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The video about what the Bible is and how it was added to over time was really interesting to me. It was significant as the different sections that make up the Hebrew Bible have different themes which I hadn't realised before. I also didn't realise that the Orthodox Bible has some books which the Protestant Bible does not. This is significant for my understanding of the Bible because I have more context for how it was collated.

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Our school's vision for learners:

To create lifelong learners who are holistically decent people.

My educational philosophy:

I'm a teacher to be a catalyst for students to see the world differently, and to learn more about who they are and who they could be for the world.

Connections to Creation theology: a reminder that Creation theology depicts them as created in God's image, that they will make mistakes but encourage them to receive the gift of creation with gratitude, wonder and humility.

Connect: I connected well with the second session. It was interesting and connected to a lot of what I already knew from a Lutheran background.

Extend: The session extended my symbolic understanding of Creation and I was pleased to see the emphasis on responsibility to the natural world.

Challenge: Already listed above. As well as guiding students through these kinds of questions as they come up when we look at medieval Europe and the Reformation.

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Connect: For today's session I already had an understanding of the Reformation and the significance of Martin Luther's challenge to the Catholic Church, but I hadn't realised it was based in part on his translation work of older versions of the New Testament. I also knew the Bible was made up of the Torah but didn't realise the 2 other sections of the Hebrew Bible that make up (most) of the rest of the Old Testament.

Extend: The interpretation tools looking at the context of hen the text was written, what it says, and the context of me reading it and who I am in my time extended my thinking. These are interesting lenses for continuing to make scripture relevant and made me understand Pastor Luke's work even more.

Challenge: I wonder how much the reader can bring themselves and their particular understanding to scripture before they stray too far into interpreting whatever they wanted to think anyway. The antidote would probably be to use the idea of scripture interpreting scripture to make sure verses and lessons aren't cherry-picked, but it is interesting because all sorts of things have been justified in the past using specific interpretations of scripture.

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Connect: How are the ideas connected to what I already knew?

Much of the content happens to already align with what I value and believe already. Especially in a modern Australian context where it seems community is fracturing, it is more important than ever that young people feel connected to something greater than themselves and have a strong moral framework to guide them through uncertain times.

Extend: What new ideas did you get that extended thinking in new directions?

As a language teacher previously, I really found the etymology of vocation interesting as it literally means a 'calling'. I love the concept because it is word manifested as action to live out what is most meaningful. That has also opened up further thinking for me about how even though that sounds serious, if you are truly living your vocation it can be very enjoyable as well. I've already had discussions with students around this very idea, that difficult or serious is not the opposite of fun.

Challenge: What challenges or puzzles have come up?

The main challenge is around how to balance not only my work vocation but also a wider local and global contribution, my contribution to family and friends, and my contribution to society at large. These are all meaningful, but there is only so much time in a day.

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Reflection-Guiding Question 1: How can we know about God?

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Reflection-Guiding Question 1: How can we know about God?

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We can know about God primarily through the Bible as the word of God and through the words and actions of Jesus as recorded in the Bible.

The Bible itself is made up of parables, poetry and discourse to reveal laws and Gospel. The lenses of the Lutheran Church allow an holistic understanding of the Bible and what the consistent teachings and lessons are throughout the Bible. These are the ways in which we can know about God.

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I connected with the ideas around forgiveness, grace and humility. I already acted in line with many of the ideas discussed. Moving forward, it would be nice to include more explicit references to values and grace and forgiveness in class, especially as we are looking at the middle ages in Europe in history. The main challenge as always is time. I think to counter this, it's important to have a consistent attitude and approach so that when little opportunities fleetingly arise, we are poised to make the most of them to connect better with students, colleagues, parents and others.

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"God's grace as revealed in Jesus"

What are the important aspects of spirituality from a Lutheran perspective?

Lutheran is receptive spirituality which is an open gift. "Unmerited favour."

In what ways might grace influence what we do in LEQ?

How might grace inform what I do.

Connect to values and explicit connection to how we act and belong

Trends in the graphs for church attendance: dropping and not very active.

implication for schools is not to assume a foundation in Christianity

invite in with values and metaphorical discussions

Luther:

Romans: God makes us right and did so through Jesus.

Luther felt born again and triggered the reformation.

"Nobody is climbing the spiritual ladder."

"We are simultaneously sinner and saint."

Grace Looks/Feels/Sounds like:

Looks: understanding others have an 'under the surface'. Looks like finding opportunities.

Feels: Quiet. Introspective. Incredible.

Sounds: I understand. I forgive you. I want the best for you.

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What are the important aspects of spirituality from a Lutheran perspective?

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What are the important aspects of spirituality from a Lutheran perspective?

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"God's grace as revealed in Jesus" was a great place to start here in this session. Importantly, this reveals a receptive system of spirituality, not an exchange or trade to garner favour with grace or God. Forgiveness and being open to belonging which then informs our behaviour are other important aspects.

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In what way might grace shape our community?

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In what way might grace shape our community?

