For the time being, we have our middle school students and our upper school students meeting for chapel as divisions and alternating between St. Thaddeus Church and the Aiken Prep Gym. Over the past two Wednesdays, Father Joseph has celebrated the Eucharist in the church and I have officiated a service of morning prayer in the gym. For the service in the church these past two weeks, Father Joseph has provided an Instructed Eucharist, explaining the meaning of the Lord’s Supper as the memorial of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of God’s people.
Over in the gym I shared a message for middle school and then upper school on how we all think and feel differently and our efforts to understand and appreciate one another builds up the community and helps us to all succeed. My message was inspired by the words of James 1:19: “Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.” It is often difficult for us to listen and understand the words and perspectives of others. We all see the world through our eyes and judge it from our own vantage points. This is who we are as human beings. I emphasized that making the effort to understand others and where they are coming from helps us to work better together for the good of all. God alone knows every one of us, but if we can strive to better understand others all of our interactions with others will improve through this knowledge and by God’s wisdom. Giving examples of learning through collaboration in class, succeeding as an athletic team, and through the making and maintaining of friendships, I challenged our middle and upper school students to better understand one another and succeed together.
God’s blessings to you all,
Frank Sawyer
