Spiritual Life

Through our Chapel program, Canterbury fulfills two simultaneous commitments: to provide students an authentic experience of worship that is identifiably Episcopal; and to welcome, affirm, and support the spiritual development of students of all faiths or no faith at all. Chapel content coincides with our Character Education (LEADS) program.

Today’s Episcopal schools are populated by a rich variety of students and faculty members from increasingly diverse dimensions of identity and religious, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Canterbury is a place that affirms these differences as sources of strength that build up common life, deepen our common humanity, and enhance the intellectual, social, spiritual, and moral development of all students.

Comparative Religions is a required class as part of the Senior Seminar. It is designed to be an objective and comparative approach to explore the history, traditions, and belief systems of the world’s major religions. As a result, our students will be better informed and more empathetic as they step beyond our walls into the world.

Canterbury’s Episcopal identity is experienced in:

• our mission statement as it supports the spiritual as well as the academic formation of our students,
• our practices that balance a commitment to both nurture students and teach accountability,
• our fundamental commitment to be an inclusive community grounded in respect for each of its members,
• our Board of Trustees membership that includes representation of Episcopalians,
• our Chaplain, who is ordained in the Episcopal Church,
• our weekly chapel services,
• our comparative religion class,
• our community service expectations and,
• our commitment to financial aid