Chapel

 

"Episcopal schools are created to be communities that honor, celebrate, and worship God as the center of life." Corporate worship gives us the opportunities for prayer, reflection, and celebration. Chapel is at the heart of our Episcopal identity.

 

Kindergarten — Eighth Grade students attend Chapel at least four times each week.

A short service of Morning Prayer takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and alternate Fridays.

On these days, the students and faculty come together in the Chapel for the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. These lead directly into a short service which includes a hymn, Bible reading, homily, and time of prayer.

On the alternate Fridays, students attend and lead Hoot & Holler, the School's assembly time. This is held in the gymnasium.

Wednesday mornings is a more formal Chapel service led by the Rector. Thr Rector is the Priest-in-charge of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. In addition to sitting on the Board of Trustees as the Bishop’s Representative, the Rector teaches a weekly Christian Education class to the Middle School.

The Wednesday service follows more closely the Episcopal service of Morning Prayer as prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. Once a month, Eucharist is celebrated on Wednesday morning in place of Morning Prayer.

Early Childhood Threes and Fours have a Chapel service led by Father Mike each Wednesday. On the other mornings, time for age-appropriate devotions and songs is held for individual classes, age groups, or the entire division.

In addition to the Chapel services, throughout the School, teachers share a time of daily devotion with their classes. Grace is also said by classes before they come down to the cafeteria for lunch.

Episcopal schools have been established, however, not solely as communities for Christians but as diverse ministries of educational and human formation for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Much as Jesus spoke to all present before him, both followers and non-believers, Episcopal school worship embraces the full breadth of the human family.'

With this in mind, Oak Hall Episcopal School is “called to fulfill two simultaneous commitments: to provide students an authentic experience of Christian worship that is unapologetically and identifiable Anglican; and to welcome, affirm, and support the spiritual development of students of all faiths or no faith at all.”

*At this time St. Philip's Episcopal Church is in  search for a new Rector.

 

As an Episcopal school, our aim is to manifest the daily experience of the love of God in our lives. Therefore, Christian Education at the School is not about dogma. In an age appropriate way, it is a time for students, and faculty, both to seek clarity about their own beliefs and religions and to look for ways to honor those traditions more fully and faithfully in their own lives.

 

These grades utilize classroom “teaching time” with their teachers. The idea of “loving everyone and treating all people with respect” is woven into their days, often drawing on their own “real life” experiences of home and school.

 

These four grades each meet once weekly. The lessons are based on the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools' Religion Curriculum and is divided into two strands. The first strand deals with major Holy Days and seasons of the Chruch Year.  The second strand is based on themes. The themes for Second and Third Grades are drawn from the New Testament (Mine Eyes Have Seen Thy Salvation), while the themes for Fourth and Fifth Grades come from the Old Testament (A Light to the Nations: God's Covenant People).

 

Together, students have the opportunity to investigate a variety of topics such as the points of transition within the Christian Faith including baptism, marriage, and death; explore the major world religions; and study Biblical themes and discuss how they relate to their own lives in the 21st century.