CFS ceremony a show of self-expression

By John McCann

jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601

DURHAM -- Among the lessons learned by the Carolina Friends School Class of 2010 are that loss is painful, learning is something they can make happen anywhere and anytime, resilience is one of their many gifts and silence, while difficult to achieve, is both palpable and profound, explained their principal, Mike Hanas.

"We believe the wisdom begins in silence, so lets settle in," Hanas told those gathered Sunday inside the school's gym for a graduation service.

The assembly also was a worship meeting. In fact, the gathering primarily was about worship and being led by the Spirit, according to the graduation program.

So there were was no designated speaker with some pre-planned, presumably grand message. The graduates didn't even wear caps and gowns.

The independent school, commonly referred to as CFS, is rooted in the Quaker tradition of simplicity, in the idea of not being pretentious and showy, Hanas explained during an interview after the worship service. Rather than accentuating the formality of caps and gowns, CFS students are deliberately nudged toward self-expression, the principal said.

So there on a stage were the graduates, one guy with a Mohawk hairstyle, another with a mullet cut and a dude sporting shades and a Durham Bulls baseball cap. That said, there's something about the approach at CFS that absolutely works, according to loved ones who spoke during the worship service.

During an hour with the lights turned off, those in the audience were allowed to share what was on their hearts and, hopefully, from the Spirit.

One speaker issued the challenge to make a difference even amid the type of people who throw cigarette butts out of automobile windows. Another speaker told graduates not to be deterred by the tough financial times because Microsoft got its start during a recession.

Demetrice Williams, the father of a CFS graduate, told the Class of 2010 to keep three things in mind. For starters, they need to keep God first in all they do, Williams said. Second, they need to keep God first in all they do. And third, they need to keep God first in all they do, Williams said.

Vann Joines, the brother of a CFS graduate, told the outgoing seniors not to be encumbered by their own goals.

At most graduations, those in the audience are told to hold their applause until all the graduates' names are read. But at the CFS worship service, each graduate received sustained, hearty hand claps from those in the gym.

And as solemn as the CFS worship service was, there was room for some of that championed self-expression as graduate Eric Zoltners took off a dress coat to reveal a warm-up jacket that he sported en route to exchanging a funky, LeBron James-type handshake with the principal before receiving his diploma. Zoltners and Hanas even came together for one of those airborne chest bumps athletes do these days.