The run in to Commencement

The journey of these years at General Theological Seminary have been complicated. On the one hand, the graduates have had some superb teaching; they have engaged with the complexity of the Bible, theology, liturgy, practical theology, and ethics and learned from some truly great teachers. On the other hand, these graduates have navigated the demands of a changing environment, the talk of affiliation, and potential reorganization.

One challenge of ministry is that one has to learn to live with both moments of grace and triumph and simultaneously moments of concern and apprehension. Indeed, on a personal level this is true. Many marriages are a mixture; many work environments are a mixture; and many families are a mixture.

The secret is to see the mixture. If all of life is a mixture, one does not want to get to an end of life and just see the problems and the challenges. There is much that our graduates should celebrate as they run into commencement. May they do so.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary