Moving Forward, Honoring the Past

These remarks were shared at the Opening Belltower Ceremony on August 27, 2025.

Good morning, and welcome, especially to the newest members of OES.

I hope your summer gave you a chance to rest, recharge, and do something fun. For me, that happened just a few weeks ago at Cannon Beach with my wife’s family. One morning, we rented big three–wheeled bikes called “funcycles.” You ride them low to the ground, on the wet sand. As I pedaled along the beach, I watched pelicans, cormorants, puffins, and even an eagle fishing in the waves. At one point, I found myself following a seagull. It walked, then ran, then looked back over its shoulder while still moving forward.

That image reminded me of the Sankofa bird, a symbol from the Akan people of Ghana. The Sankofa looks back while moving forward, carrying a seed from the past into the future. It reminds us that to move forward, we must also carry with us the wisdom of the past.

This is a new year for all of us. Some of you are brand new to OES. Others are stepping into a new grade or even a new division. Our faculty and staff include new faces as well. Our campus feels fresh too: from the banners with our new shield, to the scent of newly laid bark mulch, to the incredible new track and turf facility.

Newness is all around us. But newness doesn’t mean leaving everything behind. Like the Sankofa bird, we carry seeds from the past forward into fertile ground. Seeds of what we learned last year in our classrooms, on our teams, in our friendships and conversations. Those seeds will help us grow this year.

We will soon ring the OES bell 156 times, one for every year since the founding of our school. That history matters. On June 2, 1869, only ten years after Oregon was admitted as the 33rd state, Bishop Benjamin Wistar Morris, travelled from Philadelphia to found St. Helen’s Hall. Guided actually by the vision of his wife Helen, Bishop Morris did something truly bold at the time: he founded a frontier boarding and day school for girls which would serve as a place of true education—a forward-thinking, open-minded institution where students would be prepared to help society progress in the new frontier. That spirit carried through the merger with Bishop Dagwell Hall, through the creation of Oregon Episcopal School, and it carries through to today.

Much has changed in 156 years—our campus, our programs, even our name. But one thing has not changed: the heart of our mission. We educate students to realize their power for good as engaged citizens of the world. That mission, and its central phrase, first said by Bishop Morris – Power for Good –  remains our north star. It grounds our new strategic plan and it shapes the pathways of excellence, character, and community that we pursue today.

As we begin and launch into school, consider the Sankofa and the question: what seeds will you carry forward into the new year? It doesn’t have to be something big. Maybe it’s a skill you discovered last year, a friendship you strengthened, a new skill or sport you learned, or a way you challenged yourself. Carry that seed with you and plant it this year. Help it grow.

We begin again, as we do every year, full of hope, opportunity, and possibility. As a school, let’s move forward together with the wisdom of the past in our hands, and the future opening before us. One day at a time.

Thank you, and welcome to a new year at OES.