Convocation Message
September 3, 2025
Richard R. Halloran, PhD
Head of School
An Illustration
Have you ever listened to a symphony orchestra tuning before a concert? It’s chaotic — violins playing one note, brass blasting another, percussion rattling in the background. It doesn’t sound like music; it sounds like noise. But then the conductor steps up, raises the baton, and everything changes. Dozens of different instruments begin to play as one. Harmony replaces chaos. The beauty of the music comes not from everyone playing the same instrument, but from different parts working together under one conductor.
That’s a picture of what Christian community should be like. Different people, different gifts, different voices — but one Spirit, one Lord, one God who unites us.
Introducing Two Themes
This year at Providence, our theme is cultivating healthy partnerships in God-honoring ways. That’s how this school was founded 25 years ago — parents, teachers, founders, and board members locking arms to shepherd students’ hearts and minds. And one of the ways we cultivate those partnerships is through peacemaking — pursuing unity, working through differences with humility, and choosing love over selfishness.
Ephesians 4:1–6
Paul writes in Ephesians 4: “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received, be completely humility and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
Unity isn’t something we manufacture — it comes from God Himself. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father. The unity of our school community is a reflection of the unity of the Triune God. But Paul says it takes effort — make every effort — to keep that unity through love and peace. Like the symphony orchestra, beauty does not come without effort. Think about the daily decisions each person makes to practice, to pay attention to the director, etc.
Philippians 2:1–4
If Ephesians tells us where unity comes from, Philippians tells us what threatens it. Paul says, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then complete my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”
Paul writes this conditional statement as if we are to assume it is true. Notice, encouragement comes from being united with Christ – key point – for the Christian. It’s not just unity for unity’s sake. Our unity is found in the fact that we follow Christ. He is our Savior and Lord. Thus, while we may look different, we are more unified with those who look different but follow Christ, compared with those who look alike but don’t follow Christ. Christ breaks down all racial and ethnic barriers. This doesn’t mean we have to be uniform (all singing alike, worshipping alike), but we all have to be going the same direction — towards Christ-likeness.
And how does that happen? He tells us: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Nothing destroys unity faster than selfishness — when I insist on my way, my comfort, my recognition, my feelings, my desires. But when we put others first and practice humility, unity flourishes.
Bringing It Together
So here’s the picture:
- Ephesians 4 reminds us that unity flows from God and is held together by love and peace.
- Philippians 2 reminds us that unity is protected when we reject selfishness and embrace humility.
Together, these passages show us how to cultivate healthy partnerships and be peacemakers.
Closing Challenge
As we step into Providence’s 25th year, let’s choose daily to play in harmony under the direction of Christ. Students — honor your teachers and encourage one another. Teachers — shepherd with humility and grace. Parents — walk with us in trust and partnership.
When each of us looks not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others, the result is a beautiful harmony that points to the greatness of our God.
May our next 25 years together resound like a symphony — different voices, different parts, but one Spirit, one Lord, one God — making music for His glory.
Charge to Teachers
Teachers, every year we return to the heart of classical and Christian education. In recent years, we’ve reviewed “Tried and True,” The Seven Laws of Teaching, and The Four Foundations of Great Teaching. I charge you to continually review these principles and faithfully put them into practice.
But remember — our students learn not only from our instruction, but from our example. We are a living curriculum. Therefore, I charge you to:
- Model the principles of unity we have just heard from God’s Word.
- Walk in humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love.
- Have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who did not seek His own interests, but gave Himself for others.
Charge to Students
From our earliest years as a school, Providence has sought to teach you God’s standards — not as a way to find salvation, but as the way those who belong to Christ are called to live. These standards are not about how you become a Christian, but about how Christians live — shaping your daily choices, both in public and in private.
So, in the presence of God and this community, I charge you to:
- Fear God and keep His commandments.
- Honor others above yourself.
- Do your work heartily, as unto the Lord.
- Do everything without grumbling or complaining.
And, in light of today’s message, I further charge you:
- Be unified in Christ. Remember that you are members of one body, and the members do not fight against one another.
- Complete our joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, and walking together in humility.
Semper excelsior ad gloriam Dei
(Always ever upward to the glory of God!)
Richard R. Halloran, PhD
Head of School
