The Episcopal roots of the School are core to the School’s mission. Worship and religious education occur daily as Kindergarten through Grade 5 gather for Chapel. ECP JK attends once a week through December and twice a week there after. Chapel is an interactive and reflective time. The Book of Common Prayer and hymns provide the basis and Episcopal context for most liturgies and worship services led by the School’s Chapel Team. The Chaplain shares a Bible story, poses questions for discussion, and leads prayer in which students offer their own prayers or thoughts. Chapel also includes singing hymns both solemn and lively sometimes accompanied by a Chaplain’s instrument. Students often dramatize Bible stories in skits. Chapel is also a time for students to make school-wide announcements, present community service projects, and to celebrate one another and important events such as birthdays. Parents may attend Chapel and often do. Faculty and school families often share elements of their own religious traditions in the classroom and in Chapel.

A Chaplain leads religious studies class discussions where children have an opportunity to explore their own and others’ spiritual and ethical traditions. The class engages students in Bible instruction through readings and discussions of the texts. From time to time world events enter the realm of children’s awareness. When this happens the Chaplain-led class becomes a welcome opportunity for children to process large events in an age-appropriate manner.

The goal of daily Chapel as well as the religious studies class is to invite each child to engage with his or her unique faith journey, one that will endure a lifetime.