WES or St. Andrews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Responding to 13:23-
I am not suggesting that parish schools are more Episcopalian than non-parish schools. I never stated such. We like St. Patricia for many reasons. Proximity to home being one of them. We also like that it is a parish school since that is the model we are most familiar with in our current diocese. We are open to non-parish schools which is the reason behind my initial question regarding WES and SAES. We are also aware that some Episcopal schools such as Beavoir do not have weekly chapel or regular religion classes, and they rarely if ever observe the Church liturgical calendar and celebrate the Eucharist. That approach is not what we are looking for. I am not denigrating that approach; it is just not what we are seeking. And the reason we want a chaplain who is a priest is because we want our DD to have meaningful connections with clergy outside of typical church activities.

I think where we disagree -- and, of course, I respect your right to do so -- is in what makes a "strong Episcopal culture". Again, to me it is about teaching and living the good news of the gospel of God's love. I love the Eucharist with all my heart, but I don't feel that my children would need to celebrate the Eucharist at school in order to have a strong Episcopalian identity. Actually, we chose a Quaker school, and have found as our children have grown into young adults that the Quaker values they encountered have strengthened their faith and identity as Episcopalians, and, more fundamentally, as Christians, and, even more fundamentally, as people striving to live lives of compassion and justice.

This is not WES. It's very ecumenical. No liturgical calendar and no eucharist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Responding to 13:23-
I am not suggesting that parish schools are more Episcopalian than non-parish schools. I never stated such. We like St. Patricia for many reasons. Proximity to home being one of them. We also like that it is a parish school since that is the model we are most familiar with in our current diocese. We are open to non-parish schools which is the reason behind my initial question regarding WES and SAES. We are also aware that some Episcopal schools such as Beavoir do not have weekly chapel or regular religion classes, and they rarely if ever observe the Church liturgical calendar and celebrate the Eucharist. That approach is not what we are looking for. I am not denigrating that approach; it is just not what we are seeking. And the reason we want a chaplain who is a priest is because we want our DD to have meaningful connections with clergy outside of typical church activities.

I think where we disagree -- and, of course, I respect your right to do so -- is in what makes a "strong Episcopal culture". Again, to me it is about teaching and living the good news of the gospel of God's love. I love the Eucharist with all my heart, but I don't feel that my children would need to celebrate the Eucharist at school in order to have a strong Episcopalian identity. Actually, we chose a Quaker school, and have found as our children have grown into young adults that the Quaker values they encountered have strengthened their faith and identity as Episcopalians, and, more fundamentally, as Christians, and, even more fundamentally, as people striving to live lives of compassion and justice.

This is not WES. It's very ecumenical. No liturgical calendar and no eucharist.

Eucharist is only given during the mass on Ash Wednesday at WES.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Responding to 13:23-
I am not suggesting that parish schools are more Episcopalian than non-parish schools. I never stated such. We like St. Patricia for many reasons. Proximity to home being one of them. We also like that it is a parish school since that is the model we are most familiar with in our current diocese. We are open to non-parish schools which is the reason behind my initial question regarding WES and SAES. We are also aware that some Episcopal schools such as Beavoir do not have weekly chapel or regular religion classes, and they rarely if ever observe the Church liturgical calendar and celebrate the Eucharist. That approach is not what we are looking for. I am not denigrating that approach; it is just not what we are seeking. And the reason we want a chaplain who is a priest is because we want our DD to have meaningful connections with clergy outside of typical church activities.

I think where we disagree -- and, of course, I respect your right to do so -- is in what makes a "strong Episcopal culture". Again, to me it is about teaching and living the good news of the gospel of God's love. I love the Eucharist with all my heart, but I don't feel that my children would need to celebrate the Eucharist at school in order to have a strong Episcopalian identity. Actually, we chose a Quaker school, and have found as our children have grown into young adults that the Quaker values they encountered have strengthened their faith and identity as Episcopalians, and, more fundamentally, as Christians, and, even more fundamentally, as people striving to live lives of compassion and justice.

This is not WES. It's very ecumenical. No liturgical calendar and no eucharist.

Eucharist is only given during the mass on Ash Wednesday at WES.

That is correct but right now WES doesn't have an ordained priest so they can't have the Eucharist.

[Anonymous]

I am a WES parent. The Eucharist is offered twice during the school year: at All Saints and immediately following Easter Sunday. I attend chapels occasionally, and Father Tim followed the liturgical calendar with appropriate colors, Bible readings, and rituals (Advent candles, paschal candle). The PP is correct that the school no longer has an ordained chaplain. We don't understand why they didn't hire a new priest when Father Tim left. There better be a good reason because we are very disappointed in that decision. It is not clear what they will do about the Eucharist without a priest. Maybe a guest priest will come in for the Eucharist?

