Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! Isaiah 43:19

I have been reflecting a lot on new things and new beginnings over the last few weeks as I am in a period of new beginning.

By way of introduction I’m Pastor Richard La’Brooy, the new Chaplain at Newington College. As part of the role I’m doing the Chaplaincy work at Lindfield. Over the last seven weeks I’ve been getting to know the boys at Lindfield. I’m teaching the Religious Education classes and running the Chapel Services at Lindfield. I have also had some great opportunities to see the boys in different contexts, on Camp, playing Saturday sport, at the Swimming Carnival and during special occasions. These are the fantastic things that contribute to school life that extends beyond the classroom and it’s always great to see boys in different contexts.

This verse from Isaiah was the basis of my message to the boys in the first Chapel Service of the year as we reflected on the start of a new school year and the opportunities that lay ahead. Now we’re half way through the term and it’s easy to slip into the regular routine of life. It becomes easy to miss the opportunities to start new things as we get caught up everything that is thrown at us and sometime struggle to keep juggling all the balls that we have.

Yet this verse reminds us that there are wonderful new things happening all the time, all we have to do is stop to see it. Finding time to stop and see the great blessings in life can be tough, particularly when the world around us demands us to keep going. But when we do pause we can see the many blessings that are springing up around us.

I look forward to meeting more people within the Newington Lindfield Prep community over the coming months as I continue to immerse myself in the fantastic place.

Grace and peace

Pastor Richard La’Brooy