be fi lled with exhortations to remember the reason for the great feast day of Christmas. It may, therefore, seem superfl uous to add one more voice to the chorus, especially a voice calling for a focus on the “Nativity”; for certainly at this time of the year, at least, this is where we direct our thoughts. But in our meditation upon “Nativity” this year, let us consider the implications of the word’s meaning. “Nativity,” deriving from a Latin noun meaning “birth,” denotes such things as those passages in the gospels that narrate Jesus’ birth, as well as representations of those events in the visual arts. In some sense, the nativity is the nail on which hang both of the events we prepare for during Advent (viz., both the Incarnation and the Last

Day), for it was by nativity as a human creature that the Creator condescended to save his creation, and it is by the his nativity from death that the Son will be worthy to execute the Father’s judgments. Central to the mystery of Christianity, however, is the reality that human salvation has a nativity which is to be found in the physical, costly, and messy event of the birth of a baby boy to an unwed (yet chaste) teenage girl in some stable in the small town of Bethlehem one evening during the reign of Caesar Augustus, and that this nativity of God himself, who was wrapped in peasant’s rags and given a feeding trough for his bassinet, was witnessed by such distinguished company as the socially outcast shepherds and their retinue of livestock.

By Nick DeGroot

On Words

Page 20

Upper School Student Service

ProjectsTh is year Th e Geneva School Rhetoric Roundtable em-barked on their second annual fall service project. It provid-ed a wonderful opportunity for 9th–12th grade students to grow in fellowship with God and with one another through service. Because of the close relationship already established, the Roundtable partnered with Orlando Children’s Church. It was hoped that introducing OCC to more of the students would encourage them to be involved on a regular basis. In order to excite students about the three-week mission, the Roundtable kicked off the project with a shoe drive. In just two weeks, over 300 pairs of shoes were collected from across the TGS community! Th e shoes were then distributed dur-ing the service project by the students. Th is gave them the chance to see the eff ects of their charity. In addition to hand-ing out shoes, students served breakfast, led worship, and shared the love of Jesus with the kids at OCC, impacting their lives and building God’s kingdom in ways they could never imagine. Th e volunteers who showed up were truly a blessing. Over the course of three weeks, more than fi fty Geneva students participated in the service project, with the senior class having the highest rate of participation. Th ank you to all who donated shoes and served in the project, and a special thanks to Orlando Children’s Church for letting Geneva serve with you!

* * *

Spearheaded by the National Honor Society, Geneva fami-lies packed 76 shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse.

ADMISSION INFO

Page 21

PROSPECTIVE PARENT EVENTS

Word of mouth is our best advertising. So please invite someone to a prospective parent event this spring.

Saturday, January 7: Prospective Parent & Student Morning for pre-K & K, 9:00–10:30 am

Tuesday, January 10: Prospective Parent Day (Main Campus), 9:30–11:30 am

Tuesday, January 24: Prospective Parent Day (ECC), 9:30–11:30 am

Tuesday, February 7: Prospective Parent Night (ECC), 6:30–8:00 pm

Tuesday, February 28: Prospective Parent Night (main campus), 6:30–8:00 pm

Tuesday, March 6: Prospective Parent Day (ECC), 9:30–11:30 am

Tuesday, March 13: Prospective Parent Day (Main Campus), 9:30–11:30 am

ENROLLMENT FOR 2012–2013

Re-enrollment for current students will open on January 17. Families who re-enroll students by January 27, 2012, will receive a $200 discount on the enrollment fee. Additionally, current families who submit an application for a sibling by January 27, will also receive a $200 discount on the enrollment fee if the student is accepted.

Th is re-enrollment period exclusive to current TGS families (January 17–27) allows parents to re-enroll their children before new families are given the chance to fi ll any open spaces.

Before a family can re-enroll for 2012–2013, their account must be current.

Open enrollment will begin on Monday, January 30. New families who have been accepted to Geneva will be able to enroll their children at this time.

On PeopleIsocrates (436–338 BC) was one of the most important orators and educators of classical Greece. Born during the so-called Golden Age of Athens, Isocrates was a contemporary of Plato (429–347), and his life spanned some of the most important developments in Greece, from the Peloponnesian War (431–404) to Philip II’s defeat of Athens and Th ebes in 338. An advocate of pan-Hellenism after the Peloponnesian war, it is said that, in despair after Athens’ defeat at the hands of the Macedonians, Isocrates starved himself to death.

