Friday Focus

Today marks the end of the first semester--our school year is half over! A new semester begins on Monday. Thanks for all the at-home support you provide by checking day planners and helping with homework and projects.

End of the Spear

Recently, I had the opportunity to see a "sneak preview" of a motion picture film called End of the Spear. It was incredible! It is the story of Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and their three young missionary friends who were speared to death in the jungles of Ecuador exactly 50 years ago. The amazing story of conversion and forgiveness that resulted from the wife and sister of these young missionaries, continuing to reach out to the tribe, is a wonderful witness to the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. The film has been endorsed by hundreds of ministry heads such as James Robison, Joyce Meyer, John Maxwell, John Bevere, Ted Haggard, and Peter Bradley, the President of the International Bible Society.

End of the Spear is releasing in 1200 theatres nationwide on January 20. The way the film is produced makes it very "non-threatening" to an unbeliever, so it would be great to bring your non-Christian friends to as well. (Lots of action and a little bit of danger.) I've invited 15 "unchurched" neighbors and friends to go with me tomorrow evening... I'd encourage you to do the same.

You can visit www.endofthespear.com to view a trailer, and to locate the theater nearest you under "Group Sales" on the home page, and if you want to, it would be great to forward this information to your buddy list and ask them to email their buddy list, etc.! As we spread the word, and box office sales rise, it is one more significant step in using the power of film to shape the culture of our nation and the world in a positive, God-centered direction.

Visit www.endofthespear.com...

After-school Care

After-school care is available until 6:00 PM every day. Your help in picking up children by 6:00 PM is greatly appreciated.

About after-school care...

Hat Day

Next Friday, January 27, is Hat Day.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Monday, January 30. Sign-up sheets for winter conferences are attached. Please select a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice for your conference. These reservation forms need to be returned to school by next Wednesday, January 25. A master list of all conferences will then be sent home with next week's Friday Focus.

Download a sign-up sheet...

Extended Care

There is no school on Monday, January 30 (Winter Parent-Teacher Conferences). Extended care is available from 7:30 AM–6:00 PM. The cost of extended care is included in the cost of the "flat rate" fee for after-school care. For all others the cost is $15 per day. Lunch is provided during extended care.

Hot lunch program at SFAS...

Staff Development Day

There is no school on Tuesday, January 31. This is a staff development day for all teachers. Extended care is available on this day from 7:30 AM–6:00 PM.

Quote of the Week

"Opera is singing and dancing--and scary! But I like it!"

--Overheard in music class

Is It All Just So Much Talk?

"Religion is as religion does – all the rest is talk," writes Irving Greenberg. A Jewish theologian, Greenberg had the Holocaust in view with his statement. It was not enough to say a prayer for Jews in the time of Hitler. It didn't help to feel sad or to wish that someone would come to the aid of people being murdered. It was a time that called for very specific and practical behaviors.

A European Jew in 1943 needed something as specific as a Gentile home or shop where she could hide. Money. Food. Spiriting across a border. "But that would involve risk to the person providing it!" someone cries. Of course, it would. But that is the point. Faith, godly living, justice, compassion – until they are deeds instead of mere pious conversation, they don't have meaning.

It is pretty easy to see that now. We are more than a half century away from Hitler's gas chambers and crematoria. It is even possible to watch a movie or TV documentary and tell ourselves we would have done something back then. We can hope so. But there are good reasons to wonder.

Where does a stranger fit into your life? All of us do kind things for our family and close friends. I insist on buying lunch this time. You go to the hospital to cheer her up. You take care of his yard for six weeks while his ankle heals. You babysit their kids when they need to run an errand or just see a movie. But you'll get all those kindnesses back. You may even be repaying things they've already done. It is wonderful to have such positive, supportive relationships in your life.

The challenge for many of us, though, is to name something we do for strangers. People who will never pay us back. People of a different color or religion. People whose politics we don't like. An enemy.

If those of us who say we are disciples of Jesus do not grow in our ability to care about others in very concrete, self-sacrificing ways, we are only fooling ourselves. Poverty, sickness, loneliness, hunger, fear – no individual or family, local church or civic group can tackle all these problems alone. But there is one situation, one family, or one person you can help. And "help" isn't warm feelings or kind thoughts. It is time. Putting money down. Having somebody into your home or going to theirs. Making a lonely person feel cared for. Tutoring a child. Sitting with someone who's dying of HIV/AIDS.

Religious rituals are no substitute for compassionate actions. If the Marines are looking for "a few good men," Jesus is searching for a few real disciples – people whose religion is Christ-imitating love and not mere church prattle.

--Rubel Shelly