Blog & Calendar
Blog

The Episcopal Way: A Reflection on our Episcopal Identity in Honor of Episcopal Schools Celebration: October 2-8, 2022

Father Wallace Adams-Riley, CCES Senior Chaplain

I have joked before that if all Episcopal clergy (most of whom, of course, are serving in parish churches) really knew what being an Episcopal school chaplain is like, they would be storming the gates to get in!

What am I talking about? Well, indeed I think schools are one of the best things the Episcopal Church has given to the world. I say that because I believe the Episcopal way is especially well suited for schools.

Among the things that come to mind when I say that are the following:

The Episcopal way celebrates, honors, and cultivates the whole person, in body, mind, and spirt. Ultimately this vision and concern for humanity is grounded in nothing less than the Incarnation itself. What happened in Bethlehem teaches us about the value, not only of every human life, but of human life in all its dimensions: in a classroom, on a playing field, in a choir, on a stage, in a whitewater raft (as I was earlier this fall with our 9th graders), at the Kroc Center (as I was a few weeks ago with some of our seniors on a service learning day), at the altar rail in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, and everywhere in between! We are deeply, abidingly interested in the whole student because, indeed, we believe that God would have us be.

The Episcopal way is grounded in and sustained by an awareness of and gratitude for God’s presence, God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s provision. And we are daily reminded of this in all sorts of ways: by the location of our Chapel right at the heart of our campus; as prayers are offered in various contexts throughout the week (for example, as the CCES athletics prayer is said over the Carson Stadium intercom before home football games); and, naturally, above all, as we gather in our beautiful Chapel twice weekly.

The Episcopal way is inherently concerned with, as the Book of Common Prayer says, “the dignity of every human being.” Indeed, we are “to seek and serve Christ in all persons.” The Episcopal way is to understand that we each have an important, meaningful, and distinct part in helping this world be more the way God intends the world to be. We will of course have different ideas – many different ideas – about what that will mean. And that’s a good thing. Meanwhile, we can be sure that God has work for us to do. To borrow a line: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done...”

With all of these good things and more in mind, this week in particular, we celebrate all 16,000 students in the 1,182 Episcopal schools and early childhood education programs around the country, and we give thanks for the 28,500 administrators, faculty, and staff members who serve our Episcopal schools.

And for all that we share as Episcopal schools, thanks be to God.
Back
Christ Church Episcopal School (“CCES”) admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at CCES. CCES does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, national or ethnic origin, creed, religion, or sexual orientation in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies, financial aid, scholarship or other programs, or athletic or other school-administered programs and activities.