EXAMINING THE EPISCOPAL CHARACTER OF THE SCHOOL

WORSHIP INFORMATION:

Chapel worship is held weekly. Each week, four chapel services are conducted, two for our elementary students, second through fifth, and two for our primary students, preschool through first grade. The Rector of St. Mary’s Church, The Reverend Mark D. Story, serves as chaplain for the school and oversees all of the worship planning. The primary chapel services last approximately 20 minutes, while the elementary services last approximately 30 minutes. Father Story conducts most of the chapel services each week, except for the Monday morning elementary service, which is conducted by the Head of School.

Attendance by all students is required.

The elementary school chapel is built upon forms of Daily Devotionals, Morning Prayer and Holy Eucharist modified from The Book of Common Prayer 1979.  The reading or telling of stories from Holy Scripture is also a significant part of the Chapel experience. Elementary students attend chapel twice weekly and actively participate in the service. Chapel includes children using their skills in reading, and singing. Students serve as acolytes and readers as well as participating fully in the praise of God. A monthly Eucharist is also an integral part of the elementary chapel experience beginning with third grade.

Time is given for individual prayers and expressions of concerns about others. The primary purpose of chapel is to hear God's word in Holy Scripture, rehearse the faith of the church in the Creedal Statement of Belief and offer prayers. Chapel is an offering of each child to the Lord-- their thoughts, prayers, hopes, beliefs and dreams.

The Wednesday elementary chapel (for our second through fifth graders) uses The Book of Common Prayer (Morning Prayer Service) and focuses on Scripture Readings. Portions of Psalms, and collects (prayers) are read at this service in addition to The Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed. This service is lead by students who are assisted by the Rector of St. Mary’s Church and lasts approximately 30 minutes.

The Monday morning chapel services (for our second through fifth graders) are taken from The Book of Common Prayer Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families. This devotion follows the basic structure of the Daily Office of the Church. Core value traits are introduced and used to develop positive, healthy and spiritual students.  This service is lead by the Head of School and lasts approximately 20 minutes.

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND OUTREACH:

St. Mary’s Episcopal School recognizes the importance of allowing children the opportunity to grow in areas of self-giving and concern for others, as well as the opportunity to know that they can be a part of improving the quality of human life. The students and staff of St. Mary’s are committed to go beyond volunteerism to include service learning in the classroom. Our goal is to help lay the foundation for learning civic participation skills and instilling in the students an understanding of the nature and importance of responsible citizenship that will last a lifetime.  Through community outreach programs and civic participation our students will learn that helping others is fun and can make a difference in the lives of others as well as their own. 

St. Mary’s Episcopal School is an active participating school in The American Red Cross Teacher Sponsor Program.  This program is an exciting way to incorporate service, community awareness, and service learning into our teaching curriculum.

CHAPEL AND WORSHIP

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