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We can forgive, AND there are boundaries and expectations. I think of it like 'all people are welcome, but not all behaviours are.'

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GSLC Looks/Feels/Sounds like Grace- In what ways can grace inform my role and contribution?

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GSLC Looks/Feels/Sounds like Grace- In what ways can grace inform my role and contribution?

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Grace looks like students feeling welcomed and supported and leading to them supporting and welcoming others.

It feels like a solid community. It sounds like understanding.

In my role, I can always look for opportunities to welcome students in. I can give myself grace too by treating myself like someone I am in charge of supporting. I contribute to higher values and clubs with my time in order to show gratitude for everything that makes it possible for me to be here.

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"ongoing creation and care for the universe"

Creation is bigger than than Genesis

involves creation as a gift to be grateful for

wonder and gratitude for existence

Purpose is to inspire their wonder, growth and to inspire them to respond to the needs of the world

We are an active part of that

'invited to share in the joys and wonders of creation'- creation and co-creation

the fall is symbolic of people not trusting God

questions: is the point of the story actually symbolic?

does this apply to all people in all cultures at all times, including those who have very different belief systems and cultural/moral codes?

We are created as 100% sinner and 100% saint

Each individual has inherit dignity and worth

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How does creation theology inform the why and how of Lutheran Education?

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How does creation theology inform the why and how of Lutheran Education?

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Creation theology seems to inform more of the approach to people, individuals and community than a literal account. Creation/co-creation is ongoing and we have the responsibility of caring for creation as a gift. The symbolism of being good and evil simultaneously, and that every individual is deserving of dignity are key points. For education this manifests as looking for each student's individual talents and abilities but not valuing them based on these things.

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How does creation theology shape an aspect of your work with students?

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How does creation theology shape an aspect of your work with students?

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Seeing their inherent value as people rather than them as a hollow shell of their grades is a great reminder to all teachers. As well as that, being able to pose questions in class around what kind of people the students think are important and dig deeper to which values underpin that.

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What questions does this raise for me and how can I find out?

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What questions does this raise for me and how can I find out?

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A student actually asked me recently how to reconcile early human archeology with Creation theology. I used the LEA website to guide her through that knowing the mechanism doesn't take away the meaning or wonder of something like Creation.

How close does this come to universalism? How can we reasonably expect that a person in a different time and place would access and act accordingly with God in a Creation sense?

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Reflection- Guiding Question 2: How does God's word form and inform Lutheran education communities and my role?

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Reflection- Guiding Question 2: How does God's word form and inform Lutheran education communities and my role?

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My vocation as a teacher is the gift that is being shared through GSLC as a Lutheran Education institution. The way we interact as a community and with students is informed by Grace and receiving the gifts of God, while recognising the abilities that students have been given.

Students depend on me as a role model for how we interact with one another and in that way, my role is informed by the Lutheran lenses of interpreting the word of God. For example through creating and cocreating with students in class, just as the ongoing of creation continues, and in our restorative practice informed by God's word, love and forgiveness.

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Reflection- Guiding Question 3: What are the most significant aspects of Lutheran theology for Lutheran education?

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Reflection- Guiding Question 3: What are the most significant aspects of Lutheran theology for Lutheran education?

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The Bible is God's word and how God communicates with people.

God's gift is given freely and does not need to be sought or have penance paid for it.

God works through everyone, so importantly teachers and schools in the Lutheran system are in cocreation with God and doing God's work.

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Reflection- Guiding Question 4: What questions or issues does the concept raise for me and how can I explore my questions?

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Reflection- Guiding Question 4: What questions or issues does the concept raise for me and how can I explore my questions?

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When we were analysing the Lutheran lenses for understanding scripture, I had a question about the importance of scripture interpreting scripture. What are the fundamentals or throughlines that ground God's word through scripture holistically and how can they be used to give context across the Bible as a whole?

I can leverage the expertise of the Christian Studies teachers and Pastor Luke to speak about this idea further, or use these kinds of question in devotion in PC to see what the students think are the most important throughlines.

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For the Lutheran Church, the Bible is the word of God, and the authority. It's the way that God communicates with people.

This is a different interpretation to other branches of Christianity. There are additional books in the Greek Orthodox and some Catholic Bibles.

There are multiple different literary styles in the Bible.

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Metanoia- repentance rather than doing penance. Translation from the Greek New Testament to Latin when it was originally translated.

'God comes to you rather than you trying to do things to get to God.'

Martin Luther then challenged the idea of sacrament in the Catholic Church.

The printing press made it possible to disseminate the Bible more widely.

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1. Law and Gospel: law and judgements and comforts and promises can be evident in the same passage.

2. What shows forth Christ: Lutherans are Jesus people and the Bible is a Jesus book. Lutherans worship Jesus, not the Bible.

3. Scripture interprets scripture: it should be taken wholistically and not isolated. Some scripture is more important.

4. The plain meaning of the text: Respecting the context of the original writers.

5. Public interpretation: asking what it would mean for different people at different times, ages and cultures.

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Gospel and the teachings of Jesus inform everything that happens at Lutheran schools. This includes relationships between people, and the gifts of people, wisdom and education.

