Advent Devotional: Tuesday 11/29

Advent Devotional for Tuesday, 29 November 2011

Week 1: PREPARE

¹God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains
be carried into the midst of the sea;  ³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. ⁴There is a river, the streams
whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles
of the most High.  ⁵God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her,
and that right early.  ⁶The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice,
the earth melted. ⁷The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.⁸
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. ⁹
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear  in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.¹⁰
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted
among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. ¹¹
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
- Psalm 46

“What a friend we have in Jesus” was one of my many solos growing up in the church choir. In fact, I had many solos through the years, many of which I didn’t understand or couldn’t relate to, but even as a child, this particular song and title was crystal clear to me. It was clear to me because of the simplicity of the words and title. To support my thoughts on this devotional, I must start by sharing with you how Merriam-Webster defines friend: “A person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard; a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter”.

I have to admit that at an early age I knew that being a friend carried significant meaning. As a matter of fact, my older brother still teases me to this day about how between the ages of 4yrs old and 10yrs old, I threatened him almost daily about “not being his friend anymore” in various situations in which I was hoping to get my way! It’s funny to think about it that way, but certainly we are so very lucky that God doesn’t threaten us with his friendship. Even when we do not deserve His favor and acts of kindness, God is still a true friend to us. As Psalms 46:1 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Sure, in today’s world and times, we all may be guilty of using the word friend loosely in everyday life by giving the title to people we barely even know. As a matter of fact, how well would we know what’s going on with our many Facebook “friends” without their status updates, wall posts, profile picture changes and instant messages? Well one of the awesome things about having Jesus as a friend is that He doesn’t need Facebook, Twitter, Google or Bing to know what is going on with us; He is always with us! “²Though the earth be removed,” He is with us! “³Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,” He is with us!  

So the next time we’re dealing with a situation that seems like there is no way out; when we’re awake crying in the early hours of the morning and think we are alone; when natural disasters occur around us; when we’re worried about classes, grades or significant others, know that our belief in Christ should be more than enough to keep our hearts from being heavy. Stress not, worry not – for we have a FRIEND IN JESUS!

Written by Monica L. Lawson, Director of Admissions

Advent Devotional: Monday 11/28

Advent Devotional for Monday, November 28, 2011

Week 1: PREPARE

Invitation to the Thirsty

1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and you will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me;

listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

my faithful love promised to David.

Isaiah 55:1-3

“Your money’s no good here” is, I think, what God is saying to us in this scripture passage. And when money or status have no value, our egos have no place. We’re not invited because of what we bring to the table, but because God loves us so, so dearly that he can’t help but to draw us towards him.

It may be too predictable or cliché to project my new experience as a mother onto this scripture passage, but it’s also inconceivable to me to not see almost everything through this new lens. And my relationship with my son has provided me with some firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to be in a relationship with another person where ego doesn’t get in the way. My relationship with my son is the only one I’ve ever had in which I don’t get anything tangible in return. I get heart melting smiles, hours of cuddle time and the feeling that my life has new purpose, but he doesn’t cook dinner, pay bills, or even give advice. So while I know I don’t have the capacity to love like God loves, this may be the closest I will come to it—and it’s wonderful. And knowing how much joy I get out of loving my son, and how desperately I want him to know how much we adore him AND that I can only love and provide for him a fraction of the amount that God loves and provides for me, makes me feel very taken care of.

It is simultaneously humbling and emboldening to know that we can’t earn God’s love. But because of our egos (or mine, at least) it is also difficult to accept something that we haven’t merited. And sometimes it feels good to spend our time celebrating the things we’ve earned as a result of how awesome we are. But that’s not what God’s love is about. He loves us just because he made us to be lovable.

Happy Advent!  

Written by Devon Lynch-Huggins-Szep, Advancement Coordinator

Advent Devotionals

We have begun our 4^th annual round of Saint Martin Community Advent Devotionals!  They will be posted every weekday until Christmas. These have been written by students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends of the school who share their personal thoughts and reflections on the Scripture assigned for the day.

The Scripture follow four themes:

Week One: Prepare

Week Two: Hope

Week Three: Joy

Week Four: Peace

We hope and pray that these devotionals help you to reflect on the Good News of what God has done for us in sending Jesus into the world.

