Look Around

Despite my early arrival, I was not surprised to discover the Chapel already beginning to fill with people, embracing and huddling together in large and small groups. Old and new friends, remembering and connecting and reconnecting. Quickly, the crowd filled the chairs to overflowing as the murmur of a shared love and collective gratefulness filled the space up to the rafters and beyond, reaching into the heavens to join the chorus of angels celebrating the presence of Lucy Nazro.  

In his 2015 opinion piece in the NY Times, author David Brooks describes that kind of person “who radiates an inner light. … They seem deeply good. They listen well. They make you feel funny and valued. You often catch them looking after other people and as they do so their laugh is musical and their manner is infused with gratitude. They are not thinking about what wonderful work they are doing. They are not thinking about themselves at all.”  Making the distinction between “resume virtues” vs. “eulogy virtues,” Brooks argues that “Eulogy virtues are the ones that get mentioned in the eulogy, which are deeper [than resume virtues]…“ In contrast to mere accomplishments, these virtues answer the questions “who are you – in your depth? What is the nature of your relationships? Are you bold, loving, dependable, consistent?”

In her masterfully conceived and eloquently delivered homily at the recent celebration of life for Lucy Nazro, St. Andrew’s 31st Street Chaplain Ashley Brandon provided some insight into these questions about a great architect of Episcopal education. Ashley helps us all to understand the enormity of Lucy’s lasting legacy by drawing a compelling comparison to the impressive life’s work and subsequent unimpressive memorial for Sir Christopher Wren, “London’s Greatest Architect.” Walking us down into the crypt below St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, Ashley directs our attention to an unpretentious marker with a basic epitaph that reads simply: ‘Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice.’ which translates as, ‘Reader if you wish to see his memorial, look around you.’ By drawing this comparison, Ashley invites us all “look around” and appreciate the living memorial to Lucy Nazro that continues on through the lives of all those impacted by the transformative leadership of this great architect of Episcopal education.  

As we look around, we may begin to notice this living memorial to Lucy Nazro coming to life in all sorts of places. For example, we might notice the chapel talk delivered just days after Lucy’s passing by TMI Episcopal Head of Upper School Fred Kountz, who eulogized Lucy Nazro as a “tiny, …. kind, amazing, generous, PRESENT woman” who gave him a chance to discover his calling as an Episcopal educator. Or perhaps we might notice Lucy’s living memorial in the recollection of Head of Trinity Episcopal School Jennifer Morgan who, at the reception following the service, recalled with deep appreciation and respect how Lucy would selflessly and tirelessly counsel, encourage, support, and advise her mom, the founding Head of nearby Trinity Episcopal School. In a recent Weekly Meditation, NAES Executive Director Rev. David Madison and former SAES Executive Director Connie Wootton reminisce about what Lucy built – her living memorial – with this observation: “Despite a busy calendar with myriad obligations, Lucy prioritized connecting with peers” and she “treasured the relationships she made” with Episcopal school leaders everywhere. (Sounds like a great opportunity to remind you all of the upcoming Heads Meeting and Leadership Symposium!) 

When I provide training on Episcopal Identity, I often close by reading from a timeless and powerful reflection on the nature of Episcopal education from retired NAES Associate Director Anne Mellow, who cites these enduring words of wisdom and insight from Lucy Nazro:

“With the mind’s eye we see a world of fact and reason. It is a cold and mechanical place, but we have built our lives there because it seemed predictable and safe …. (But) we open the eye of the heart and we see another sight: a world warmed and transformed by the power of love, a vision of community beyond the mind’s capacity to see. We cannot forsake our hearts, and yet we cannot abandon our minds. How shall we use both eyes not to create a blurry double image, but one world, in all its dimensions, healed and made whole?”

As these and countless other examples clearly illustrate, Lucy Nazro leaves a tremendous legacy as one of the great contemporary architects of Episcopal education. Just as one might “look around” at the marvelous London skyline to understand and appreciate the legacy of Sir Christopher Wren, Lucy Nazro’s many contributions to Episcopal education are memorialized through the family, friends, colleagues, faculty, and students that bear a living testimony to her undeniable legacy. What a powerful eulogy.   

I am looking forward to seeing you all in Austin, where we will join together for an opportunity to “look around” and witness the next generation of Lucy Nazros in our midst.

Featuring

Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright

Author of DIGNITY: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community 

Atlanta-based author and speaker, Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright writes to make a difference. She writes to develop the courage for transformation and change, in our communities, institutions, and lives. Her work strategically addresses the insidious challenges we face, either in our individual lives or in our communities- be they corporate, educational, religious, or otherwise-that require identity shifts and increases in capacities and competencies to bring about sustainable and meaningful change. Wright advocates for authenticity in our communities, no matter what our context, by aligning our aspirational identities with our lived realities. 

Beth-Sarah is the author of seven books. Her most recent book, The DIGNITY Lens Workbook: Implementing the Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community is a companion to her book DIGNITY: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community. DIGNITY is a comprehensive lens through which to view and solve insidious barriers to authenticity and narrow the gap between who we say we are and who we are in reality. For Wright, stories are the currency for dignity. 

A former college professor at NYU and Spelman College, she currently serves as the Director of Enrollment Management at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Emory School of Medicine. She holds a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University, an MPhil in Anthropology from Cambridge University, and a BA (magna cum laude) from Princeton University in Sociology and Afro-American studies. 

Beth-Sarah is originally from Jamaica and has lived and studied worldwide, from Edinburgh, Scotland to San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is married to Robert C. Wright, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta and they are parents to 5 children.

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Yesterday we had a Zoom Orientation for new members of the SAES Standards Committee.  Four new members have joined the committee this year, bringing the current membership to fourteen members.  The Standards Committee meets five times per year, virtually during the school year and live in the summer, to review all the reports which are submitted as part of SAES Accreditation.  Last year the group reviewed over fifty reports, some of which are extremely lengthy.  Members carefully discuss these reports in order to make accreditation recommendations to the SAES Board of Directors.  I am deeply grateful to the new members who have joined the Standards Committee, as well as to those who continue to serve the Association in this important way!  I hope when you see these hard-working folks (maybe at the SAES Heads Meeting and Leadership Symposium?) you will join me in expressing your thanks!