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The message below was shared by Head of School Jon McGee to our students and faculty during the all-school spiritual formation colloquium on August 28, 2025. We concluded the gathering with a prayer for the Annunciation ÃÛÌÒÉç community.

Yesterday was a day of profound tragedy and sadness, not just in Minneapolis but here and everywhere. We pray and hold close to our hearts the children who perished at Annunciation ÃÛÌÒÉç and their families who will deeply grieve their loss forever. For the students and adults who were gravely injured. For the entire Annunciation School community whose lives were shattered by another extraordinary act of evil. For ourselves and the sadness, weariness, and fear we feel.

We pray because we believe in hope. We pray because we believe in community. We pray because we believe in healing. We pray because we believe that only love can prevail in the face of hatred and the violence it creates.

We live in profoundly challenging and too frequently violent times. Its frequency puts us at risk of becoming desensitized. But we cannot simply look away. More than ever, we are called, young and old alike, to reflect deeply on our values and beliefs – and then to translate those values into action. Our Benedictine values preference a common good in support of community. They demand deep listening, with both the ear and the heart, to the voices of those around us, particularly the voices of the suffering, the oppressed, and the vulnerable. They teach us to actively strive for peace – with self, with others, and with God. They call us to community, not division; to goodness, not callousness; to empathy and care, not self-mindedness. And they call us to do all of this through the prism of love: love of neighbor, love of self, love for creation.

How will change happen? While it’s tempting to point to large organizations or big social movements to lead change, the reality is that change almost always happens – or at least begins – one person at a time. It begins with you and me. What we expect of ourselves. How we stand up for what we believe in. How we pay attention to who others are and what they are experiencing – and when they need help. How we respond when we see injustice or wrong. How we find the courage to give voice to our values. Love will prevail over hate and violence only when we make it so, each of us, all of us.

I promise that we are here for you at Prep. But equally important, we need to be here for each other. When we act together and support each other, we can begin to make an even bigger difference to the people and communities around us. With compassion, courage, conviction and love we can change the world.

Jon McGee
Head of School  

Members of our Student Services and Benedictine Center teams are available for our students. Contact Counselors Jen Whitehead, Jayne Greeney, or Jane Saunders for assistance.