What began as a clergy wellness retreat in Hawaii blossomed into professional development for Associate Chaplain Rev. Thomas Becker. Becker, who traveled to Hawaii in October, visited four Episcopal churches and a diocesan camp, but the most critical stop for his work at St. Andrew’s was the ’Iolani School.

The journey to ’Iolani—a large Episcopal school in Honolulu—started last November when Becker met ’Iolani educator David Buchanan at a conference. “It was phenomenal,” Becker says of Buchanan’s session. “There is such thoughtfulness with which ’Iolani approaches its curriculum from a religious studies standpoint.” Becker, always seeking ways to connect St. Andrew’s to the wider Episcopal diocese, urged Buchanan to stay in touch.

When Becker was awarded a Delaware diocesan clergy wellness grant, he set his eyes on Hawaii. The bulk of his time at ’Iolani was spent meeting with religious educators and the school chaplains, and sitting in on classes.

While ’Iolani is much bigger than St. Andrew’s, with over 2,200 students, Becker says its dedication to its mission of community was palpable and familiar.

“A pervasive theme in the school is ‘One Team,’” Becker says. “It's this binding sense of community.” This prompted Becker to reflect on the binding of St. Andrew’s: “I asked questions like, ‘What is it that we’re experiencing? What is our sense of connection, why is it important, and how do we continue to actualize it?’”

A moment of gratitude came when Becker saw the ’Iolani chapel, which is too small for the entire school, requiring split services.

“Their space is beautiful, but it gave me great appreciation for ours,” he says. “It struck me that we have the ability to spend time as an entire school community in one space in a time that is sacred and intentional.”

In the classroom, Becker watched Buchanan teach the notoriously dense book of Leviticus, which serves as an instruction manual. Becker has at times struggled to explain why rules from the ancient past matter today, but Buchanan’s analogy was simple: “It’s ‘a rule of the game, not a rule outside the game,’” says Becker, now armed with a new tool for teaching biblical context. "I was like, ‘That makes so much sense.”

The trip was well-timed, as Becker and Head Chaplain Rev. Dr. Michael Giansiracusa entered the academic year with a revamped curriculum. The update involved redesigning how students study world religions, progressing religion by religion, not topic by topic. “Just seeing how another school does this work is invaluable as it’s the type of thing where you don't know to fix it until you know to fix it.” Becker now has new lesson plans ready to apply. 

Beyond new teaching techniques, the trip inspired Becker to want to continue to build partnerships within the Diocese of Delaware, like the one St. Andrew's has with The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew in Wilmington, and beyond. “Saints Andrew and Matthew has the most racially, ethnically, socioeconomically diverse congregation in the diocese,” Becker says. “When I imagine what the kingdom of God look like, it’s something like that. It’s a really cool thing to be able to expose our students to.”