Wednesday, September 5, 2007

59 and Counting

From the President. . .
Tim Sierer

Fifty-nine and counting!!! As members of the Mid-Atlantic Christian Schools Association we praise the Lord for allowing this organization to reach such a milestone. A milestone that many organizations can only dream about. It is possible to gain a perspective on how far MACSA has come by remembering what was taking place the year MACSA was founded:

• President Harry S Truman was nearing the end of his first term in office.

• Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi, India.

• The Communists took over Czechoslovakia.

• The average life expectancy was 67.2 years.

• The Cleveland Indians won over the Boston Braves to claim the World Series 4 games to 2.

• The cost of a first-class stamp was $0.03.

• The "Big Bang" theory was put forth by George Gamow to explain the origin of the universe.

• The Ed Sullivan Show was the number one TV show that year while Dragnet debuted as a radio broadcast.

• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, starring Humphrey Bogart, was a box office smash.

• Fifty-nine years ago the majority of the faculty serving in our schools was not even born.

While most of these events were appearing on the front pages of the nation's newspapers, members of the Christian community in the Mid-Atlantic region were laying the foundation for a Christian school association that would impact lives for many years. Since its inception God has blessed MACSA with opportunities to minister to the needs of hundreds of Christian schools which in turn impact thousands of young people for the name of Christ. Literally thousands of students have graduated from our member schools and are now impacting their communities for the cause of Jesus Christ. As we look over the class rosters of many of our schools we are able to see the second, and in some cases even the third, generation of families walking the hallways of our schools. Many of us enjoy the pleasure of having alumni serving as integral parts of our staff as teachers while still others serve as coaches, members of various school committees and governing Boards. God's grace, mercy and continued blessings are able to be seen in every area of His schools, and in the MACSA organization at large.

Over the years many individuals committed to furthering the cause of Christ carried out the work of building a great association. This endeavor has been a labor of love on the part of hundreds and thousands of people, past and present. As a reader of this newsletter, you have demonstrated an interest in our work and a commitment to MACSA as a whole. For that we gratefully thank you! Please continue to pray for our schools as they minister to the lives of children during the next fifty-nine years should the Lord tarry – Fifty-nine and counting!!!

"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong…that no man should boast before God." I Cor.1:27-28

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Farewell

Charles Bloomfield

Forty-two years ago I attended my first MACSA convention at Delaware County Christian School, and MACSA has played a big part in my professional life ever since. I was privileged to serve on the convention program committee during the 1970s, and it was especially gratifying to be asked in 2001 to stand for election as MACSA's vice-president. It has been a huge and humbling privilege for me to serve as your president since 2004.

Now, as the end of my 42nd year of Christian school ministry draws to a close, my term as your president is also drawing to a close. With that comes a change in my role at my school. Lehigh Valley Christian High School will welcome a new Head of School on July 1, and I am looking forward to moving into a support role as I transition toward eventual retirement.

Our Lord has been good in allowing us to move forward as an association in some significant ways these past three years. Our special subject day program (Music, Art and Technology) continues and has grown. Membership in the American Buyers Consortium (ABC) is now a benefit of MACSA membership. We have "adopted" Discover Christian Schools. The Summer Development Institute is now under the MACSA umbrella. We have a presence, so to speak, in Southeast Asia through our support of Dr. Janet Lowrie Nason, ACSI's regional director there. Scholarships for summer study are up, both in number and amount. Surely our God is a good God, and He is prospering us!

Join me, please, in praying for and supporting Dr. Tim Sierer as he takes the helm on August 1. Also, rejoice with me in our partnership together in the oldest regional Christian school association in the United States.