On Tuesday, as I joined the Council of Deans talking to the new Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, I was struck afresh with the significance of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Bishop Rowe mentioned, almost in passing, that he will be presiding at the official state funeral which will be held in the Washington […]
The Chapel was always built to have a portrait in the building. Originally, it was Charlie Price, the remarkable professor of theology. But when the Refectory was renovated, the portrait was moved into the Refectory. A group of alums approached me and asked to have a portrait of the Rev. Dr. Barney Hawkins. They viewed […]
A massive thank you to those who were navigating the complexity of arrangements for Sunday, yesterday, and today. The email chain included James Farwell, Ross Kane, Jacqui Ballou, Bob Flanagan, John Knight, Nicky Burridge, Joe Thompson, Beth Clarke, and John Erbe. A massive thank you to everyone. Facilities did an amazing job in clearing the […]
I am delighted to share with you the news that Nicky Burridge has accepted the Seminary’s invitation to serve as the Senior Vice President for Communications and Institutional Advancement for both Virginia Theological Seminary and The General Theological Seminary. Nicky has brought exceptional management expertise to the world of Communications and has raised the profile […]
I’m so very happy to welcome doctoral students to campus to participate in the thesis writing week, along with most of the current GTS students who will come to the VTS campus this January for week-long intensive courses. The list of these courses is long and impressive, with Robert Heaney teaching Advanced Seminar on Theology […]
Our seniors are returning. Those on the MDiv and training for holy orders in the Episcopal Church will have the delights of the General Ordination Examinations. Six three hour exams over several days. Although I passed the GOE, I did not do particularly well. In 2007, the exams were graded out of five with three […]
As the holidays slowly recede, we now start the journey of 2025. We all look back on 2024 with different feelings. For some, it was a good year. For others, it was a transition year. For others again, it was a difficult year shaped by significant loss. As an institution, this was a transition year. […]
We only have a limited number of Christmas days in a given life. So, we all reach another landmark. Christmas 2024. It descends upon us and passes quickly into the new year of 2025. For parents, it is another moment when children are excited, looking forward to their gifts from Santa. For families, it is […]
On Friday, the Seminary will close at lunchtime. And it will not open again until the New Year. But of course we do need a team of people who are available if there is a crisis. Today, I want to honor the on-call rota of the Facilities team. They rotate around the team the responsibility […]
On Friday December 6, an alumnus had their car damaged. I shared the news in an email on December 9 and promised a full investigation. Fortunately, we did have a camera that had the damaged car prominently in view. The video footage was reviewed carefully for the entire night. Although there was a lot of […]