[Anonymous]

Current WES parent here. I was actually over at school today dropping my daughter off for camp and happened to meet the new chaplain (also named Tim) who started today and thought he was fantastic. Lots of energy and had clearly done his homework on WES and knew about our tight-knit community but also about what was required of the chaplain position. While he is not yet ordained, my understanding is that he was far and away the best PERSON for the job and is working his way down the path of ordination. Through crossing various paths, I happen to know the Bishop of Washington who has said that she supports Tim (the new one) and will certainly help WES make arrangements for an ordained priest to come in and offer the Eucharist twice a year and perform any other duties necessary. A member of the administration told me that there have been three other non-ordained chaplains at WES in its history so this really is not a big deal. The Bishop could not have been more eager to help with the transition and support WES in any way that she could. Although Father Tim (the old one) was amazing, I think we're in good hands and I know that we have the Bishop's support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current WES parent here. I was actually over at school today dropping my daughter off for camp and happened to meet the new chaplain (also named Tim) who started today and thought he was fantastic. Lots of energy and had clearly done his homework on WES and knew about our tight-knit community but also about what was required of the chaplain position. While he is not yet ordained, my understanding is that he was far and away the best PERSON for the job and is working his way down the path of ordination. Through crossing various paths, I happen to know the Bishop of Washington who has said that she supports Tim (the new one) and will certainly help WES make arrangements for an ordained priest to come in and offer the Eucharist twice a year and perform any other duties necessary. A member of the administration told me that there have been three other non-ordained chaplains at WES in its history so this really is not a big deal. The Bishop could not have been more eager to help with the transition and support WES in any way that she could. Although Father Tim (the old one) was amazing, I think we're in good hands and I know that we have the Bishop's support.

As an Episcopal family I WES, I feel it is "a big deal." Is there any other Episcopal school in our diocese that doesn't have a priest serving as a chaplain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Current WES parent here. I was actually over at school today dropping my daughter off for camp and happened to meet the new chaplain (also named Tim) who started today and thought he was fantastic. Lots of energy and had clearly done his homework on WES and knew about our tight-knit community but also about what was required of the chaplain position. While he is not yet ordained, my understanding is that he was far and away the best PERSON for the job and is working his way down the path of ordination. Through crossing various paths, I happen to know the Bishop of Washington who has said that she supports Tim (the new one) and will certainly help WES make arrangements for an ordained priest to come in and offer the Eucharist twice a year and perform any other duties necessary. A member of the administration told me that there have been three other non-ordained chaplains at WES in its history so this really is not a big deal. The Bishop could not have been more eager to help with the transition and support WES in any way that she could. Although Father Tim (the old one) was amazing, I think we're in good hands and I know that we have the Bishop's support.

It sounds suspiciously like this post was from an administrator or board member. Conveniently, this parent/poster has had coincidental and in depth conversations with the new chaplain, the Bishop, and the administration? And then this person just happened to stumble across this post? And this poster says that "we" have the support of the Bishop? If I didn't know better, I would think the marketing department and the board are hard at work.

[Anonymous]

No firsthand experience at either school, but St Andrews is consistently recommended to me on this board when I've posted seeking recommendations for a warm, nuturing non-religious school for my children - we are jewish and whenever I have brought that up in a response, posters tell me that it is more spiritual, not religion-specific (like sidwell, for example, that is a quaker school but is filled mostly with kids from religions other than quaker).

[Anonymous]

The Bishop does not get involved in this level of detail, pp 17:07.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No firsthand experience at either school, but St Andrews is consistently recommended to me on this board when I've posted seeking recommendations for a warm, nuturing non-religious school for my children - we are jewish and whenever I have brought that up in a response, posters tell me that it is more spiritual, not religion-specific (like sidwell, for example, that is a quaker school but is filled mostly with kids from religions other than quaker).

NP here. And the above poster has been told right. If OP reads St Andrew's statement of what it means to be an Episcopal School on it's web site ( in the curriculum book), you'll get a good idea. But St Andrew's is not "non-religious", it is more a multi - religious. / spirituals school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Bishop does not get involved in this level of detail, pp 17:07.

The Bishop only gets involved at that level of detail if there are major problems in the school or church. If she is that involved, that is not a sign for the school. It means there are big problems there which may be why they didn't get a priest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are a SAES family, and Episcopalian. We looked at WES, but felt that SAES was a better fit for our DD. My impression is that WES is more traditional and conservative, whereas SAES leans more towards the progressive. Like other Episcopal schools, SAES welcomes families of any faith tradition, and DD has Jewish, Muslim and Catholic friends as well as Episcopalian. Chapel and religion courses are an important component to the SAES curriculum, but again, there are families of many different faiths there, and often their traditions are recognized during Chapel.

WES also welcomes families of all faiths. Holds chapel and religion courses. You must not have looked too closely.

You must have not looked at my post too closely. Try again.

[Anonymous]

I think the reason they hired someone who isn't a priest is because of money. With all the talk about enrollment falling, they probably need to cutback spending. A teacher is cheaper than a priest. I know from having served on the vestry in our parish, it costs a lot of money to have a full-time priest. There are minimum salary requirements and pension contributions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are an Episcopal family, and we are looking for a school with a solid Episcopal identity. Does anyone know which school has a stronger Episcopal culture - WES or St. Andrews?

I knew someone would find a creative way to revive the WES controversy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are an Episcopal family, and we are looking for a school with a solid Episcopal identity. Does anyone know which school has a stronger Episcopal culture - WES or St. Andrews?

I knew someone would find a creative way to revive the WES controversy.

I don't think anyone is trying to "revive the WES controversy." I don't see any controversy in the postings. It looks like the posting express genuine and legitimate differences in opinions about what people are looking for in a school. Some want a priest, and some don't care. Some want frequent Eucharist; whereas some don't.