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.