Greetings, and a very warm welcome to 2026.
As we gather at the beginning of a new year, I find myself deeply grateful for each one of you: our leaders, staff, and volunteers who serve so faithfully across our learning communities. The work you do touches thousands of young people and their families every single day, and it is a privilege to begin another year alongside you.
One of my favourite authors, Max Lucado, speaks often about gratitude. His reflections have shaped my own thinking, and I know the practice of gratitude is already woven into the culture of many of our schools and ECS’s. But at the start of a new year, it feels right to pause and remember why gratitude matters.
Max reminds us that a grateful heart sees each day as a gift. Grateful people focus less on what they lack and more on the privileges they’ve been given. He describes gratitude as a kind of magnet, sweeping across our days, collecting small and large reasons to say, “Thank you, God.”
When we stop long enough to notice, we realise how much we are held by God’s abundance:
- the millions of stars that light the night sky,
- the miracle of muscles that allow our eyes to read and our minds to understand,
- around eleven thousand litres of air a day that our lungs draw breath,
- a heart that beats faithfully, billions of times across a lifetime.
Even the ordinary blessings like vegemite on toast, a warm blanket, a shared joke, sunshine on our skin, and yes, even the thousands of flights that arrive safely each day, remind us of God’s goodness.
Gratitude doesn’t pretend life is easy. It doesn’t erase anxiety or hardship. But it does offer us perspective. When we reflect on our blessings, we retell the story of God’s faithfulness. And when we retell God’s faithfulness, we come to see God’s heart more clearly. Gratitude doesn’t remove the challenges before us, but it gently shifts our gaze from what worries us, to the Christ who walks with us.
I am very aware that the year ahead will hold its share of complexities. Expecting gratitude to wipe away every concern would be naïve. But I do believe this: when we work together, when we collaborate and share the load, when we trust in the Holy Spirit’s quiet, steady presence in all we do, we flourish. Not alone, but together.
So as we step into 2026, my heartfelt thanks to each of you for the extraordinary difference you make. Your dedication shapes the lives of more than 10,000 young people and their families every day. What a profound calling, and what a privilege to share it with you.
Thank you, and God bless you for 2026.
Colin Minke
Executive Director
