Chapel

One of the oldest and most beloved of St. Mary’s traditions is Chapel. Daily in the nave of the Church of the Holy Communion (CHC), and weekly in the Early Childhood Center for Kindergarten and the Lower School, the St. Mary’s Episcopal School community gathers for prayer, hymns, and chapel talks. Broad participation by student, faculty, and administration is encouraged through choice of hymns, reading prayers, preparing worship space, and giving homilies or chapel talks.

St. Mary’s Episcopal School is grounded in Christian faith and Anglican tradition. While we openly affirm Jesus as Lord and use His life and teachings as models for the conduct of our lives, confessing belief in Him is neither a pre-requisite for attending St. Mary’s nor a requirement for a sense of belonging in our community. Because we take our Episcopal baptismal promise to “respect the dignity of every human being” seriously, we affirm and respect the diverse religious faiths and traditions of our students.

Chapel offers a unique opportunity for students, faculty and administrators to gather as a community. In lifting up accomplishments, positive achievements, and joys Chapel offers the St. Mary’s community a place to celebrate and affirm one another. In sharing discouragements, disappointments, and sad events Chapel becomes a place where it is okay to grieve, to let go and to comfort and be comforted. In such a safe space, students can recognize their unique gifts and those of others, and can discover for themselves that difficulties are truly opportunities for growth into spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual wholeness.

Chapel provides an opportunity to experience the presence and action of a loving God who embraces all Creation. The cumulative effect of Chapel attendance through the years is the strengthening of the connection between receiving God’s love inwardly and sharing God’s love outwardly through service. Service to others springs naturally from girls’ ever growing experience and knowledge of God’s love.

St. Mary's Episcopal School Prayer

Almighty God, Fountain of all wisdom, be with us, we pray thee, in our work today.

Endue all the teachers with a sense of their responsibility, and with grace and strength for its fulfillment. Keep the students in health of mind and soul and body; make them diligent in study, guard their inexperience, and save them through all temptations. Bless the patrons and alumnae of this school, and enable us all, more and more each day, to advance in that knowledge which is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Right Reverend Thomas F. Gailor, Bishop of Tennessee