This afternoon the Board of Trustees will have a plenary. There are two major items of business. With our ATS Accreditation visit looming in 2023, we have the honor of having the Executive Director of the ATS, Dr. Frank Yamada, zooming into our meeting. It will give us an opportunity to learn about the state […]
This week the Board of Trustees is on the campus. The work of the Board is important, and we stand ready to support them as they do their work. The Board meeting coincides with an article written by Amanda P. Bourne and the Rev. Melody D. Knowles, Ph.D., in the prestigious journal Anglican & Episcopal […]
From time to time, I find myself in a debate within the community about “whether we are doing too much?” Indeed the Strategic Plan that will come to the Board of Trustees next week will include an invitation to the Seminary to teach the skills of “self-care” and healthy habits of living. There are basically […]
This morning I will host a formation group in my home. To make the moment of hospitality a little easier, Lesley, my wife, has taken Maddie, the delightful puppy, away for the day. So Maddie will not be bouncing around participating in the work of formation. I am blessed with a fabulous formation group; they […]
Every institution has a magazine. Often the focus is special guests or recent events on the campus or news of alums. This is, of course, all good. However, from time to time, it is worth pausing and having the magazine focus on the core work of the school. Our task as a graduate school and […]
Perhaps it is just me, but I think the continuing half-life under the shadow of the pandemic is exhausting. Things are much better than they were. We are singing in chapel; we are enjoying the Flamingo; and classroom lectures are face-to-face. Grandparents are seeing grandchildren again. And even some travel is happening. But every single […]
Last night, I made my way to 1823. I was coming back from a wedding in West Virginia. So Lesley (my wife), Kathleen (my mother-in-law), Maddie (the delightful but slightly unruly puppy), and I made our way to 1823. It was a cold and breezy evening. Groups with dogs are, quite rightly, required to sit […]
Last Thursday and Friday afternoons, the Lifelong Learning Department hosted its first online Symposium on the Spirituality of Children attended by over 250 participants from across the country and the globe. Jerome Berryman (founder of Godly Play) presented the keynote address on “Becoming Real: A Theology of Childhood,” with Drs. Lisa Kimball and Liz DeGaynor […]
One of the lasting impacts of this season of learning how to use Zoom at Virginia Theological Seminary is in respect to our Board committee work. Our practice was to hold all Board meetings face to face; normally, in a massive two-day intensive, where committees met on the Tuesday and the full Board on the […]
It is strange traveling again. But such travel is important. Much can be done on Zoom, but the quality of the connection is so much deeper when we are in each other’s presence. So as part of the continuing Bicentennial Campaign, the Rev. Barney Hawkins, Ph.D. and I are making the trip to connect with […]