Dear Holy Innocents’ Family,
This weekend, churches around the world will celebrate the beginning of Pentecost: the period in the calendar that remembers the birth of the Church, which began just after Jesus’ time on earth came to an end. According to the story, shortly following Christ’s ascension the Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles during dinner. Common symbols for the Spirit make an appearance—rushing wind (the sign of breath and new life), tongues of flame (the sign of communication and understanding), and a dove (the sign of peace and hope).
The story and season of Pentecost underlines what the poet T.S. Eliot famously observed:
What we call the beginning is often the end.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.
To end our school year and start our summer, we had a special Remembrance Chapel on Thursday. Standing before the school, some representative 5th graders reflected on memorable experiences, great teachers, and the ‘Top Ten’ pieces of advice for those entering 5thgrade.
In the midst of the reflections, 3rd grader Grace Bomar addressed to the Lower School challenging us to leave our comfort zone and show God’s love in a special way over the summer. She shared her story about how, early in the semester, she discovered Locks Of Love—a charity that accepts donations of hair to give to children suffering from injury or illness that can’t grow hair of their own. Grace recalled how she felt moved to donate her own hair, but first she had to overcome her fear of parting with her hair and possibly feeling like an oddball without her long hair. Grace explained how her faith and best friend Ava Hayworth gave her courage to cut off the locks she loved and donate them to the charity.
The speeches by Grace and the 5th graders prompt us to ask ourselves and discuss these questions as we end the school year and begin the summer:
- Who’s a person that made a positive and lasting impact on your life over the school year? What did they do? What will your greatest memory of them be?
- What’s an experience or event that took place over the school year that you’ll treasure most? What did you learn from it? Why did you enjoy it?
- When you listen to both your heart and the needs of the people around you, what is something you can do to show God’s love in a special way?
As summer begins, I pray you pause to reflect on these questions and make the time to talk about them with your friends and families. Like the story of Pentecost, it is often in moments of quietness and meaningful conversations over food that the Spirit of God prepares us for something new and fills us with peace, life, and understanding.
When I pause to pray and reflect on this past year, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude for being able serve as chaplain to a community as loving, authentic, and hopeful as the one at here Holy Innocents’. And when I look forward to coming school year, I’m filled with an even greater sense of thankfulness because beginning in August I will be co-teaching the Lower School’s global faith and service classes with my esteemed colleague and close friend Sherry Sawicki (next to me in photo). An outstanding teacher whose compassion for others is matched only by her creativity in the classroom, Sherry will work alongside me teaching the distinctive features of Episcopal education: inclusion, respect, diversity, and service to others. Her presence will be a blessing, indeed.Last, while some things begin and end, an ongoing practice that I’ll continue to do each morning throughout the summer is to pray for all of the students and families of the Holy Innocents’ community.
With Love and Prayers,
Chaplain Timothy
