Dear Friends in Christ,

Do you believe that the light of Christ shines in you? Do you believe that it shines all around you?

A few weeks ago, I got to share the first eucharist of the school year with Grace Episcopal students. We talked about Matthew 5:14: “You are the light of the world.” I asked each of the students to imagine the light of Christ in their hearts, and then to put their hands over their hearts to sense and protect that light. (You might try to do the same thing, wherever you are reading this.)

I looked out at a nave full of kids who were so wanting to believe in the light Jesus had given them. And it felt very high stakes to me.

Last week, an article in The Washington Post described the headmaster of an Anglican boys’ school speaking to his students in the wake of the gang rape at Cornell University. He realized how urgent it was that he raise up men who could be brave enough to stand up for the vulnerable and confront injustice in its most dangerous forms.

The Grace School first graders who were wiggling there in the front pew will one day be men and women who will confront evil. They will face challenges to human dignity. My hope is that they will be prepared for such moments because of lessons long ago—lessons that taught them about the unquenchable light of Christ.

On Sunday, we celebrate Grace School and its partnership with Grace Church. The mission of the school is “to honor the gift of childhood,” but I believe that the purpose of the church-school partnership goes much deeper. It honors children by forming them into honorable adults. It gives them lessons in character which will be indelible in their souls.

At the Grace School Board retreat last month, one of the alumni parent members said, “I know that my child is different for having gone to Grace.” The changes are intangible but deeply real.

I hope you will pray for all children growing up in this time of testing and challenge. And I hope you will give thanks with me for the chance to show them where the light of Christ dwells, always.

Yours in Christ,
Anne+

God our Father, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of the world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.