Daily Worship
I am faithful and passionate: transforming question marks into exclamation points. - ESD Manifesto
Chapel is at the center of our community life, where our lives of faith can grow and we can celebrate the many traditions involved with being an ESD student. Daily, common prayer and reflection on God’s abiding presence inform our spiritual journey.
Traditions Rooted in Faith
In honor of the Easter holiday, Middle and Upper School Holy Eucharist services have a special ceremony where students, faculty, and staff reenact the foot washing passages from John’s Gospel in the Bible.
In honor of Yom HaShoah, eighth graders have led a special service to remember the Holocaust for more than 17 years.
Students volunteer to be a part of the service, reading poems they wrote as part of their study of the event, singing special music, and lighting six candles in honor of the six million lives lost.
First-grade classes perform a nativity-themed musical for their friends and family in the Lower School Theater during the holiday season.
Their reenactment of this Biblical story includes singing, dancing, and a strong reminder of our Episcopal Identity.
The time-honored ESD tradition of Lessons and Carols has been a holiday staple since 1980.
This event brings together students in grades 5-12 to celebrate the season, with all members of the ESD community invited to attend.
I love seeing everyone every day in chapel. I'm going to miss that time where everyone in the community comes together.
- Member of the Class of 2019
Recent Homilies in Chapel
![Daniel Kaplan '20 on Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week: To Educate, Inspire, Uphold]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1580955872/episcopaldallas/gfrqtmqprtoi1kd2ywlv/JSU.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1580955872/episcopaldallas/gfrqtmqprtoi1kd2ywlv/JSU.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1580955872/episcopaldallas/gfrqtmqprtoi1kd2ywlv/JSU.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1580955872/episcopaldallas/gfrqtmqprtoi1kd2ywlv/JSU.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1580955872/episcopaldallas/gfrqtmqprtoi1kd2ywlv/JSU.jpg","width":1280}])
Jewish Student Union member Daniel Kaplan '20 reflected on the importance of Texas Holocaust Remembrance Week in chapel last week.
![On the Virtue of Respect]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1578959349/episcopaldallas/d2adygv3huz3byg9wro0/dave-baad-thumbnail.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1578959349/episcopaldallas/d2adygv3huz3byg9wro0/dave-baad-thumbnail.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1578959349/episcopaldallas/d2adygv3huz3byg9wro0/dave-baad-thumbnail.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1578959349/episcopaldallas/d2adygv3huz3byg9wro0/dave-baad-thumbnail.jpg","width":1200}])
Here are the first eight words I wrote down for respect: Humility, Pride, Listening, Questioning, Reasoning, Modernity, Love, Fear. My goal this morning is to explain why I think these words came in the order they did, how they connect to respect, and ...
!["Arise, shine, for your light has come…”]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1578958230/episcopaldallas/fbilznu7kipkyjyed6ad/amy-heller.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1578958230/episcopaldallas/fbilznu7kipkyjyed6ad/amy-heller.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_3/v1578958230/episcopaldallas/fbilznu7kipkyjyed6ad/amy-heller.jpg","width":800},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_4/v1578958230/episcopaldallas/fbilznu7kipkyjyed6ad/amy-heller.jpg","width":1200},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1578958230/episcopaldallas/fbilznu7kipkyjyed6ad/amy-heller.jpg","width":1500}])
It’s always a tough call. You may have been in similar situations. You know, those moments when you wonder, should I say something or not? Should I get involved or just walk away?
Virtue of the Month
![February Virtue of the Month: Courage]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1560955144/episcopaldallas/ohxgq4yafojdiddbyr4s/Courage.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1560955144/episcopaldallas/ohxgq4yafojdiddbyr4s/Courage.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1560955144/episcopaldallas/ohxgq4yafojdiddbyr4s/Courage.jpg","width":792}])
February Virtue of the Month: Courage
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1