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vocation= 'calling' because it's related to vocare.

"Christian spirituality finds expression in love, service and our vocations."

communities are built on relationships to others, and Lutheran theology believes that everyone is uniquely gifted to live in relationship with God.

Scripture notes that being broken is losing relationship to God through 'sin' i.e doing what is wrong=relational breakdown

"That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us" - I John 1:3

occupation is different to vocation because occupation is what you do but vocation is why you do it.

All work is sacred because it's the way that people care for creation.

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Guiding Question 1: Why does Lutheran education value community?

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Guiding Question 1: Why does Lutheran education value community?

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Lutheran Education values community because there is a theological connection between relationships and relationship with God. Community for Lutherans and other Christians is built upon "love, service and our vocations." In this way, someone's calling contributes to a Lutheran community. Scripture supports this through passages such as I John 1:3. Reflecting our relationships to the relationships people have with God.

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Guiding Question 2: In what ways has the learning about community relationships informed your understand of your role and your contribution?

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Guiding Question 2: In what ways has the learning about community relationships informed your understand of your role and your contribution?

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The idea of vocation as a calling and a relationship to community building as a teacher in a school, is interesting for me to reflect on what I can do and how it relates to my role. My skills and 'calling' are a positive contribution to my students and the colleagues around me. My contribution is being able to get my students to enjoy class and make sure they become better versions of themselves, with skills to help other people around them. In this way, doing what I can has an ongoing domino effect of positive ripples.

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Guiding Question 3: What questions or issues does the concept of community raise for me and how can I explore my questions?

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Guiding Question 3: What questions or issues does the concept of community raise for me and how can I explore my questions?

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Questions:

What capacity do I have to help the people around me?

Self reflection to think on what I can do and to focus on my strengths because it makes me better for others.

What's the right balance between doing extra work to develop professionally and staying mentally with it by relaxing so I can be my best self when I am with people in my community?

I can monitor my time with family and schedule time for things I enjoy. I can also schedule in PD so I know that time is already set aside, freeing me up to relax and unwind when needed. I also already speak to colleagues in my staffroom about PD and work balance.

What opportunities are there for improving the capacity of my students to see their opportunities for community in class or at school?

Shared value discussions and peer work where we engage with each other. Students then develop self efficacy.

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Why might this matter to me?

The vocation as a different role in different situations informs my behaviours and expectations for each role.

Why might it matter to people around me?

I can contribute to the betterment of the people around me, as a calling.

Why might it matter to the world?

Net positive actions lead to a net positive for the world, like ripples in a pond moving outwards.

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1. articulate how the learning in Connect has influenced their understanding, practice and

contribution to their Lutheran school or early childhood service

The LEQ Connect sessions gave me the opportunity to work and learn with colleagues and receive useful information regarding the theological underpinnings of life and learning at GSLC. The concept of vocation as a calling from God to work for the betterment of my students and the school community at large was the most important learning I have taken from the Connect sessions. The specific areas where vocation is most relevant are my roles with student clubs, coaching and in behaviour management, where my role is not only to give students the opportunities inherent in those roles, but to connect those experiences to learning around service and community. The Community session in particular made reference to the fact that "Christian spirituality finds expression in love, service and our vocations." Therefore, in my roles as a coach, service club mentor and teacher I am engaging in Christian spirituality through my involvement with environmental issues, my enjoyment of sports, and my work as a teacher.

2. Analyse and describe the ways Lutheran theological perspectives can shape practices in an

ECS, school or classroom.

Restorative practice intertwines nicely with the concept of Grace, as discussed in the Connect workshops. Grace as an "unmerited favour" is important when working with students who have done something they are reflecting on in a restorative conversation with me or the Heads of Grade. It's important that students understand that I still want the best for them, regardless of their behaviour that led to this situation. This practice reflects the concept of Grace which has already been given, and as a Lutheran school we seek to emulate the role shown through Jesus' unmerited gift.

3. identify and critically reflect on questions that will inform a plan for further learning that will

advance their understanding, practice and contribution to Lutheran education.

I'm looking forward to the change in pastoral care system for next year and so my main question currently is how the concepts discussed and reflected upon during the Connect workshops can support what we are doing in PC. I'm fortunate to have Pastor Luke as a fantastic spiritual advisor at school and conversations with him around morals, ethics, learning through interpretation of values as revealed through scripture are great starting points.

Furthermore, when students have questions surrounding class content, religious studies or general life questions, I feel the learning around Grace, community, values, scripture and a Lutheran spirituality have better prepared me to reach students in more ways as I help to make them better versions of themselves. Questions surrounding Creation and cocreation through God's word and how that manifests in today's world of AI and levels of geopolitical power, as well as how to interpret actions of the past by people who did not or could not know of God's word are still areas for me to talk through with colleagues, our Pastor and students as they grow in their own spiritual journeys.

These conversations help to cocreate my next contributions to Lutheran education through service, community and vocation.