Episcopal Tradition
OES welcomes students and families from a wide variety of religious backgrounds and practices. While we thrive on diversity, we are an Episcopal school, and as such, we seek to introduce students to the Anglican tradition (with its historical roots in the Church of England), at the same time emphasizing the value and dignity of diverse individual religious practices and spiritual needs.
The Episcopal tradition is comprehensive and inclusive, and as a school we seek to model God’s love and grace for everyone. We encourage members of every faith tradition to seek clarity about their own beliefs and to honor their own traditions more fully and faithfully in their lives.
The Episcopal tradition values reason as a way to true understanding. As an Episcopal school we encourage students and adults to pursue questions wherever they lead, as well as to value the learning and thought we have inherited from the past.
As an Episcopal school, we try to live out the promise of the Church’s Baptismal Covenant—“to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.” We seek to integrate and practice the ideas of a just society throughout the life of the school, we encourage a deeper understanding of our connection with the wider world and we are committed to service learning as an integral part of the educational experience.
Above all, as an Episcopal school, we are founded on the principle of self-giving love - love that values the goodness and unique gifts of every child, that seeks the truth without fear and that practices reconciliation and peace.
Chaplaincy Program
Each Division in the School has its own chaplain and required chapel program. In addition, there is required academic instruction in religion at all levels, which introduces students to Christianity as well as other religious traditions and which emphasizes the significance of religious and spiritual thought and practice in human culture.
In the Lower School, the chaplain visits classrooms throughout the year. Lower Schoolers attend chapel at least once per week. Concepts are presented in developmentally appropriate ways at all levels, and children are encouraged to develop the religious language to allow them to express their own spiritual experiences and religious traditions. The year is divided according to the Episcopal Liturgical Calendar. Each season is presented according to the traditions in the Episcopal Church (colors, words, songs), and stories, homilies, discussions and classroom activities reflect the central themes of each season and how these themes connect to other religious traditions.
In the Middle and Upper Schools, students attend chapel once a week. Services are designed with the recognition that students represent a wide variety of faiths but that we also share some core values like peace, justice and compassion. We honor both the Episcopal tradition and the need for students to explore their own spiritual path.
The school chaplains, who are Episcopal priests and lay ministers, are available to help students deepen their spiritual lives. The chaplaincy seeks to support each student on his or her spiritual journey. In chapel, in confidential individual discussions, at celebrations, as well as times of difficulty, the chaplain is available to help members of the community as they explore the sacred in our midst.
The Chapel is the heart of the campus. In addition to chapel services, it hosts community forums and musical performances and serves as a quiet sanctuary from the hectic school day. The school shares this space with the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Baptist, which offers Sunday and other services and welcomes all members of the school community to its events and programs.
OES is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, which is the Episcopal Church in western Oregon. The Bishop Of Oregon is spiritual leader of the Diocese and serves as Chair of the school’s Board of Trustees.
