Oct 5 th

Interdependence /ˌɪntədɪˈpɛndəns/ noun 1. dependence between two or more people, groups, or things,the mutual reliance between two or more groups

A new born baby is totally dependent on others. A baby needs it mother, or someone else, to provide nourishment, warmth, shelter, clothing –everything he or she needs. As we grow older we are said to become more independent. Discuss how independent you are at your current age. Is anyone truly independent?

Think about: Can a person running a relay race be completely independent? How much interdependence is there in a family? How much interdependence is there for each person in your Registration Group ?

Interdependence between people exists in families; in football, netball, hockey teams; in work places; at Princes Risborough School. A football (substitute another team ball game here if you prefer) team depends on those who can score goals to be able to win matches. However, the most brilliant scoring forward cannot score a goal without the ball. They are reliant on others in the team getting the ball to them. Equally, it is no good them scoring large numbers of goals if the other team score more. So they are also dependent on good defenders Discuss how interdependence exists / works at PRS –in the classroom and in the Academy as a whole.

In the Bible, in the book of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul teaches about spiritual gifts. Here is a modern translation of what he says. Can you see the Interdependence of the human body and of a ‘body’, group, of people? All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. You can easily see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body.

I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn’t just a single part blown up into something huge. It’s all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, “I’m not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don’t belong to this body,” would that make it right? If Ear said, “I’m not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don’t deserve a place on the head,” would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it. …contd.

But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn’t be a body, but a monster. What we have is one body with many parts, each its proper size and in its proper place. No part is important on its own. Can you imagine Eye telling Hand, “Get lost; I don’t need you”? Or, Head telling Foot, “You’re fired; your job has been phased out”?

The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. Reflection or Discussion: Paul is talking about the Christian church here. Do you think the same argument about interdependence can apply to other groups of people? Does it apply to Princes Risborough School? We all have different talents and abilities how can we use all our different talents to make PRS better? What about you, do you need other people? Do they need you?