Spiritual Life
Hero - Image Slideshow
Our Episcopal Identity
As an Episcopal school, Saint James introduces all of its students to the liturgical traditions of Anglican Christianity focusing on our common values of humanity, integrity, and compassion.
Worshipping alongside people of many faiths gives you constant exposure to other cultures and beliefs. You will build deep and long-lasting friendships through daily life in a community that fosters trust and mutual respect. A culture of open dialogue—where different perspectives are valued and encouraged—will allow you to develop skills of civil discourse.
Our Episcopal character is a vital complement to a broad-based liberal arts foundation and to developing a worldview that nurtures your potential to be a leader for good in the world.
Teaching the Virtues
Saint James School takes special care to name the traits of moral and spiritual excellence and to infuse these ancient virtues into the full round of student activities. Recognizing that these good habits build lives that are noble and resilient, we teach the virtues not only in chapel but also through the residential life, athletics, the arts, and the academic curriculum. We stress, in particular, the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love; the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, courage, and temperance; and such other crucial traits as honesty, kindness, humility, patience, generosity, loyalty, and gratitude.
Spiritual LifeFacts & Figures
The Chapel
Chapel
At the entrance to the Senior Circle, the Saint James Chapel stands as a sign of the school's commitment to holistic education. We gather as a community every weekday morning in the Chapel to begin the day reverently, gratefully, and faithfully. In Chapel, students are encouraged to participate as they feel comfortable in our common liturgy and are encouraged to challenge themselves spiritually to live moral and purposeful lives.
Chapel Services
Chapel services rely on a dedicated team of student leaders—choristers, acolytes, readers, ushers, and sacristans. The Chaplain and the Headmaster share sacramental responsibilities. Faculty members, students, and guests, frequently speak in Chapel, making it a place where the School community comes together to learn and grow.
Our Headmaster
The Revd. Dr. D. Stuart Dunnan has guided Saint James as headmaster since 1992--after serving as teacher and chaplain at both school and university levels.
Born and raised in Washington, DC, Father Dunnan holds bachelor's and master's degrees in history from Harvard University and doctoral degrees in theology from Oxford University.
He is one of only a few Episcopal priests serving as the head of a secondary school in the United States.
Our Chaplain
The Revd. Dr. Brandt Montgomery has served as chaplain at Saint James since the fall of 2019. A native of Alabama, he served in campus ministry at the University of Alabama from 2012 to 2014, then as the All-School Chaplain at Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette, Louisiana from 2014 to 2019.
Father Montgomery earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of Montevallo, his Master of Divinity degree with honors in Church History from the General Theological Seminary, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of the South at Sewanee.
Chapel Talks
Columbarium
The Saint James School
Columbarium
Saint James families have the opportunity to select their final resting place in the shadow of the chapel that has played such an important role in their lives—the chapel that connects heaven to earth, and life to death.