For years, students at The Family Foundation School attended morning chapel services conducted by a diverse group of dedicated local clergy. But we recognize there are other ways to engage with one's spiritual self and get in touch with a Higher Power. So we recently replaced mandatory morning chapel with a period of daily spiritual exploration for all students, giving them a choice of chapel service, quiet meditation, guided meditation, or service activity. A brief description of each is described below.
CHAPEL SERVICE - The most traditional way of expanding one's spirituality is through formal worship with others. Some students are most comfortable in this setting following a familiar ritual. Throughout the week chapel services are conducted by Catholic, Jewish and Protestant clergy. In addition to the new changes we have been able to add a Muslim study group.
QUIET MEDITATION - All spiritual traditions use meditative practices to shift one's awareness from outer-directed activities (observing, analyzing, discriminating, deciding, accomplishing) to a more peaceful, silent state. The ultimate goal of quiet meditation is to grow spiritually by experiencing the presence of the divine.
GUIDED MEDITATION - The purpose of guided meditation might be to promote healing, self-improvement, or to develop positive traits like compassion or forgiveness. All religious traditions utilize guided meditation to help their followers connect with a Higher Power. New options in this track for students include mindfulness meditation, yoga meditation, an 11th step meditation and embodied active imagination.
SERVICE - All religious and spiritual traditions agree that service with no thought of reward and no attachment to results is the culmination of spiritual life. Service can awaken us and help us awaken others to salvation. It is inherently joyful and gives us the opportunity to use our daily tasks and activities for spiritual practice and growth. Service can be performed for our community or the world, or we can offer it to God as a way of expressing and fulfilling divine will.
We believe that the spiritual development of our students is every bit as important as their mental pursuits and physical activities, and that the constant interplay of body, mind and spirit means we can't affect one without affecting the other.
To read some of our students responses to this change, please click here.
Jeff
Family Foundation Schoolis a private, therapeutic boarding school for teens at risk, serving grades 9 through 12.