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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]"PP, what you've quoted above is about the EPISCOPAL CHURCH - which can be very different from Episcopal schools."

No, that statement is incorrect.  The school is supposed to support the work of the parish and vice versa.  That's why Mrs. Schessler broke off from St. Patrick's: the mission of the clergy and the school were no longer compatible.   WES has no Parish affiliated with it.  So why is it called "Episcopal"?  Also, your own quotation demonstrates that to be an Episcopal school, you must have an ordained priest.  The unordained clergy are allowed - as you yourself quoted - only in very large schools where ordained clergy already exist, so they can perform the Eucharist. And WES's chapel is nothing like that described in what you pulled off the internet.   Finally, there is no religious instruction in class.
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IF you don't like WES, don't send your kids there. That is the beauty of private schools: you choose whether or not to enroll your kids. There are many, many private schools in this area. Why get upset if you don't approve of one of them? Just go somewhere else.[/quote]

You are correct - people shouldn't send their kids to WES if they don't like the school.  The larger issue, though, for those of us who are members of the Episcopal Church and care deeply about the Episcopal Church, is our concern that the school carries the Episcopal name but does not truly embrace Episcopal teachings or practices.  That would be no different than a business using another business' name and trademark when it has not connection to other said business.

WES is indeed an independent school, and they may do whatever they please.  In fact, I encourage the school do what is best for the school.  However, if you are going to use the name of our Church, that implies you will function in accordance with the teachings and practices of the Church.  I have to agree with the previous poster that at the very least, I would expect there to be a priest on staff at the school.  Having an ordained priest as chaplain is not the end all and be all of Episcopal identity.  The decision not to have one, however, further reveals a dynamic that is already in place, namely that being Episcopal is not a priority for the school.  This is in no way an attempt to be disrespectful to the lay chaplain that was just hired.  I am sure he is absolutely fantastic, but the fact of the matter remains, he is not a priest.  My criticism is not directed in any ways toward him but toward the school leadership for choosing to replaced a priest with a lay person.

As you yourself noted from the NAES website, lay chaplains are generally used at larger schools when an ordained chaplain is also on staff.  Lay chaplains are not substitutes for ordained.  I would also expect to see at least one member of the administration - at the very least one - who is an active Episcopalian.  It is my understanding that this is not the case, and I am open to correction if I am incorrect.  If WES does not choose to have those things, that is within its right, but the school should not continue to carry the name of the Church if it chooses not to adhere to Church teachings.  The reputation of the Church is impacted by the actions of institutions who use its name.

And as I noted in my previous post, WES's reputation is beginning to speak for itself any way.  I think it is ironic that NAES literature was quoted given that even the NAES leadership is frustrated with what is going on at WES, and our own priest refuses to recommend WES to parishioners seeking an Episcopal school for their children.  Is there any wonder that enrollment is currently down more than 30 students from last year to this coming fall - second grade is down from two sections to one, and the three sections of fifth-grade are now being squeezed into two sections in sixth.  Before anyone accuse me of making those statistics up, they came directly from the spouse of a board member.    [/quote]

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