An Invocation
O God, Creator of all. We acknowledge this day that you are a good Creator and that everything that has existence, from tadpoles to textbooks, is good as a result. We are not always too keen when it comes to writing papers or taking tests, but we know that such things are also good, especially when part of our formative education. As such, we thank you for making schools like Rumson Country Day possible. We know that education here is treated as a constituent foundation to raising confident, happy and creative children.
We confess that sometimes we treat education as a means to another end. Sometimes we talk as though education is about getting a job or maintaining a certain place in society. Having a good job is important, but school is also the place where we learn character, that is, school is where we learn the dispositions of a good life. Having a certain status in society is fine, but education is first and foremost an activity of growth: of being nourished and cherished enough that maturity and happiness result. With this in mind, dear Lord, we are grateful that the graduates today have received the best kind of education.
We pray that as parents, teachers and civic leaders, you will help us do everything possible to instill in today’s graduates the benefits of the life of the mind, the welfare of the heart, the capacity of love, and the boldness to change things. We readily acknowledge that you think we are infinitely worthwhile. Show us, we pray, how we can make this clear to the graduates in what we say, and how we act. We are terribly proud of their achievements. They are precious in your sight, and we thank you for every single one of them.
Amen.
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