Head of School Update by Michael Dewey
November 2023
One of the benefits of being a covenant-model school that partners with both the home, the Church, and the Christian community is having guest speakers throughout the school year.
Pastors
Last year we began inviting pastors on a regular basis, drawing from a cross-section of congregations represented within our student body. We even hosted a missions week with local and international mission groups sending representatives to speak to our students. Our first guest minister of the school year was David Parker, youth pastor at Blue Ridge Bible Church in Purcellville. Pastor David is a true Loudoun County native, growing up in BRBC before eventually becoming a pastor. David was ordained by BRBC after graduating with his Masters in Christian Leadership from Dallas Theological seminary. Prior to vocational ministry David worked for various government contracting firms in the DC area doing market research and business development. It was a blessing to hear him talk about how he shares the Gospel as a way of life, taking every opportunity to witness to people God brings into contact with him.
Christian Community
Dr. David Miller visited our campus on November 27 to talk with our students about ethics and the integration of faith in the workplace. Serving as the Director of the Faith and Work Initiative at Princeton University, where he also teaches, Dr. Miller has dedicated his life and research to helping others be successful without selling their souls.
Dr. Miller started his visit in our Christian Philosophy class, talking with juniors and seniors about business ethics and the importance of developing an ethical model for making decisions. He specifically challenged students to have a preventative approach to ethics. By thinking through the potential moral dilemmas they will face in college and the workplace, students can establish clear guidelines for action that they will be less likely to abandon in the heat of the moment.
The day concluded in the gymnasium with all students learning about the four “Es” of bringing your faith to work: 1.) commit to the ethics of scripture, having a clear understanding of what the Bible tells us about right and wrong; 2.) think about the verbal and non-verbal ways they can potentially express their ethics in the workplace (taking opportunities to demonstrate one’s moral values in advance will make it easier to keep them when difficult situations arise); 3.) spend time enriching their moral lives through prayer and devotions (doing this outside of work will impact how they live at work); and 4.) rather than approaching work as just a job they have to endure, see it as an experience where God can help them grow in faith and wisdom.
ECS Staff & Faculty
Of course, our talented faculty and staff also provide us with a wealth of chapel speakers from which to draw. Shanay Howard, our School Counselor, recently spoke on our identity in Christ. In addition to providing one-on-one counseling for students struggling with a variety of social and emotional issues, Mrs. Howard oversees our monthly Advisory Groups where students meet with faculty advisors in a small group setting. It was great to see her tie her message into what students have been already talking about in their groups.