For a school that prides itself on its secularism, Parker has many traditions centered around and based in Christianity. Over the years, the administration has worked to change religious traditions such as Vespers and Corinthians to be more inclusive. At Corinthians, we now read other texts in addition to the traditional New Testament passage. The newest shift in efforts toward a more secular and inclusive community has involved changing the name of the annual winter choir concert.

Vespers, a beloved Parker tradition, is named after an evening prayer in the Christian faith. This year, however, the name was changed to a more literal description of the night’s event — “Winter Concert”. Every four years at Vespers, the choir has historically sung Handel’s “Messiah,” a commentary and storytelling of the life of Jesus Christ. According to the schedule, “Messiah” was going to be sung this year. but due to efforts to secularize the choir concert, this repertoire was also removed. However, instead of praise for the school’s steps in a secular direction, many in the Parker community were upset about this change.

In my experience as a Parker student, I have felt that Vespers was a highly religious concert. We would sing repertoires in thematic coordination with the time of year. When I was younger, most of these songs revolve around Christmas and other Christian themes. Over time, songs representing other religions and winter holidays were added. While the inclusion of other religious traditions within Vespers was a step in the right direction, I still did not understand the need for religion to be presented within the concert at all. 

Within the Western world, Christianity is an underlying religious rule within “secular” countries. This is not a problem Parker can solve, though we can work to be as inclusive as possible.  

While changing traditions and names of events is a step in the right direction, these steps do not eradicate Parker’s Christian leading ideals. Even though we are not that religious of a school, we must still identify how the influence of Christianity impacts our traditions and learning.