School Life
Chapel
Spiritual Life at St. John’s School
As a community devoted to excellence in education, St. John’s School holds that success without humility constitutes both a personal and moral failure. Chapel—the School’s oldest tradition—offers students a regular opportunity to consider what it means to lead a life of selfless service, to develop a deeper appreciation for the religious traditions of others, and—above all—to understand their achievements and disappointments in view of their families’ greater values and beliefs. In this way, Chapel calls to mind the School’s enduring motto and aspiration: faith and virtue.
In keeping with our motto, mission, Precepts and Principles, and articles of incorporation—and with longstanding gratitude for the Church of St. John the Divine, which generously hosts our chapel services—Chapel at St. John’s School draws from the Judeo-Christian tradition and follows an inclusive liturgy shaped broadly by the Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer. While rooted in this tradition, the School is not affiliated with any specific religious denomination or worshipping community.
Chapel services endeavor to be deeply respectful of the diverse religious, cultural, and philosophical backgrounds represented among our students, faculty, and staff. Prayers are often framed to be inclusive of the Abrahamic faiths, and hymns selected for Lower and Middle School chapels—though drawn from an Episcopal hymnal—are chosen for their universal themes, such as psalms or broadly spiritual texts not exclusive to Christianity. Chapel addresses are talks, not sermons, and are accordingly inclusive. One week, for example, a rabbi might offer reflections on celebrating the Jewish High Holy Days in his or her synagogue; the next, the Director of Spiritual Life may speak to the Upper School about the tension between justice and compassion, or a teacher might read a story to the Lower School illustrating the virtue of kindness.
Chapel also plays a vital role in shaping the common life of our School. It is one of the few occasions when an entire division gathers together as a community. Chapel creates space for musical performance, artistic expression, student leadership, public speaking, and attentive listening. It is a time set apart not only for reflection on belief, but also for affirming care and belonging—and in doing so, it strengthens the bonds that unite us.
Students are required to attend Chapel, though not to participate in any particular religious element or prayer. What is asked of all is respectful presence; what is hoped for is genuine curiosity and growth in understanding.
Much like the American civic project, Chapel at St. John’s School invites students to discern shared values while celebrating difference and diversity. It aims to cultivate a moral imagination that is both rooted and expansive—a “perspective larger than self-interest,” as St. John’s founders envisioned, and a sense of awareness fit for national and global citizenship.
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