Yesterday during community time, students and faculty convened in the chapel to discuss LatinX Heritage month and Rosh Hashanah. The student-led service included personal reflections and readings from Latino and Jewish authors.
“I love spending time with my community members, especially ones that I don’t get to see on an everyday basis,” said sophomore Sophie Ignatova. “Chapel gives us time to connect with the whole community and share space,”
LatinX Heritage month, which celebrates the history and culture of Americans whose ancestry can be traced to Latin America, was first initiated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 as ‘Hispanic Heritage week.’ This year, the theme of the month is building prosperous and healthy communities starting on Sept. 15 and ends on Oct. 15, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
“Chapel has always been something that distinguishes our school from others and I always try to encourage people to make chapel their own space,” said Liturgy, Interiority, Faith, and Engagement representative Margaux Tellini. “The chapel itself is rich with history whether it was the nuns who taught at our school or the present day students and teachers who create memories in the area,”
Along with discussing LatinX Heritage Month, students also discussed the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, which this year is taking place from sunset on Sept. 15 to sundown on Sept. 17, includes traditions such as eating a round of challah and eating apples dipped in honey, according to My Jewish Learning.
“I appreciate how in every chapel we do gratitudes and singing because it makes me feel united with my community,” said junior Chiara Zeppa. “This chapel specifically, I liked how we discussed significant cultural holidays that otherwise I may not have gotten a background on,”
After the service, students were invited to their advisories where they practiced for the lip-sync homecoming battle, according to Zeppa. Usually, community time consists of advisory and then a chapel or assembly.
“I think that a lot of people associate the chapel with a solely religious experience but it is truly a time that can be used just to center yourself and contemplate,,” Tellini said. “I really enjoyed all of the student engagement during this community time because I thought that it made the topics we were covering more accessible,”
Chapel is used as a reflective time to ground students and often includes a prolonged espacio, gratitude, prayer, and song, and all of these practices allow students to be more involved and feel welcome in our community, according to Ignatova.
“The chapel space is very welcoming and being in there allows me to slow down during our busy school weeks,” Ignatova said. “Chapel also gives us the opportunity to participate in traditions that I know have been passed down and it deepens my connection with the Sacred Heart global community.”
