Orthodox School Opens its Doors in Wichita
His Grace Bishop Basil writes:
Christ the Savior Academy opened Monday morning at St. George Cathedral/Wichita, KS. This is the second classical day school in the Diocese of Wichita, the first and oldest being St. Peter's Classical School at St Peter/Fort Worth, TX. Mrs Trent (Jennifer) Sebits, a member of the Cathedral and President of the Academy's Board of Trustees, wrote of Monday's opening: "Thanks be to God! Today marks the fulfillment of the fervent prayers and feverish work of so many people, namely each one of you. As I write this email, the story of our little school opening its doors is reaching online newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Bee, San Antonio Express and the Palm Beach Post, not to mention some in Kansas: The Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital Journal and the Hutch News. After Susanne Tobias of the Wichita Eagle wrote the story, the Associated Press picked it up and newspapers around the country have posted it on their web sites. Please find the story here.
What these aforementioned papers will not tell you, however, is the beauty that is already shining at Christ the Savior Academy. Mrs. Farha shared one such story with me today: After the first and second graders planted the tree to commemorate the first day, they went back to their classroom and Mrs. Farha had them make their very own sand prayer candles. She had them place their candles in the corner of the room in front of the icons of each of the children's saints. She explained to them how to silently pray while they lit the candle. Thinking that the kids were completely jazzed about the first day of school and would have trouble quieting down, she gave them only 30 seconds to say their prayers. However, when she interrupted their silence, several of the children pleaded, 'Please, Mrs. Farha, we are not done praying yet.' Consider the story in Miss Lacy's Pre-Kindergarten class. As she was discussing prayer with the students, one of the 4-year-olds raised his hand and said, 'Miss Lacy, I don't know how to pray.' Miss Lacy told him simply, 'We are going to learn how to pray in my class.' 'I am so thankful that I have the privilege of teaching children how to pray,' Miss Lacy gushed. It is fitting that this school, which was founded through the prayers of the faithful, is now being upheld by the prayers of children. Thank you for your prayers. In Christ, Jennifer" (jsebits@mac.com)