DEPARTMENT
NEWS
A Special Place
BY ZACHARY LOXDALE
T
here is an ancient Celtic Christian expression I love: “thin places.” It describes a place where the separation between heaven and earth becomes very “thin.” These are places where the divine presence can be felt in a special way—where heaven stoops to greet the earth with a kiss.
Perhaps you have had a thin place experience—may be overlooking an awe-inspiring natural vista or under the quieting dome of a gothic cathedral. For Moses, a patch of dirt was hallowed ground. For Joshua and Caleb, Canaan was a God-given paradise reflecting His favour. For Solomon, the temple grounds were worthy of reverent, silent craftsmanship. Jesus both wrestled in and ascended from the same peaceful mountain ridge, the Mount of Olives. I have taught at Parkview Adventist Academy for five years and have determined it might be a thin place or at least an exceptional place. I recently surveyed some students regarding this: “Why is PAA special?” These are their responses: Zhiyar Mokry: “We are all like family. It feels like we’re somewhere else, not just at school.” Kofi Adom: “The people. On my first day at PAA, I was sitting by myself, and a student walked up to me and acted like he already knew me. After that, I
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Alberta Adventist News
JUNE 2022
just met more and more people who were really friendly.” Sephora Feliz: “There is a lot of diversity here compared to other schools. There can be a lot of racism at other schools, but PAA is very multicultural. People are not mean here.”
Jheffry Feliz: “The teachers. It is a smaller school, so they give you more time and put more time into you. The teachers are willing to make the content understandable.” Nolan Oickle: “The teachers. They are very unique, but weird is cool.”
