By The Rev. Edmund K. Sherrill II, Head of School

One hundred years ago, an Episcopal priest moved five boys onto a dilapidated Chester County farm in Glen Loch (now Exton). The priest’s goal was the creation of an Episcopal boarding school for fatherless boys – a school in which students would perform farm work to finance their educations.

The priest was The Rev. Charles Wesley Shreiner, whose devout mother had struggled to keep her family together after his father left her to raise six children; he was no stranger to hard work, having undertaken a myriad of paying jobs from the age of six on in a career full of twists and turns that finally lead him to the priesthood and a very specific dream.

On April 1, 1918, with promising but impecunious students, Church Farm School opened in an old carriage house and cannery. Thus began a century of backbreaking work, carefully planned growth and brilliant fundraising that coalesced to create the school of today, where nearly 190 young men “of promise and ability” attend high school and graduate to matriculate at some of the nation’s finest colleges and universities. Last fall, all members of the Class of 2017 headed to competitive colleges with more than $3 million in grants and scholarships. These include Johns Hopkins, Brown, Yale, Middlebury, Williams, Bates, and Villanova to name just a few.

Next door, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church provided food for the boys in the early days, and a kindly neighbor supplied once-a-week baths when it was too cold to use the stream. In the ensuing decades, the farm grew as surrounding land was donated or purchased, student cottages were constructed and the school flourished.

Students generally came from low-income families, usually headed by single mothers, or were the sons of missionaries. Graduates would attend college with scholarships, go right to work or enter military service. Many alumni said afterwards, that, in spite of the hard physical farm work, “Church Farm School saved my life.”

The Rev. Shreiner worked tirelessly to raise funds to support the school. He delivered the fruits of the farm to donors throughout the region. Support from Diocesan churches and philanthropists expanded. The campus grew to include a school building, more cottages, farm buildings and the architecturally significant Chapel of the Atonement (recently named “The Most Beautiful Private High School in Pennsylvania” by Architectural Digest).

A Christmas appeal brought in 5,000 annual gifts, and donors received farm-produced scrapple in appreciation. Many Philadelphia and suburban families still recall eagerly anticipating an annual box of the humble meats.

Articles in the Saturday Evening Post and Reader’s Digest spread Church Farm School’s fame and increased its support. In the ensuing decades, The Rev. Shreiner was succeeded by his son, Dr. Charles Shreiner, and his grandson, Charles Shreiner III, known as Terry. I am the first non-family member to serve as Head of School, having held this honor since 2009. An independent Board of Directors governs the school.

By the mid-1970s, changing laws made it no longer feasible to operate a school as a working farm. Consequently, in the 1980s and 1990s, hundreds of acres of its farm land were sold. The proceeds created an endowment that supports the school’s mission to serve many promising young men who might not otherwise afford the excellent, faith-based education Church Farm School provides.

Famously, Church Farm School’s founder remarked to his son, Charlie, and Charlie’s Episcopal Academy and Princeton classmate Tyler Griffin, that “If God gives us a vision of something He wants done, He also gives us the ability to do it.” A century into this remarkable project built on faith and hard work, He continues to give us this ability.

The theme of Church Farm School’s Centennial Celebration is A Seat at the Table, because those who have nurtured this mission of service to promising students are doing just that – offering fulfilling and meaningful lives to outstanding young men who are willing to earn their way.

As a thank you to the many Chester County organizations and individuals who have helped to sustain the school for the past century, we are hosting a Centennial Community Day on May 19, where we invite families to enjoy a “day on the farm” listening to live music; sampling food truck fare; watching a fireworks display; viewing wares by local artisans; enjoying a petting zoo, inflatables and farm-themed games; and meeting our wonderful faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and students.

Click here for more details and free registration. If you’d like to schedule a tour, please call the Admissions Office at 610.363.5347.

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The Rev. Edmund K. “Ned” Sherrill became Church Farm School’s fourth Head of School on July 1, 2009. An ordained Episcopal Priest, Rev. Sherrill holds a B.A. from Macalester College and a M.Div. from Yale Divinity School. Before coming to CFS, he was Head Chaplain and Head of the Religion Department at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, Mass. Prior to that, he was Dean of Chapel and Head of the Religion Department at St. Paul’s School in Concord, N.H., and concurrently served as Vicar and Headmaster of St. John’s Church and School on the island of Guam in Micronesia. He was Chaplain and taught at his alma mater, Wooster School, in Danbury, Conn.

He was elected President of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) Governing Board in July 2015 and is a Director of the Good Samaritan Foundation. He and his wife, Lizette, live on the CFS campus and have three grown children and two grandchildren.