06/05/2026
Words shared by Rev. Tom at Garrison Forest School's Baccalaureate Service:
Renewal
Garrison Forest School
Baccalaureate Service
June 4, 2026
It is an honor and joy for me to be here with you today – and a privilege to share a few words.
Thank you so much to Ann Teaff for your friendship and for extending such a warm invitation and welcome.
I bring you greetings from St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, your neighbor just up the road.
As many of you know, St. Thomas’ and Garrison Forest share a long and rich history.
Right from the start and continuing today, many of our parishioners have entrusted their daughters to this school – and many of our alumnae parishioners have continued to serve both Garrison Forest and St. Thomas’ with great devotion, skill, and generosity.
Earlier this afternoon, I was vividly reminded of our meaningful connections when I gathered in our cemetery with some members of the Class of 2026 as they remembered your founder, Mary Moncrieffe Livingston, placing flowers on her grave.
And, for nearly a century, it was the beautiful tradition to have the Baccalaureate Service up at St. Thomas’.
Unfortunately, like so much else, that tradition was interrupted by the pandemic.
We had hoped to return to the church this year, but we have a construction project going on right now that made that impossible – but I look forward to renewing that tradition next year.
Renewal.
I think about renewal all the time.
I arrived at St. Thomas’ five years ago, when the pandemic was still lingering.
We were back in church but masked and socially distanced – you remember those hard days.
At the end of the summer, when we began to plan for what’s sometimes called the “Homecoming Service,” we decided instead to call it “Renewal Sunday” – a chance for us to renew our relationships, to renew our commitment to one another and to the church.
And, you know, the truth is that we need renewal all the time.
Schools and churches and all sorts of institutions need renewal.
Our bodies and souls need renewal.
Relationships need renewal.
And so, I’m very glad and excited and thankful that we have begun to renew the old friendship between Garrison and St. Thomas’.
And I’m not the only one who’s happy.
This past Sunday, when I told the congregation that I would be speaking here today, there was plenty of nodding and lots of wide smiles.
Of course, renewal is not the same as duplication.
So, I’m sure that our relationship will be somewhat different from the past – we’ve all changed.
And who knows, maybe we can even widen the circle a bit and work with other institutions and people of goodwill to support one another and serve our community.
So, thank you again for having me today.
I look forward to our ongoing renewal.
And may God bless the Class of 2026 and Garrison Forest School.