Isocrates was born to a wealthy Athenian family that lost its fortune in the wake of the Peloponnesian War. Isocrates had been educated under some of the most gifted orators of his time, including Gorgias, and was associated with Socrates. However, he put his education to good use, composing orations for others to deliver, primarily in the courts (Isocrates himself lacked confi dence as a speaker). Eventually he founded his own school of rhetoric—for which his well-known oration “Against the Sophists” was essentially an

extended advertisement. He founded his school with the practical purpose of teaching young men to become virtuous and decisive political leaders. In this Isocrates was distinct from those of a more purely philosophical bent—Plato being the prime example here—who endlessly dialogued. Isocrates was all for discussion, but “of general and practical matters” which yielded decision and action.

Th ough relatively less well known than Plato and Aristotle, it is in fact Isocrates’ vision of education that was more infl uential in the Roman educational system and therefore of our own system of education here at Th e Geneva School. Neither purely theoretical nor crassly pragmatic, echoes of Isocrates can be discerned even in our own vision statement: Th e Geneva School seeks to become an educational institution of scholastic and cultural gravitas, of extraordinary and exemplary virtuous scholars, a formidable force in the expansion and enrichment of Christ’s kingdom, in the life both of the individual and of the world.

By Edward Chandler

Page 22

Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney

Th e Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney is an annual, wide rang-ing event that includes the invitational chalk art show Geneva has par-ticipated in for many years. Artists from all around, both professional and amateur, come to spend three days making their chalk drawings on Downtown Disney’s sidewalks. Th e Geneva School was represented by three pieces. Clockwise from the top: a reproduction of Th e Flower Picker by John William Waterhouse and chalked by Noel Bright, Anna Kester, Alyssa Shriner, and Amanda Wilkes; a reproduction of Pieter Brueghel’s Fall of the Rebel Angels chalked by Shelly Bradon and Matt Clark; and, the winning entry for the still life category, a reproduction of Still Life with Orange by Jeff rey Hayes chalked by Emily Bell, Kristin Gray, Michael Kester, and Amelie Streer.

Page 23

At this Advent season, let me recount for you a perspective God has given me on this special time in our Christian year.

Th rough the years, my wife, Mary, has spoken to groups about what she calls her “journey with joy.” She tells the story of her rather smooth journey through childhood, her conversion to faith in Christ in Ohio, her high school years in Florida, her college experience (including meeting me!), our marriage. Th en came the summer of 1982.

Our fi rst born, Jessica, struggled through her early months, but her doctor expressed no concerns. How-ever, that summer more testing yielded the surprising—no, shocking—report that Jessica had a chromosomal anom-aly that likely occurred at conception which would leave her profoundly dis-abled mentally and physically.

From there Mary’s journey became a rugged struggle for survival. She and I both naturally had the “Why?” ques-tions and together we struggled to pick up the pieces of the life we had planned. Th ough we faced our daugh-ter’s permanent disability together, I realized then that Mary suff ers in ways that I do not. She bore the weight and felt the pain (and the resultant joy) of childbirth. She nursed her, rocking her close for countless hours. Th ese experi-ences create a bond that I, as a husband

and father, cannot rival or relate to. As Mary recounts this dark and rugged part of her journey, Mary of Nazareth and Job of Uz fi gure prominently.

My Mary identifi es with Jesus’ Mary because they both had to endure the suff ering of their fi rst born child. But like Job, my Mary has not been al-lowed to “look behind the veil,” so to speak, to see all the reasons for her child’s affl ictions. Mary of Nazareth, on the other hand, had angelic visita-tions that told the secret of his great-ness and the special nature of his life, even before his birth (Luke 1:30–33). Surely she also heard from Joseph of his dreams revealing other signifi cant details of her child’s redemptive pur-pose (Matthew 1:20–21). She later en-countered Simeon and Anna who told her more of what to expect. She was forewarned that though her child’s life would be a wonder and a blessing, his death would at once be heart-breaking and soul-saving.

My Mary has longed to know through the years the purpose of Jessica’s life. But she, with Job (and countless oth-er saints) must wait until the scroll is rolled back to know all the reasons and the pattern in the design of life. My Mary has the benefi t and grace of more revelation and promises than Job had. But still those ques-tions linger.

His Mary knew. But this knowledge could not have been easy to bear. Imagine knowing ahead of time what was coming. Such a heavy burden is what his Mary bore.

