Episcopal Identity
Episcopal Christians believe that our identity is grounded in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth is God who came in human form. He is the Son of God, the Lord (the one who establishes the norm and standard for life) and Savior (who saves us from our sins), our Mediator and Advocate (the means and access) to God. Jesus Christ is God’s personal and saving presence in the world. Belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, confessing one’s sins with the intent to amend one’s life, and seeking the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit for that renewal, is the beginning of the life of faith.
St. Paul’s congregation is part of the Episcopal Church (U.S.A.) in the Diocese of Los Angeles, a member church within the Anglican Communion worldwide.
Practical Spirituality
Daily morning chapel
It is our custom to gather for worship at the beginning of each day. Chapel attendance is required of all students. It is a defining characteristic of St. Paul’s School. It marks us as a praying community whose unity is based on bonds of love and respect that derive from our relationship with God. That relationship is informed by hymns and songs, the recitation of psalms, hearing the Bible read with application to daily life, and learning how to pray.
All classes, K - 8, assemble in front of the church for flag salute, honoring the flag of our country and the banner of our liberty. Classes (grades 2 - 8 daily, K and 1 less frequently) then file into the church building and kneel for a quiet period before worship begins. Kneeling (allowance is made for religious traditions in which kneeling is offensive) in the presence of God in prayer is a sign of our submission to God’s sovereign authority over all creation.
St. Paul’s Worship Book provides two regular liturgical forms, a modified form of Morning Prayer, and the Holy Eucharist from the Book of Common Prayer, which are led by the rector or principal and students from the upper grades. The service book contains a selection of 25 Psalms read monthly in rotation through the year and approximately 100 hymns and spiritual songs. Each day a portion of scripture from the Bible is read which forms the basis of the homily which seeks to apply the biblical story to daily student and family life. Students are taught the practice of prayer in the many forms evident in the scriptures and the experience of Christian worship. A chapel choir presents a musical offering on Wednesdays and at other special occasions.
Weekly on Wednesdays beginning in October, the school gathers for the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist (Greek for thanksgiving) is the sign of unity in Jesus Christ. It is the sacrament of his body and blood in which we believe that we partake of Jesus’ life and are strengthened for service in his name. All students come to the communion rail where all baptized persons are welcome to receive Holy Communion regardless of denomination; all others receive a form of the Aaronic blessing. At the beginning of October instruction is given to all students in chapel regarding the meaning and practice of celebrating the Holy Eucharist in the Episcopal Church. The Eucharist is an essential sign of our oneness in God’s love regardless of our diverse faith traditions.
From time to time guests from other faith traditions (a local Jewish rabbi has been a frequent guest) are invited to worship with us and share from their religious practices.
Other uses of the church building
The church building is the center of our school life. It is our place of worship, made holy by the prayer life of the people who built it and use it continuously. Outside of school there are public services of worship on Sundays and a healing service on Wednesday mornings. The church building is also our principal site for school performances (i.e., class plays, Christmas program, graduation). This dual use requires vigilance on the part of all to respect the solemnity of a house of prayer which serves as a venue for theatrical or more playful uses.
In the classroom or at outdoor activities
Formal times of worship and/or designated sites like the church building ought not be the only times we call upon prayer or use religious stories. Throughout the day there are innumerable opportunities for an individual teacher or class to recenter itself on God’s providential love and care. A moment for prayers at the beginning of class with provision for student participation validates the concerns of their hearts and minds and gets them into the habit of acknowledging God’s love for them and the people and issues they care about. Offering thanks before snacks and lunch using various verbal or musical forms is encouraged. Taking a break for prayer on hearing an emergency vehicle’s siren, or when a helicopter lands at the hospital, draws children outside of themselves to care for all parties involved in the police or medical crisis, and forms good habits for life. Teachers might use the morning chapel scriptures or a hymn text to illustrate a teaching moment, or may draw on biblical stories to enhance their curriculum with examples of ethical and moral behavior.
St. Paul’s curriculum does not have a religious education component. Our purpose is not to promote dogma or a denominational theology. Rather we endeavor to let our lives witness to our faith. We have no specific religious symbols in the classrooms. Such adornments are not excluded, rather any featured text or artistic piece ought to relate to or be the product of the class program. We welcome faculty members of diverse faith traditions. We value their freedom to express their faith in God without shame, while they respect the different traditions of others. God’s richness surrounds us. Though religious instruction per se is absent from the curriculum there is ample opportunity for the examination of character traits and values within in the course of daily school work. At all times we expect faculty members and students to demonstrate confidentiality, honesty, honor toward one another, respect, trust, and taking personal responsibility. Team work and fair play are ethical behaviors to be encouraged.
Community Service
Opportunities to express care and concern for others abound. Specific age appropriate and school wide projects are undertaken throughout the year. While many community service projects utilize the time, energy, and creative talents of students (i.e., greeting cards or placemats for senior meals programs, prayer cards for soldiers, pillows for child victims of terrorism, food collections for Project Understanding), some specially authorized projects may require fund raising (i.e. Habitat for Humanity, Heifer Project, a sister school project) and need to comply with the school’s fund raising policy. A long standing community service activity in which the 7th & 8th grade classes participate is serving a hot lunch to hungry clients at Family to Family with church volunteers on the 3rd Monday of the month.