Of the many Board actions that took place in February, I am delighted to share the news that the Rev. Rachelle Sam has been elected to the faculty to serve as our associate dean for strategic implementation and priorities. Rachelle is the first appointment to the faculty out of the school chaplaincy world. She has […]
As Vice President Jacqui Ballou returns from her sabbatical, one of the first tasks that she has set herself is to progress the budget for 2022-23. The system is simple: we receive from the February Board Meeting the expected budget parameters. We then send out a draft budget to each department and invite them to […]
VTS has a long and deep commitment to the ministry of Christian formation and discipleship. As such, it is only appropriate that Forma, the Network for Christian Formation for the Episcopal Church and beyond, should become a part of our ecology in a formal sense. As Elisabeth Kimball, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Lifelong Learning, said […]
On Tuesday, the COVID-19 Response group gathered to discuss the latest CDC guidance. It is clear that increasingly the direction of the CDC and governors around the country is to instruct communities to start finding ways of living with COVID, rather than imagining that there will come a time when it completely goes away. The […]
Dr. Tanner was extraordinary last night. She took us into the mind of Origen. We were invited to think about his theological method. From his theological assumptions to his theological speculation, it was a journey through justice, love, and theodicy. It was extraordinary. The joy of the Costan Lectures is that it is an opportunity […]
It was last fall that middler Kimberly Dunn came to tell me about a Mental Health First Aid training that she had recently participated in. Mental Health First Aid teaches people how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance abuse. The training gives participants the skills to reach out and […]
Like everyone, I have been following the unfolding tragedy in Ukraine. The New York Times podcast, “The Daily,” has been an excellent source for the news, with reporters in Ukraine and Russia sharing in careful, vivid detail the different perspectives of those two countries. I have found the reporting so moving, as they share the […]
When I took this position in 2007, Canon Leslie Houlden, my New Testament professor at King’s College London, thought that the idea of daily commentary absurd. “What on earth will you say,” he remarked. “By day three, you will simply be reporting on menu in the Refectory,” he continued. Strangely, the opposite is true. Often […]
Mara Sherman is not just good at handling the complexity of the Doctoral Programs, but she is a rich, imaginative actor and director. It has been wonderful having her skills as she managed the growth of the various programs. And she has also opened up the world of theater for the Seminary. It has been […]
Diane Wright has decided to retire from the Seminary. With her sharp mind, engaging manner, legal training, and capacity to laugh, Diane has led the way in the organization of continuing education in Lifelong Learning. She will be missed. We all serve for a season. We give the most generous gift that we all have. […]