School Chapel (by Mrs. Ashley Klitzing)
Trivia time! Did you know that pre-Covid, we used to walk all the way down to our Church Sanctuary for Chapel every Wednesday morning? That was actually our school tradition for many years. Last school year, we were able to hold Chapels remotely - students remained in their classrooms and “tuned in” to Chapel via Google Meet. This year, we are blessed to be able to gather in person again! Our Church Sanctuary is being renovated, so Chapels take place each Wednesday morning in our school Event Center.
Chapels vary from week to week. Sometimes we have scheduled guest presenters to deliver the message. Other times, a class may present the message in a creative way. Once a month, we have a Praise & Prayer Chapel, where we focus on praying and worshiping God through singing. Chapel is also a time where we recognize and celebrate students for Positive Panther nominations, Baptism Birthdays, and Panther Excellence Awards. No matter what, there are 5 key components of our school Chapels that never change:
- Pledges - American Flag & Christian Flag
- Prayer - Often student-written and led
- Offering - We focus on one outside ministry to support each quarter
- God’s Word - Through Bible verses and the message of the day
- Worship - We love to sing praises to God through worship videos or live music!
We live in an ever-changing world. It can be maddening at times! As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that God NEVER changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). We are so thankful for the opportunity to gather together at school in order to worship God and grow in our faith. Although we have had to get creative over the last couple years in how we gather, setting this special time aside will always remain a top priority as we continue to carry out our school’s mission: To educate children, nurture their faith, and equip them to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.