Firstly, I’d like to thank the entire Newington College community for welcoming me into the Newington fold with such warmth and encouragement. I feel so blessed to be called by God to this new role and very much desire to give ‘heart and soul’ in serving you as the newly appointed College Chaplain. I have very big shoes to fill after Rev. David Williams departure, but alongside Rev. Morphew and the Newington staff, I know that it will be a fulfilling experience.

Challenging times come to us all, yet the way we handle tough times defines who we are and what foundations we stand on. Matthew 5:45 says, ‘He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’ Such a verse highlights the fact that we all face prosperous times and challenging times alike, despite our best efforts to avoid pending mishaps. How we handle difficult times, the sense of resilience and determination to be strong and courageous, is the strength we need to find within. God gives each of us the ability to be resilient, but we need to seek and find this ‘strength within’.

Sportsmen constantly face the challenge of needing to bounce back after unexpected injuries. With the GPS season proper commencing, there will likely be a range of injuries that will challenge each of us to find the ‘strength within’. Other trials are also bound to come – academic, health, financial and social – which are all an invitation for each of us to find this ‘strength within’ to help us bounce back.

In 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11, the apostle Paul writes, ‘We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.’

I’ve chosen this verse to share in my initial weekly chapel services because it highlights the reality of each of us experiencing good times and challenging times alike. The apostle Paul clearly faced challenges far beyond what any of us will likely face, yet the same principle applies – the need to find the ‘strength within’ that God has provided. Paul allowed such rigorous challenges to help define who he was as a person, deriving his strength from God. The desire is for each of our students to face pending rigours by learning to find this ‘strength within’.

I very much look forward to meeting and connecting with the students, staff, parents and the extended Newington community over the coming weeks, months and years – God bless.

Rev Geordie Barham
College Chaplain