by Katie Maier
“I feel like Lovett doesn’t call itself a Christian school, but it’s a Christian school,” says a freshman boy when I ask him about Lovett’s religious identity and policies. It is perhaps an opinion shared by others in our community. With so many students, faculty, parents, and alumni, we are bound to have countless perspectives on this somewhat sensitive topic.
But is Lovett actually a Christian school? What is Lovett’s official message on religion? Has it changed over time? Is it still changing?
I figured Reverend Allen would be a good first source of information. He’s been the head chaplain at Lovett for decades.
Rev Allen views religion as one component of a broad education. “I actually feel that Lovett has been relatively consistent in the idea of the whole child, which includes spiritual growth,” he says. And he feels that Lovett is not “heavy-handed” about it. “We do make students go to chapel, and some people might resent that,” he says, “but Lovett basically says that we want to open up your minds and your hearts to the idea that there is also spiritual growth in addition to intellectual and physical growth.”
Officially, he says the school is Judeo-Christian. And he describes chapel as “inclusively Christian…we’re inclusive, but there’s very clearly Christian symbolism in [the chapel.]”
In fact, the Alston Memorial Chapel was here long before the buildings where we sit in class today, according to Lovett archivist Patti Hughes, who I met with in the library. She shared a copy of a speech former headmaster Billy Peebles gave in 2006. He spoke about how the chapel dates back to 1960 when Lovett first came to the riverbank. A generous donor named Caro Alston (in case you didn’t know where the name came from) stipulated that the funding she provided to the school would be used for the construction of a place of worship. At that time, the official name was actually the Lovett Episcopal School, as we were affiliated with the Cathedral of St. Philip during the fifties and sixties. Eva Edwards Lovett and her board of trustees had partnered with the Cathedral in support of her concept of the whole child.
Because we are a private school, we are free to blur the boundary between church and state in our pursuit of teaching the whole child, but that can still lead to some students feeling uncomfortable.
One high school student, who identifies as Hindu, wonders if Lovett should retain any sort of affiliation with religion at all. And if it must, should students be required to attend chapel? “I think an alternative for chapel would be good for some students who aren’t Christian,” she says.
According to Reverend Allen, the school’s identity has always been a matter of debate. And over the years he’s heard suggestions to make chapel optional. “As long as I’ve been here,” he reflects, “there’s been a little bit of discussion with students about who exactly we are.”
This discussion begins for students and their families during the admissions process. I reached out to director of admissions Ms. Janie Beck, who says the Lovett admissions department strives to be intentional in the way it represents the religious component of our school.
She says they make it clear to prospective families that Chapel services “regularly include religious teachings using the Bible as the primary sacred text.” They also tell families that Chapels “include values-based lessons that are consistent with other faith traditions, many of which are represented within the Lovett community.” And they promote the fact that students can get involved in the planning of a Chapel service, by serving as readers or acolytes, or by joining the Vestry.
And if families are interested in learning more about Chapel services, she says they “are always encouraged to attend a Chapel service so that they may experience it firsthand. We have many families who eagerly take advantage of this offering.”
According to one student I spoke with who came to Lovett as a freshman, the values-based lessons help to widen the appeal of Chapel. Although she does not identify as a Christian, she says she appreciates Lovett’s overall inclusivity even during its religious services. In her opinion, “Chapel is more about good values and how to be a good person.”
Having heard about how Lovett presents itself to new and current families, I also wondered how our alumni may feel when they look back over their time in the Alston Chapel. Did Chapel hold any meaning for them later in life or was it just a place to make a last-ditch effort plea to the Highest authority for the math test later that morning. I turned to Lara Kauffman, Director of Alumni Programs.
“Most alum remember very fondly the common sense of values that shine through whether or not you are of the Christian faith,” she tells me.
Perhaps Lovett’s most evident message of identity lies in our Character Pledge, which states, in part, “We, who are members of the Lovett community, seek to live lives of good character.” For Reverend Allen, the key word there is community. “I feel that there’s value in us coming together as a community…If something happens, good or bad, if there’s a message someone likes or doesn’t like, it’s a part of the community discussion,” he says.
Beyond all else, Lovett is a community of people who are trying to grow into their best selves. Perhaps we all have different beliefs and opinions on religion, but on one day in our six-day cycle, we get the opportunity to gather together and reflect upon ourselves and our lives.
But as much as he champions the rewards of chapel, he understands some students’ reticence on a personal level. He told me how when he was a child he wasn’t fond of attending church. “It’s like I used to say to my dad: why do we have to go to church? My dad would say ‘Because this is what we do as a family.’”
And perhaps that best explains why we have chapel. We, the members of the Lovett community, are a family and that is what families do.