Of course, the fruit of his Mary’s womb from concep-tion was perfect, the spotless

Lamb. Th e fruit of my Mary’s womb from conception was, under God’s sov-ereign and providential hand, anything but perfect in man’s eyes, but exactly what the sovereign One intended for her to be. Th e One shows us by his holiness our brokenness and need of redemption. Th e other, Jessica, in her own way also reminds us of our bro-kenness and need of redemption.

Th rough the similarities and the diff er-ences, Job, Jesus’ Mary, and my Mary, the three share a common conviction: they know their redeemer lives! Job looked forward, hoping in faith to look on his Redeemer. Mary of Naza-reth beheld the face of her Redeemer throughout his earthly life. My Mary looks back through the eyes of Scrip-ture to the story, and forward like Job to the prospect of being fi nally and fully in the presence of the Redeemer. And we are confi dent because of God’s covenant promises that with us around the throne will be Jessica—whole and fi nally, perfectly, able to praise her Re-deemer.

Jessica, now 29, resides with many friends at Howell Branch Court, a care facility less than a mile from the Beates homestead.

My Mary and His MaryDr. Michael S. Beates, Dean of Students

Th e Geneva School2025 State Road 436

Winter Park, FL 32792

Dates for Your Calendar...Monday, December 19: 6th grade Dickens’ Day in Mount Dora, 8:30 am–2:45 pm D/R semester exams, English and science Tuesday, December 20: D/R semester exams, history and math Early dismissal, ECC @ 11:45 am, grades 1–6 @ 12:00 pm, grades 7–12 @ 12:15 pmDec 21 - January 3: Christmas/New Year BreakWednesday, January 4: First day of second semesterSaturday, January 7: ECC Prospective Parent & Student Morning for pre-K & Kindergarten, 9–10:30 amMonday, January 9: No school for Pre-K. Pre-K Parent/Teacher Conferences College Night (Financial Matters): 7:00 pm in the music roomTuesday, January 10: Report cards go home Bright Futures registration for seniors at lunch 4th grade cathedral tours; 8:30 am–2:30 pm Prospective Parent Day at the main campus; 9:30–11:30 amWednesday, January 11: All school chapel for EpiphanyTh ursday, January 12: B & W candid pictures (ECC and 7th grade)Friday, January 13: 7th grade rock climbing, 10:40 am–2:45 pm B & W candid pictures (main campus except 7th grade)Monday. January 16: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, student holiday/faculty development dayTuesday, January 17: Re-enrollment period exclusive to current families beginsWednesday, January 18: Classroom spelling bees for grades 4–6 1st grade to Blue Spring State Park, 9:00 am–2:00 pm Math in Focus parent evening, 7:00 pm in classroomsFriday, January 20: School-wide spelling bee in the afternoonSaturday, January 21: Dialectic service project, 8:15 am–2:00 pm, Harvest Time International.Tuesday, January 24: Prospective Parent Day (ECC), 9:30–11:30 amWednesday, January 25: 3rd grade Greek Olympics, 8:15 am–3:00 pmTh ursday, January 26: 2nd Grade to Green Meadows Farm, 8:30 am–2:30 pm 4th grade Beowulf rehearsal at Winter Springs Performing Art CenterJanuary 27–28: Tri-Board RetreatFriday, January 27: Kindergarten to Brusters in Lake Mary. Geer @ 11:30 am, Brielmaier @ 12:00 pm, O’Donoghue @ 12:30 pm Beowulf rehearsal & performance, at Winter Springs Performing Arts Center Enrollment period exclusive to current families endsSaturday, January 28: Variety Show, 7:00 pm at Redeemer Lutheran on AlomaSunday, February 5: Rhetoric Choir sings at St. Luke’s during morning worship serviceMonday, February 6: English IV spring trip to Leu Gardens, 8:30 am–12:00 pmTuesday, February 7: Prospective Parent Night (ECC), 6:30–8:00 pm Multi-faith event at Jewish Academy, morning (select group of 7th & 8th graders)February 8–10: Kindergarten school store, lunch times at the main campusFriday, February 10: 6th Grade Immigration Day, 11:00 am–3:00 pm Progress reports go home (grades 3–6)Tuesday, February 14: D/R Pancake Breakfast, 7:45–8:30 am Valentine class partiesWednesday, February 15: Student holiday (faculty development day)February 16–19: Winter Break