Incline Our Hearts

The Chapel and the Lake

It is the joyful time of year when I participate in Baccalaureate and Commencement ceremonies at Casady and Holland Hall. At Casady, one of the traditions is that the Bishop gives the Baccalaureate Address. This year, I explored the Benedictine theme of finding God both in what stays the same and in what changes, using the metaphor of the Casady chapel and lake.

The text of the address is below.

Casady Baccalaureate 2026

Good evening to those who will graduate on Saturday, to family members, friends, faculty, administration, and other distinguished guests.

As Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, the opportunity to share a few words each year at this Baccalaureate ceremony is truly one of the greatest pleasures and honors of my ministry.

And also a challenge, as you will hear two remarkable speeches at graduation!

What I hope to leave you with tonight is a brief and simple message to take with you, with a spiritual theme. In other words, a final chapel talk.

Soon to be graduates: when you think of your time at Casady, there are many places on the campus that you will remember: perhaps the kindergarten classroom where you first experienced a remarkable teacher, an athletic field where you won a big game, a library where you wrestled with a difficult project, or a favorite spot where you talked often with friends.

But two places that are essential to the life of every Casady student are the Chapel and the lake. These are iconic spots, for a number of reasons: they are beautiful, they have been part of Casady for virtually all of its history, and they are places you see every day.

But I want to suggest this evening that the Chapel and the lake are also powerful symbols, not only of Casady, but of a life well lived.

Casady chapel, this sacred space. Its majestic stone represents the solidity of faith and tradition. Jesus taught that a house built on rock will be able to withstand the storms of life. He also taught not to put too much trust in things made by human hands.

Nonetheless, this chapel reminds us that God is unchanging. Psalm 102 declares that everything eventually goes away, except for God, who is always the same, whose years have no end.

And Hebrews 13:8 says that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

As you graduate and leave this beloved place, remember to find strength and courage in those things in your life that stay the same, those rocks on which your character is grounded, and whose strong walls and sturdy roof shelter you: your faith, your values, your family, and your truest friends.

Many things will change in your life, but the most important things will not. This chapel is a symbol of what does not change, and especially of God: eternal, almighty, and always loving. 

The Casady lake.

Constantly moving, fluid, it churns with the wind, and flashes in the noonday sun. It freezes in the winter’s cold, only to thaw again in springtime.

To make your way around the lake is a metaphor for your journey through Casady, and through life. The lake is a reminder, even as we hold fast to what is good and unchanging, not to get stuck in things that ought to change.

In some areas of our life, God calls us to evolve, and to grow, to mature. The lake is a symbol of the inspiring uncertainties of the future, the challenges to be met, disappointments to be learned from, and the dreams to be realized.

Different every second of every day, the lake invites us to find our place in the new. Another word for graduation is “commencement,” which means “beginning.”

The truth is, to live a fulfilled life, a life of joy and purpose, we need both stability and change, the chapel and the lake. If we try to change the good things that are meant to be unchanging in ourselves, we lose our foundation and our shelter in the storm.

And if we stay stuck in those things that are meant to change, if we stop growing, we become rigid, anxious, and fearful.

But if we stay true to the most important things, and open to new adventures and new learning, well, Class of 2026, that is being the human that God created us to be, in God’s own image. Amen.