In Jewish tradition, this week marks the celebration of Purim, a festive holiday in honor of Hadassah, the Jewish girl who becomes the Queen of Persia and saves her people from destruction.
You can find her story in the Bible in the Book of Esther, the name she used when she needed to hide her true identity to gain access to the King. Esther asks us to think about a lot of great questions, including: How have we been called to serve in whatever time and place we find ourselves? How can we use our platform, whatever our platform is, to stand up for justice? How do we step away from fear, from tearing down or making fun of those who are unfamiliar or different from us? How do we live our truest and most authentic lives?
If you’ve wondered what a Moravian Academy Chapel is all about, or if you are missing school community and this special time together, this week’s Lower and Middle School Chapel celebrating Purim (30 minutes) is a great one to watch.
Also this week, the Upper School continued our ongoing Chapel series, “Moravian and Me”. Tune in to hear senior speakers Jules Bemporad, Krysta Nichols, Stephen Ender, and Angela Chen, plus Upper School teacher and coach, Mr. Ryan Yurchick, reflect on that well known Moravian Academy phrase: “Growing in Mind, Body, and Spirit” (45 minutes).
For a quick dip to lighten your load and light up your day (under 5 minutes), enjoy this Chapel slideshow celebrating “The Blessing” of our Moravian Academy community, and our students, faculty, and members learning and serving together.In Esther 4:14, as her cousin and adoptive father, Mordecai, encourages Esther to take on the challenging task before her, he wonders if perhaps she is exactly who and where she is “for just such a time as this.”
In this challenging time of creativity, empathy, curiosity and perseverance, may we inspire one another to grow and thrive.