Chapel Talks

  • March 24, 2012

    Excellence in Leadership: The Thayers at St. Mark's

    John Warren

    This chapel talk was given by John Warren on Tuesday, March 20, the first day back from Spring Break.

    William Thayer and his wife Violet made a tremendous contribution to St. Mark’s during their time here. Dr. Thayer's visionary leadership helped bring St. Mark’s into the top ranks of America’s boarding schools, creating a standard of excellence that remains an important reference point even today. Mrs. Thayer created an atmosphere infused with kindness and support and was instrumental in bringing the arts to St. Mark's School. I have enjoyed learning about the Thayers and because I find them to be inspirational I would like to share their story with you.

  • February 24, 2012

    Labor Omnia Vincet

    Cash Armstrong '12

    A Chapel Talk given by Cash Armstrong '12 in Belmont Chapel on Friday, February 12:

    For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Cash Armstrong. I am a sixth former, a prefect and, according to St. Mark’s, a scholar. This year marks my fifth and final year attending a private boarding school. This is a claim that few people inside or outside of St. Mark’s can make. I am truly blessed, and so are all of you. We are all blessed that we even have the opportunity to live in the United States; even more so, we are blessed to be able to attend a private school like St. Mark’s.

  • January 23, 2012

    On Patriotism

    James P. Longley

    A chapel talk given by James Longley '12 in Morning Chapel on Friday, Janaury 13:

    I encourage you to stand for your patriotism. Never think that our goals as a nation are too big or too unrealistic because I know we can accomplish much, and I know we can all stand for this country. I know we can. I know we can. Never think that your voice doesn’t matter, because one voice just like my own right now can change a mind. It is your voice that will determine the future of our country.

  • January 23, 2012

    Having Fun at St. Mark's

    Buck Auchincloss

    A talk given by Buck Auchincloss '12 in Morning Chapel on Tuesday, January 10:

    The possibilities are limitless, you just have to go out there and be yourself. Actually, scratch that. Be whoever you want to be! Do what you want to do! Try something new, or do something you’ve long since given up. To my fellow VI Formers, we don’t have much time left here at Saint Mark’s; half of the year is already gone! I want you guys to have as much fun as you possibly can in the next 143 days until prize day. The possibilities are limitless, you just have to go out there and be yourself. Actually, scratch that. Be whoever you want to be! Do what you want to do! Try something new, or do something you’ve long since given up. To my fellow VI Formers, we don’t have much time left here at Saint Mark’s; half of the year is already gone! I want you guys to have as much fun as you possibly can in the next 143 days until prize day.

  • January 23, 2012

    Capitalizing on our Differences and our Common Ground

    Katharine Millet

    A talk given by History teacher Katharine Millet at Morning Chapel on Tuesday, January 20.

    We all have a lot to learn here at St. Mark’s. We need to learn about the history of racism, homophobia, sexism, and discrimination based on ethnicity, wealth, ability, and religious affiliation and how certain people find themselves at a disadvantage in America just because of who they are. We need to learn how to speak up – how to identify, out loud, when something said or done, or not said or not done, is hurtful (to ourselves or potentially to others) and how to calmly, compassionately explain why that is the case. We need to learn how to receive that brave admission with an open mind and an embrace of experiences that are UN-comfortable and also profoundly enlightening and enriching.

  • January 22, 2012

    Martin Luther King and the Hebrew Prophetic Tradition

    The Rev. James La Macchia

    A talk given by the Rev. James La Macchia, Associate Chaplian, at our Evening Chapel on Martin Luther King Day, January 17.

    Ever since Jesus of Nazareth first said it over two-thousand years ago, the statement: “prophets are not without honor except in their own country and in their own house” has become a truism. This was certainly the case with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his day: The Powers-That-Be put forth a mighty struggle against Dr. King’s inconvenient truths about racism, poverty, and militarism in America, right up to the day of his assassination on April 4, 1968.

  • January 9, 2012

    Deciding Upon Citizenship Responsibilities: A Case Study from Nazi Germany

    John Warren

    This talk was given at Chapel on Wednesday Morning, January 4, by Head of School John Warren. It was our first day back from Winter Vacation.

    I would like to describe a case study that has prompted me to think further about citizenship, the 2011-12 Gray Colloquium topic. I hope in the telling, I can encourage you to continue thinking actively about the topic as well. The case study comes from a book I read this summer, In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Berlin, by Erik Larson. The book holds particular fascination for me because of a long-standing interest in Germany, deepened by studying German at St. Mark’s and by a sixth month home stay in Berlin in 1976.

  • December 12, 2011

    On Grit

    Megan Harlan

    This talk was given at on Tuesday night, November 6th, by Megan Harlan, Director of College Counseling. It was the week of the famous "Groton Games" (against our athletic rival, Groton) that close out our fall sports season.

    I recently attended a conference where the keynote speaker gave a presentation on how the number one determinant for success in college is grit. Grit is the ability to be resilient, to march forward in the face of adversity, to have the ability to delay gratification, and in short, it is mental fortitude. Following the presentation, many high school educators lamented the fact that today’s adolescents lack grit. In other words, there are those that feel your generation is soft.

  • October 19, 2011

    St. Mark's Legacies

    Nick Noble '76

    This talk was given at an Evening Chapel on Tuesday night, October 18th, by Richard E. "Nick" Noble of the class of 1976. Nick is a member of the St. Mark's Communications Office and is in the process of writing a new, comprehensive history of the School.

    Last Friday, I joined the choir, along with a handful of other staff and faculty, to rehearse for an upcoming performance of “Carmina Burana”. We also practiced the setting of the School Hymn we just sang, and after we were done, as I was leaving the stage, Mr. Berryman kindly announced to those assembled that “Mr. Noble is delivering the message on Tuesday night.” Well, this must have set someone to thinking, because a short while later a St. Mark’s student stopped me in the hallway and asked me “What is your talk about next Tuesday?” “Legacies”, I replied. “It’s going to be about Legacies.”

  • October 7, 2011

    A Chapel Talk for Yom Kippur

    Stephanie Katz

    This Chapel Talk was given on Friday, October 7, by Ms. Stephanie Katz of the St. Mark's School Development Office. Ms. Katz is Faculty Adviser to the "Jew Crew," the Jewish Students' Organization at St. Mark's.

    Good morning. For those of you I haven’t met, I’m Ms. Katz. I work in the Development and Alumni Relations office with Mr. Swenson and Mr. Norris where I raise funds to support the School’s annual operating budget. I’ve just started my third year at St. Mark’s and had worked in higher education before this—both at Harvard and, more recently, at the University of Rochester. But I’m really a local girl, I grew up just a few miles down the road in Sudbury.

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