Yesterday I participated in a gathering of Clergy in the Order of Saint John (USA). This Order is best known for its support of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. The Priory Sub-Prelate, the Rev. Dr. Russ J. Levenson, Jr., Rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, had asked me to be a […]
There have been three recent resignations from the Seminary that I want to share with the community. We are grateful to all three of these employees for their service and hard work at the Seminary. First, in Institutional Advancement, Margaret Messenger, has decided to move on. Margaret became a familiar and popular face behind the […]
As you’ll recall, previous commentaries have highlighted the work of TryTank, which “offers inventive approaches to the challenges facing the Episcopal Church.” Sometimes this is by design, and sometimes, inspiration hits. In 2019, data suggested that the new “norm” for church attendance is once every four to six weeks, which means that if […]
Today I want to recognize and honor all those young people, under the age of 18, who are doing school remotely and living with their parents. This includes the teenagers and children of students, staff, and faculty. What started, perhaps, as a novelty has become a routine. Friendships are harder and entirely on-line. School work […]
How do you serve the Church in the midst of a pandemic? I am excited and impressed by the impact that Lifelong Learning is having. They use a variety of tools to reach the Church, and I was especially impressed by this webinar: Hope Incarnate: Planning Worship for Advent and Christmas. It took place on […]
Last night, Institutional Advancement held a virtual event for friends to relaunch our capital campaign. Vice President Linda Dienno navigated (after some instruction from Jeff Harre) the complexities of the zoom; the Rev. Dr. Barney Hawkins and I hosted the event; we had over thirty guests attending; and we used it as an opportunity to […]
As Lifelong Learning settles into their new home, I was so impressed by this delightful video that provides a tour of the new space. Josh Brown shows you each office, says hello to each office occupant, and shows you how easy it is to move the blinds up and down. One feels how this space […]
Yesterday, given it was Quiet Day, I booked a session with my Spiritual Director. The Seminary encourages us all to participate in Spiritual Direction. Graduate school is often focused on the hard work of the head – clarifying your ideas and arguments about this or that issue; and inevitably, the Seminary lifts up community and […]
Today is Quiet Day. It might seem strange to have a quiet day in the middle of a semester where much more quiet than normal has been imposed on us all. But this space is quite different from the COVID-imposed quiet. This is a space where we invite God to work on our lives in […]
Construction starts today on two houses (Maywood and 3540 Trotter Road), which are being converted into apartments to provide more on-campus housing for students and their families. We currently average ten students and families living off-campus, receiving subsidies that cost the Seminary almost a quarter of a million dollars. The new apartments will save the […]