13 Oct A Word From Dr. Satterly—October 13, 2022
Dear WA Community,
It is homecoming week at Westminster Academy. Typically this time-honored tradition is marked by pep rallies, student activities, a home football game, and the return of alumni. This year is no exception as we are excited to welcome home the Class of 1997, the Class of 2002, and the Class of 2012 because family never graduates.
In addition to frivolity, homecoming also affords a wonderful time to reflect on our rich history and to recall what God has done at and through Westminster Academy. It is a time to celebrate the impact of a school devoted to Christ and dedicated to excellence where students are known and loved. This week we are acutely reminded about our calling and our mission.
From our founding, Westminster Academy has focused on teaching students how to see the world and think Christianly. We care deeply about biblical worldview and how it impacts our students, families, and community. That conviction that fueled our founding burns just as strongly today.
Os Guinness has written extensively and prolifically on the topic of worldview. He has long been a favorite author, and I have been privileged to meet him during his recent visits to our church community. After his last visit, I picked up a copy of his latest book, The Magna Carta of Humanity—Sinai’s Revolutionary Faith and the Future of Freedom. In it, Guinness explores the notion of biblical freedom, which is grounded upon Christ as opposed to the world’s version, which relies on humanism (by the way, this squares with Cultivate, our theme for the year based on Colossians 2:7–8.) One significant part of his argument is that freedom must be celebrated and handed on—in this, education and the school, including ours, play a key role. Guinness cites a Jewish thinker, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in highlighting the significance of the school. “First and more generally, ‘The great challenges of humanity are too large to be completed in a single generation.’ Second, and more specifically: ‘If any change in the human condition takes longer than a generation, education becomes fundamental.’”
The full measure of the impact of Westminster Academy ought to be weighed over time and viewed with perspective. Perhaps this is the biggest part of homecoming, seeing and celebrating what God has done, is doing, and will do.
To God be the Glory!
Dr. Joel Satterly
Headmaster