Pro Ecclesia et Pro Patria

Hi, my name is James, and I am in Form II. I came to St. Albans as a Form I student.

Last Friday I finished a program at a non-profit bike shop called Phoenix Bikes in Arlington, Va. In this four-week program (called Earn-A-Bike) we learned how to fix a bike that we would earn (hence the name) and get to keep. We would also repair a bike to be given to someone who needed a way to get to work.

The pandemic really threw a wrench into all the sports that I like doing outside and in school. Suddenly I had nothing to do. So, I resorted to solo exercise like biking and running on the trail by my house. I really got into biking because I enjoyed racing down the trail and getting exercise—without even realizing I was working hard.

Then this fall I learned that my friend from down the street had done the class on how to repair and build a bike that you could keep. This interested me because I enjoy working with my hands to make something that you can actually use in everyday life. For example, I was at my sleep-away camp, Camp Cobbossee, about an hour north of Portland, Maine. My bunkmates and I got to our bunk for the first time and realized that there was no place to play our nightly Uno games. We came up with a solution. For the first couple days of camp we would arrange our schedules to get as much time in the woodshop as possible. We created our own game table. I enjoyed leading our group and showing my friends how to cut the wood and stain the finished table.

I saw the bike class as a similar opportunity to work with my hands to create something useful. When I got there for the first session, all I could think about was the new mountain bike I would ride home after the last class. But I soon realized that there is a process that you need to follow to get to the finished project. The first class we learned what the tools were and what all of the parts of the bike were. In the following classes we learned how to repair flat tires, then brakes, then shifters. Finally, we were ready to work on real bikes.

This class was not just about getting a new bike or learning how to repair a bike. This class was about helping the overall community. The first round of bikes we worked on were Give-A-Bike, or bikes that were donated but needed some repairs. As I said earlier, these bikes were for people who need to get to work so they can feed their families. Sure we had all gone in thinking that this would just be a way to get our new bikes, but this was about building something up and working hard to contribute to the greater good.

In the reading from the book of James, the other James writes, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?” As nice as it would be to earn my own bike, if that was the whole point of the program, “What would be the good of that?” If we are privileged and just getting more, where is the good for others? How does that even help us to grow?

At St. Albans our motto is Pro Ecclesia et Pro Patria, which translates to For Church and For State. This can also mean helping out others or working hard to help the greater good. At STA we don’t just use what we learn in our classes just for ourselves. At St. Albans if you see a classmate or friend who needs help studying for an upcoming quiz or test, you don’t ignore them and say, “Too bad for you.” You go in and try to help so that when you take that quiz you can know that you helped out someone else. And that feels good.

When I finished working on my Give-A-Bike, I felt good. I knew when I gave it back to the shop, I made a big difference in someone else’s life. At St. Albans, we can look for ways to work together to help not only each other but our neighbors beyond the Close. Whether it is making trail mix for Martha’s Table or donating food to the annual canned food drive, our job is to help others. When we use what we have been given to help others in need, we gain a sense of purpose and are connected to our larger human family. When we graduate from St. Albans, as the school hymn says, we will “show forth a spirit generous true for God and for the State.”