I was recently invited to a Graduation Robe Ceremony by a high school senior at East Union Attendance Center in Blue Springs, Mississippi. It was the most moving, meaningful, and hope-filled school event I have attended since the graduation of our own sons.
When my invitation to the first-ever East Union Graduation Robe Ceremony arrived, I had no clue what the event entailed. I had never been to one, never even heard of one.
I learned that it was a ceremony in which the seniors received their graduation gowns from their teachers, as friends and family watched. It was kind of like an official opening to the upcoming month filled with graduation events, including family parties for individual seniors, group parties thrown by churches and other organizations, award ceremonies, and various church baccalaureate services.
I was not totally surprised to be invited to this inaugural Robe Ceremony because the entire community surrounding East Union has been so diligent to watch over our family and care for us since our son, Coach Chris Lucius, died in the summer of 2023. Plus, our family deeply loves and cares about each of the students and athletes that Chris loved so dearly. They are some of God’s richest blessings to us as we navigate this road of grief.
Honestly, I figured I received a formal invitation from one or more of the seniors out of pure love and respect for my late son and his wife, since Chris had been their teacher and coach, and Leigh is an assistant principal there at East Union.
I really had no clue that I was going to be an active participant in the Robe Ceremony.
So … I walked into the sanctuary of Ellistown Baptist Church for the event this past Sunday afternoon and took a seat near friends in one of the back rows. But soon, someone escorted me and a coach sitting near me to the front – to a designated section to the left of the steps leading up to the podium. And right in front of us, a rack of silky brown robes stood ready for the ceremony to begin.
At this point, I began doing some hard listening to the group of school employees sitting around me. I soon learned that we were the ones chosen to “robe” the seniors. Each of us was invited to the ceremony as a special guest and given the privilege of placing that cherished graduation robe on a particular senior. What an honor!
But here’s the kicker – each honored guest sitting there had no clue which senior chose us to place that graduation robe around their shoulders. That surprise was an intentional part of the ceremony.
That mystery was soon solved though, as each of the participating seniors (It was not a mandatory school function.) made their way in alphabetical order from the audience to the podium and began to read an essay dedicated to the one person at East Union Attendance Center that had impacted that student’s educational journey the most.
From the first student onward, it was a day filled with tears, laughter, and absolute joy. With their words, those students (many who had never spoken publicly to a crowd that size and some who had never spoken publicly before) painted a picture of an entire school campus that loved and nurtured them to this point, diligently preparing them for the world waiting beyond East Union’s school doors.
As a retired English teacher, I was not only moved but impressed. Those students spoke clearly, concisely, and eloquently – even with some noticeably nervous shaking and a fair share of tears. Their impeccable grammar stood as a firm testimony to a school filled with amazing teachers.
I had to imagine that their words were life-giving water to the weary, hardworking educators sitting around me. Plus, the subject of each student’s speech was as diverse as the entire student body they taught.
We heard about teachers who went out of their way to care for students, coaches who helped students be better athletes and better human beings, educators who taught and coached their own children (at home and school) with constant love and patience, and lunchroom workers who fed bodies and souls. Actually, “soul food” was a common denominator in most of the speeches given throughout the Robe Ceremony.
And it was the main focus of my Robe Ceremony experience.
As Landon Harmon, one of the tallest kids in the graduating class of 2025, made his way to the podium, I knew in my heart that this amazing baseball pitcher (who is being scouted weekly by multiple major league baseball teams) had specifically invited me to this precious ceremony.
He began to speak in that deep, distinctive voice I have recognized and loved for a long time. But it is a voice that has gained strength and self-assurance over the last few years. He attributed part of the growth to Coach Chris Lucius.
Landon told of his first day at East Union and how Coach Lucius immediately welcomed him and made him feel like an integral part of the school – and the baseball team. That welcome gave Landon the confidence to truly become a loved member of the school family and its team.
Beyond that, Landon described how he watched Coach Lucius live out his faith in every avenue of his daily life – on good days and bad ones. What he witnessed from his coach helped Landon do the same. He learned to simply incorporate faith seamlessly into his own daily walk.
Landon explained that he was forever impacted by how Coach Chris Lucius lived. He finished by saying that in honor of Coach Lucius, he had invited his coach’s mom, Joy Lucius, to present him with his graduation robe.
"How Coach Christ Lucius lived."
Those words reminded me of Hebrews 11:4 and John 11:26, verses that assure us that because of his faith in Jesus, even though Chris is dead, he still speaks through the life he lived for his Savior.
So, with those words ringing in my heart and tears flowing freely down my face – Leigh and I “robed” this tall, talented, and amazing young man, signaling the official start to Landon’s graduation journey beyond East Union into a world of promise and purpose.
Wherever that journey takes him, I pray that just as he experienced through Coach Lucius – one day, other young men will speak of how they watched Landon Harmon courageously live out his faith every day, everywhere, in every way possible.
Yes, I pray Chris started a chain reaction of young men who boldly bear their faith to the next generation of men, over and over again, generation after generation.
But those are not the only prayers that I took with me from that unforgettable high school Robe Ceremony.
I pray that, like Chris, each of us will live out our faith daily – Robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
