Dear Friends in Christ,

In this graduation season, we have one graduation particularly close to home at Grace: our fifth graders at Grace Episcopal School will graduate on Wednesday, June 10. It’s a moment for them to be proud. It’s a moment for the rest of us to be proud, too.

Grace Episcopal School is a mission of Grace Church. Its mission—to honor the gift of childhood—echoes the prayer at baptism, when we ask that the newly baptized child have “the gift of joy and wonder in all your works.” Our school not only educates the minds young people. It helps form their hearts and souls. They are different people for having been raised at Grace.

Amanda Hungerford, the Head of School, has a vision of Grace Church and School as one community. I share her hope. Our shared life offers and experience of belonging and service. People find their way into this community through many different on-ramps—through the church and through the school alike.

I know that many of you are staunch public school advocates. I am, too. However, I’ve come to believe that—as with many things Episcopal—it’s a question of both/and. Our school offers a unique ministry for those who desire and need it.

By supporting these young people, our shared community makes a witness: that character matters, that formation matters, that investing in the faith of young people matters.

I hope you will be proud of the 12 girls and boys who conclude their time here next week. And I hope you will celebrate this community that makes their growth possible.

Yours in Christ,
Anne+