On Easter Sunday, April 17, 2022, it was announced that All Saints Church would be establishing a parochial school at the church, which will open for students in the Fall of 2023. Updates on the progress of this initiative are published here, with the most recent update appearing first. Also, published below the updates is a letter from the Rector, Fr. Erich Zwingert, to the parish of All Saints Church regarding the establishment of the parochial school.
UPDATES
July 25, 2022: The Simcox Hall work continued over the past few weeks. A summary of what has been accomplished can be seen at this link.
July 22, 2022: Installation of the three portable classrooms finished today. Photos can be seen at this link.
June 28, 2022: The Vestry approved acquiring three portable classrooms from Hendersonville High School, seeing this as an opportunity to look into the future and prepare ourselves for growth at our parochial school. The three buildings were purchased today for $40,000.00 (which includes set-up costs), with the purchase price already committed by some of the parishioners of the church.
June 27, 2022: The reconfiguration of Simcox Hall began this day. Photos and explanation of the work can be seen at this link.
June 15, 2022: Mrs. Alice Owen began her tenure as principal for the school and has begun the preliminary work for the establishment of the school.
June 13, 2022: The Vestry approved a budget of nearly $17,000 for the reconfiguration of Simcox Hall into two large classrooms for elementary education. A contractor has been retained for the structural work necessary. That work will begin on June 27, 2022.
May 11, 2022: One of our parishioners, Mrs. Alice Owen, signed a contract today, agreeing to be the Principal for our parochial school. She begins work on June 15 of this year.
May 9, 2022: At its monthly meeting on this day, the Vestry approved taking bids for the reconfiguration of Simcox Hall, our classroom wing, in order to make the building suitable for elementary classrooms. The Vestry will review those bids at its monthly meeting in June, with work to be begin in July of this year.
Parish Letter
May 5, 2022
Dearly Beloved,
On Easter Sunday this year, I made an announcement in church about our parish taking on a new ministry which will be transformative in the life of All Saints Church and the community around us.
After months of deliberation and investigation, the Vestry voted, at its monthly meeting on Monday in Holy Week, April 11, 2022, to establish a parochial school here at All Saints Church. They also set aside funding for the hiring of a principal, who will superintend setting up the structure and all the attendant necessities of establishing and operating a school. That person will begin work this summer, with the anticipation of enrolling students and opening the school in the Fall of 2023.
Classical Christian education is a movement which has been gaining ground in our country for several years. This, of course, is driven for various reasons, but there are two to which I would I would like to draw your attention. The first is that current, modern education models are not educating children in a coherent and holistic way. Education in our society has fallen prey to what has been called “teaching to the test.” Secondly, and most importantly, much of what passes as education has become openly hostile to Christian piety and virtue. To put it bluntly, education in our society no longer recognizes Truth, and so fails to instill the same in our children. As parents, grandparents, and Christian leaders and educators, it incumbent upon us to take responsibility for educating our children in a classical and Christian way so that they may be properly prepared to take the reins from us one day, striving to transform the world for Christ. One significant step to bring this to fruition is the establishment of our parochial school, following the classical Christian education path.
Classical Christian education has been briefly defined as “the transmission of the culture of the Church through a faculty of friends who love the truth by cultivating virtue in the students in body, heart, and mind, and nurturing their love for wisdom and faithful service of the Lord Jesus Christ.”1 This is an education that is grounded in piety and guided by theology. Piety can best be summarized as, “…let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” (Hebrews 12:28, ESV) The theology that guides this piety is found in Holy Scripture, the Tradition of the Church, and sanctified Reason. It is our intention to pass along the culture of the Church, cultivating “piety, virtue, and wisdom, as the students grow in the grace of Christ.”2 In doing so, this will be education from the heart of the Church.
This brief discussion outlines our rationale for the establishment of our parochial school. As I indicated above, the school is intended to be a ministry of this parish, in particular, an outreach ministry, which will impact the community and society around us.
With that in mind, we have two essential and guiding principles which will be manifested in the actual operation of the school. The first principle is that this education must be affordable, especially for lower and middle income families. We intend to avail ourselves of public and private funding to ensure that any family which wishes to access this form of education will be able to do so. This will, of course, necessitate fundraising in various ways to provide scholarship opportunities to fill the need families may have. More on this aspect will be forthcoming in the future. The second principle will be the hiring of competent teachers and staff, with the scriptural understanding that the “laborer is worthy of his hire.” (Luke 10:7) This scriptural guidance essentially means that the teachers and staff should receive proper recompense for their efforts. We will endeavor to appropriately compensate these individuals, not only to help us retain these competent professionals, but also to express our appreciation to them, as they help us to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Since the school is a ministry of the parish, it will operate under the auspices of All Saints Church. It will not be a separate entity. In order for it truly to be a place of education from the heart of the Church, the Rector and Vestry will remain the final authority in all matters. The principal, teachers, and staff will be employees of All Saints Church. The principal, once hired, will work directly with me in the establishment of the school. I have already agreed in principle, with a particular educator, to fill this position. I will inform all of you next week after I inform the Vestry at its monthly meeting this coming Monday.
All of us have a role to play in this worthy endeavor. There will be many opportunities in the future for “hands-on” involvement, such as facility upgrades, furniture procurement, classroom essentials and supplies, classroom and recess helpers, fundraising, etc. But right now, there is one role for all of us and it is our Christian duty—pray! Pray that God’s will be done in this new ministry at All Saints. Pray that He will open the doors of success by bringing students into our parish home and benefactors into our parish family. And don’t forget to pray in Jesus’ Name for He has promised us, if we do so, the Father will grant our request!
- DIRECT us, O Lord, in all our doings, with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works, especially our school, begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally, by thy mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
God bless each and every one of you as we move forward in Christ and live His Gospel!
Fr. Erich
1. Clark, K. and R.S. Javi, The Liberal Arts Tradition, 3rd edition, 2021, p. 3.
2. Ibid., p. 4.