Things to Know this Week (Oct 27)
RCS Families,
I am humbled by what God is doing in and through Renton Christian this year! Last week 150 of our 7th & 8th grade students, staff, and parents spent three days at Black Diamond Camp for their fall retreat. God moved powerfully in the hearts of our students. 29 students made Jesus their Lord and Savior! Another 13 students felt called to consider full-time ministry as their future career! These unhurried moments at the altar will be foundational in their spiritual formation. We pray the seed planted and watered in their lives will come to fruition and produce amazing fruit for the Mission of God.
Here are a couple of things to know this week:
Move-A-Thon & Color Run Update (Our new bus arrived today!)
Thank you for all your help and partnership with our fall fundraiser! Together, we raised over $170,000! This year we raised money for a second new school bus and some campus security projects. I’m excited to announce our second new school bus arrived today! This will help eliminate our need to rent school buses for most field trips and prepare us for transportation between campuses when we add our future high school location. The first campus security project will strengthen and improve the security at our school office entrance. This improvement should be complete during Christmas break or mid-winter break depending on supply availability.
Veterans Day Chapel | Thursday, November 2
Next week, we will have our annual Veterans Day Chapels. Every year we invite all veterans of RCS students to join us. We will honor and celebrate their meaningful service and sacrifice to protect the freedoms we enjoy every day. As always, all parents are welcome to come. Please take note of the chapel times for your student’s chapel: 4th – 8th grade @ 8:45am, Kprep – 3rd grade @ 10:30am. There will be a reception for all veterans at 9:30am between these two chapels. If you or a family member is unable to join us in person, we will live stream both chapels at: https://rcs.online.church/.
RCS Cares | November 6th – 17th
Our prayer is that every student at RCS learns to be missionally minded, thinking beyond themselves. We want to cultivate compassionate students whose heart breaks for the things that break the heart of God. In November, we have two opportunities for the RCS community to serve:
- Food Drive: We will be receiving non-perishable food for the Renton Salvation Army Food Bank.
- Operation Christmas Child: We want to provide a Christmas gift to 500 children in need across the world.
Details for both opportunities will be sent early next week. Thank you for helping us train a generation of students to tangibly express the love of Christ.
RCS High School Update
We continue to conduct feasibility, design, and entitlement work on the RCS High School property. We are working diligently toward a pre-application meeting with the City of Covington in January or February 2024. This week an arborist is documenting and assessing each of the over 1,500 trees on the property to help us confirm the buildable area and inform the site design. We are making steady and diligent progress! CLICK HERE to learn more about the RCS High School.
November Serving Opportunities @ RCS
This year we launched our new serving platform for Renton Christian School. Thank you for partnering with us! We are still looking for several parents to serve in November for our Book Fair and Veterans Day Chapel, and upcoming Christmas concerts in December. Please look at our upcoming serving needs at: www.rentonchristian.org/serve.
Follow RCS on Instagram
There are some great pictures and videos on our social media accounts of our Harvest Day today and students turning me into an ice cream sundae yesterday. The best way to stay up-to-date with Renton Christian is on Instagram @rentonchristian. Please follow us on Instagram to see stories and posts that will inform, inspire, and give you a glimpse into your student’s day at RCS. You can also join us on Facebook as well.
Encouragement and Prayer:
As the leaves fall and temperature drops a sign of a new season is upon us. Each season has different rhythms, characteristics, and traditions. If you are like me, there are some seasons you prefer over others. There are some seasons you look forward to and others you endure. Like the seasons of nature, we experience different seasons as an individual, family, and organization. Some seasons are filled with joy and celebration, others with anxiety, loss, and pain. Regardless of how you would describe the season you are currently in, here are a few things to consider:
- We Need Each Other – in the Bible we are called to carry each other’s burdens, to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, to encourage one another and build each other up. We need to be close enough with others to care for them and humble enough to receive care from them.
- Enjoy Every Day – each day is a gift from God and is not promised. James says our life is like a mist, here today and gone tomorrow. God’s compassions and mercies are new every morning. Be present and enjoy each moment.
- Don’t Worry – we are not designed to constantly live in stress or anxiety. Jesus cares for us and we need to cast all our anxiety on Him. Jesus taught us to not worry and to consider how much God provides for the birds in the air and how much more he cares about us. Instead, Jesus can be our source of a peace that will guard our hearts and minds.
- Season’s Don’t Last – seasons come, and seasons go. King Solomon said there is a time for everything and every season. If the season you are in is the best ever, savor it. If the season is the worst ever, remember, it will not last forever. Better days are ahead.
- Think Correctly – we are flooded with information daily. Most of it stirs up uncertainty, division, or fear. Instead of staying connected to things that drain us, we should instead think about things that fuel us. The Apostle Paul gave us some thinking filters, teaching us to seek that which is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Let’s fill our minds with the right things.
I pray that regardless the season you find yourself in you would find comfort and strength in Christ. I pray “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace” Numbers 6:24-26.
Have a great weekend!
Thanks,
Randy McMillan
RCS | Head of School