Category: Dean’s Commentary

Grateful for the Dean’s Cross Service

Last night, Immanuel Chapel was a space of sublime Anglican liturgy and a moving celebration of ministry. We gathered for the Dean’s Cross service. It was exceptional. The music was glorious; the readings were read well; and the awards were a recognition of human lives lived fully. Advent Lessons and Carols are a distinctly Anglican […]

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In Praise of Proximity

This is the final trip on behalf of the Seminary for 2021. Last night, there was a lovely gathering of alums and friends of the Seminary. Earlier in the day, there were meetings with the Rt. Rev. Robert Wright ’98, bishop of Atlanta,  and with Mr. Russ Hardin of the Lettie Pate Evans Foundation. Much […]

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In Awe of Dr. Lisa Kimball

Hopefully, Dr. Kimball will not read this Commentary. After all, she is on sabbatical. But I do just want to pause and celebrate her presence among us. On December 3, 2021, we announced the exciting news that the Lilly Endowment Inc. had awarded a $1M grant to the Seminary for the Mutual Ministry Initiative in […]

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The Launch of Home and the Celebration of Jim Mathes

We have had two lovely occasions this week. On Monday night we celebrated the launch of a new book from VTS Press, entitled Home. When Helen Reid, the wife of Richard Reid (VTS dean and president in the 1980s), wrote Search for the Invisible – the theme was “the invisible families of the Faculty on […]

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Snow Procedure

There is a small possibility that we might get some snow tomorrow morning. So, as we approach winter, it is worth reminding everyone of the Seminary’s process and policies. By 6:00 a.m., the Seminary will have made a decision which will be advertised on our website, our social media accounts, and will be shared in […]

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Safety on the Roads

As we continue to live with Covid, it is worth remembering that there are other dangers in life. As close readers of the Commentary know, last week, Dr. Barney Hawkins and I made a journey to Durham, NC (which, I am pleased to report, went very well). We traveled separately. I was coming from Alexandria, […]

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Celebrating Each Gift

When my wife worked for the North American Committee for St. George’s College in Jerusalem, the end of the year was an important time. The mail would arrive: countless $10, $50, $100 gifts would pour in. For many friends of St. George’s, these modest amounts were all they could afford. But as each gift arrived, […]

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Missing Chapel

Yesterday morning, it was impossible for me to be at Chapel. Given the schedule for my upcoming donor cultivation trip to Durham, NC, I knew that I would have to hold a Deanery construction meeting at 8 a.m. Feeling both guilty and sad, I headed to the Deanery first thing, where many important decisions were […]

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Enjoy the Challenges of the Semester

With Thanksgiving now over, we have the journey to the end of the semester. This can be a busy time for many of us. The Annual Fund always anticipates an increase number of gifts towards the end of the calendar year; students are writing final papers; professors are bracing themselves for grading all those papers; […]

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Giving Tuesday Supporting the AAEHC

Today VTS joins the worldwide celebration of generosity that is Giving Tuesday by lifting our voices in support of the African American Episcopal Historical Collection (AAEHC), a joint project of VTS and the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church. Giving Tuesday aims to bring people around the world together through generosity in all its forms […]

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