We Give You Thanks With Grateful Hearts

This Thanksgiving we would like to share a few words
with you on how much your support means to us.

Please click below to view.
(You may need to allow a few moments for the video to load.)

Caesar Burton featured on City Year's Blog

Saint Martin sophomore Caesar Burton was recently published on the blog for City Year Cleveland. Caesar highlights the importance of effort and communication at his Corporate Work Study Program job at City Year. Congratulations, Caesear!

To read Caesar's post, please click here.

Adam Musser, Teacher of the Quarter

Congratulations to Adam Musser, who has been named the Teacher of the Quarter for the first quarter of the 2011-2012 school year. Jeff Sutliff, Assistant Principal for Academics, highlights the numerous ways Adam contributes to the Saint Martin Community:

Ben Franklin taught us that, “Genius without education is like silver in the mine.” Adam has applied Franklin’s lesson and shown students their potential through his high expectations and willingness to take risks and work hard on their behalf.    

Adam's initiative and persistence in developing Wonder Week has enriched the lives of our students and colleagues. In so doing, he created an example of how we can achieve the mission by implementing the curriculum in ambitious and innovative ways.

It is a tremendous joy to observe the students in Adam's class passionately embrace Shakespeare and engage in sophisticated discussions of high level texts. Through the Word of the Week and other activities, Adam fosters a love for the English language that will enrich our students throughout their lives. 

This past weekend, Adam and Keri Grady, teacher coach at Saint Martin, spoke at the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English. Adam and Keri presented the subject of WonderWeek and the impact on the Saint Martin community.

Outside of the classroom, Adam coaches cross-country and basketball. A graduate of Holy Cross, Adam is currently studying at the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College.

Adam's younger sister, Samantha, was the Valedictorian of the first Saint Martin graduating class. 

Michelle Brickner Selected as a Champion of Sustainability

Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (E4S), a Cleveland based economic development organization dedicated to putting sustainability to work since 2000 named seven new Champions of Sustainability at their monthly Third Tuesday Network Event Tuesday evening at Great Lakes Brewing Company. The 2011 class joins 59 past Champions that have been nominated and recognized by their peers across the E4S network. Michelle Brickner, Art Teacher and Organic Community Garden Coordinator at Saint Martin, was nominated by Devon Lynch-Huggins-Szep and selected as one of the 2011 class.

E4S Interim Executive Director Michael Dungan congratulated this year’s honorees and thanked them for the example they set in the community. He commented that, “E4S Champions carry the special distinction of being nominated by their peers for the work they do as implementers as well as for the inspiration they provide for others. We welcome this year’s group to our growing roster of individuals who are embedding sustainability principles in their organization’s operations, product design, company culture and client services.”

In Michelle's nomination narrative Devon highlighted the numerous ways Michelle has implemented sustainable business practices at Saint Martin and positively affected all three areas of the triple-bottom line model of sustainability. Devon highlights how Michelle also contributes to the entire community at Saint Martin: "Michelle is inspiring because she has found a way to make other people want to learn about the things she values. When she recommends a book, people read it. When she invites students to an event, they go. When she brushes the dirt off a vegetable she has just pulled from the garden and hands it to a student who has never really stopped to think about where food comes from, he eats it. Michelle doesn’t teach or lead in a way that says, 'I have information that you need.'  Instead, she imagines progress, pursues it and invites people to join her. The best teachers are passionate and curious about a subject and are willing to invite others to join them as they pursue the subject.  As she has pursued her love of art, design, local food, community gardens while navigating the process of developing and managing a community organic garden at Saint Martin de Porres High School in the Saint Clair Superior Neighborhood, Michelle Brickner has established herself and her work as a model for her students and her colleagues."

Michelle has also participated in a number of conferences and events at which she has shared best practices. At the 1^st annual National Green Schools Conference in Minneapolis, Michelle participated in a panel on implementing the triple-bottom line model of sustainability in schools. She also presented at the Ohio Farm to School Conference. She and her garden interns presented at the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition’s Community Food Skill Share and she is in the process of preparing to present at the 2^nd annual National Green Schools Conference, which will be held in Denver in February 2012.  

Thank you, Devon for your nomination and congratulations, Michelle!