Homily for the
Induction of Charles Britton as Head of School
Good Shepherd Episcopal School February 27, 2010
First, I want to welcome all of you
to this great celebration in the life of Good Shepherd Episcopal School:
members of the school board, faculty and staff; parents; special guests: Tom
Northrop, Head of the Hill School; Seth Alborn, Head of the Congressional
Schools of Virginia; Charles’ family: Jennifer, Sonny and Jennie Britton,
Charles’ parents; his grandparents, Charlie, Edna, David and Sadie (who are
present in the communion of saints); and last but not least, the students.
I bet that going to church on Saturday morning is not part of your normal
routine. But it is important that you are here, because when it’s all said
and done, we are here for you. Can you imagine a school with teachers,
staff, board members, and a Head of School but no students?
I am delighted that Charles invited
me to offer the homily this morning. Charles and I arrived at the school
and church respectively at about the same time under similar circumstances.
Both of us began our work on probation, so to speak: I was called to serve
as Rector Time Certain (a two year contract designed to determine if this
marriage will work); Charles, as acting Head of School. In December, I was
instituted as Good Shepherd’s 14th rector, with Charles
participating in the induction. So there is a kind of symmetry in these two
events.
Over the last several years, Charles
and I have spoken often about the question: Does being acting Head, Rector
Time Certain change the way you go about your work? Speaking personally, I
would say: not really. Before taking this position, I asked my bishop what
he thought about this time-certain arrangement. He said: “Ross, all clergy
are time-certain.” And in a way, we are all interims, in the sense that our
work is built on those who preceded us; and at some point, we will pass the
baton to new leadership.
I learned a lot about leadership
transition while attending a naval change of command ceremonies in Norfolk,
where I served before coming to Richmond. In the ceremony, the captain who
is being relieved of duty hands over the authority to his successor. The
one being relieved asks the new captain (and here I need to ask our navy
folks here to forgive me if I don’t use the precise terminology): Are you
ready to take the helm? He then ceremonially hands over the command of the
ship.
Charles stepped into this position
and from day one took over the helm as if he were Head of school. He has
thrown himself into this position with extraordinary enthusiasm, optimism,
and seemingly boundless energy. I get the sense that Charles came out of
the womb and into the world running – and hasn’t stopped since. As Head of
School, he has a lot of jobs: he is an administrator, personnel officer,
cheer leader, disciplinarian, and PR man. He has fulfilled these roles
admirably, consistently demonstrating servant leadership. Two weeks ago, as
we were all snowed in, I looked at the parking lot, and there was Charles
shoveling the snow in the parking lot – that is true servant leadership.
How he has managed to maintain a
sense of optimism and hope in the face of what must have seemed like
insurmountable challenges at times, Charles alone can say. But I suspect it
is in part because he has relied on the strength of the Lord. Among his
other qualities, Charles is a man with deep Christian faith. He and I share
the leadership of the chapel service on Wednesday mornings, and his normal
role is to lead the prayers from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. Now,
the prayer book is a great resource, but it’s not always the easiest book to
find things in, even for veterans like me. Several weeks ago, right after
Haiti disaster, as the service was about to begin, I said: “Hey, Charles,
there are all these prayers in the prayer book for victims of disaster. Why
don’t you use one of these” – and pointed to a page in the back of the
book. The problem is that I hadn’t looked very carefully, and it turns out
that there were absolutely no prayers in that section that said anything
about victims of disaster. As he was praying, there was a brief silence,
followed by flipping of pages. Then he closed the book, and prayed
extemporaneously. It was a beautiful prayer for the victims of the Haiti
disaster – as eloquent and heartfelt as anything he could have read from the
prayer book.
In a moment, Charles will pledge to
serve as Head of School, using what to my mind is one of the most powerful
prayers in the Book of Common Prayer. It is used for the institution of
rectors (I said it at mine) as well as other leadership positions, such as
Head of School. He will kneel in the presence of God and of this
congregation, and devote himself body, soul, and spirit to serve the Lord in
the carrying out of his duties as Head of School. He will ask for God’s
grace to enlighten his understanding with the light of the Holy Spirit in
order to make good decisions and to know the Lord’s will. There must be many
times in a typical day for any Head of School when decisions must be made
and it is not entirely clear what is right is to do – I am thinking of
everything from when to close the school for snow to difficult personnel
decisions. Today, Charles is asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to
make good decisions. He will ask the Lord to make him an instrument of
God’s love and grace for this school. Finally, he will pray for strength to
carry out the mission of the school.
This prayer acknowledges that serving
as Head of School, like teaching, is a calling, a vocation. I suspect that
very few teachers and heads of school are in this work primarily for money,
power, and prestige. They do it because they are called. This is what
makes the long hours and the sacrifices.
And so today, Charles offers himself
to the service of God and to this school as one who is called. This is done
in the confidence that heads of schools, like teachers, can be instruments
of God’s grace; beacons of light, guiding students for a lifetime of
learning and making lifelong impressions. In doing this, they are extending
the kingdom of God.
Charles, I congratulate you on your elevation as Head of School. This is a clear indication of the recognition of your gifts and calling to serve in this position. And I congratulate the school for taking this important step forward. In doing this, you open a new chapter in Good Shepherd Episcopal School. The captain is at the helm.