I invite you to a moment of intentional silence to use for prayer, meditation, or simply to be still in the midst of a busy morning.

These opening words of chapel are spoken by students in Chapel Council and have become an iconic part of Bishop’s culture. 

Behind every chapel talk is the Chapel Council, a team of dedicated students who spend their free time with Reverend Nicole Simopoulos-Pigato planning chapels and making suggestions to increase student participation in the program. These students are not just behind the scenes, however – they also fill various roles during the chapel service itself. Some of these positions include welcoming students, reading prayers, dismissal, and lighting the advent candles during Christmastime. 

One of Sabrina Webster’s (‘21) favorite parts of her Chapel Council duties is welcoming the rest of her class into the chapel and inviting them to take a moment of silence: “I think it gets everyone in the right headspace to be present while listening to the speaker,” she shared. 

Chapel Council is a valuable program not only for those involved in the group but for all of the student body as well. Members serve as a necessary link between the chapel program and Bishop’s students as they are able to collect information about what students might be interested to hear in chapel. They ask friends and classmates what they like about Chapel so they can plan the services around what people are interested in. They are also often given constructive criticism, which they pass on to Reverend Simopoulos-Pigato. 

Matthew Ai (‘20) described the changes that have been implemented in the chapel, saying, “Chapel Council has helped make Chapel less preachy and has reoriented it to be more student-centered.” This change is important, according to Matthew, because it makes the messages in chapel more relatable to the average student: often relevant, timely, and age-appropriate. 

Students in this program do not think of it as a duty but rather an activity that they look forward to. The members of the group are all passionate about Chapel and eager to describe their experience with the program. Many members of Chapel Council consider their favorite chapel service to be ones that celebrate international religions. 

Maddie Lane (‘25), whose favorite chapel was last year’s Diwali celebration, thinks that experiences like these are invaluable: “I like learning about that kind of stuff in a hands-on kind of way, not just from a textbook… you can really get a taste of other cultures.”  Other Chapel Council members cite their favorite Chapel talks as ones that featured members of the Bishop’s community. Adelaide Kessler’s (‘25) favorite Chapel highlighted Chair of the Religion and Ethics department Dr. Regina Ballard and her beloved dog Charlie.

One fundamental difference between Chapel Council and other groups on campus is the program’s admission process. Many of the school-sponsored organizations’ admission processes include a written application as well as some sort of interview. Chapel Council, however, accepts anyone who wants to join the program. This encourages all students to pursue their interest in the chapel, which allows students who would normally be turned away by a daunting application process to join the group anyways.

This year, Chapel Council has implemented some changes into their program. The most significant of these changes is that the group now also participates in community outreach. On November 15, middle school members of Chapel Council gathered at Head of School Ron Kim’s house to bake desserts. They donated their tasty creations to Episcopal Community Services, a local philanthropy organization, for their monthly Life Celebration Lunch. This event serves recovering addicts who are celebrating another month drug and/or alcohol-free. 

The Chapel Council will be back in the kitchen two more times this year: in January, they will be making lunch and dessert for the Life Celebration Lunch and in February, they will be whipping up sweet treats for the Episcopal Community Services’ “Para Las Familias” Valentine’s Day Party. 

Now go in peace, to love and serve one another. Amen.