Category: Dean’s Commentary

Promoting Archives Access

One of the goals I set when I started as archivist here at VTS was to promote the use of the archives through discoverability, programming, and social media. Over the past year we have increased visibility with displays, by providing professors with resources for student research, curated an exhibit on Bishop John T. Walker, and […]

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The African American Episcopal Historical Collection at Twenty Years

On October 11, 2023, the African American Episcopal Historical Collection (AAEHC) will celebrate 20 years of chronicling the history of Black people in the Episcopal Church. In 2003 the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church and the Bishop Payne Library formed a partnership to archive the stories of the largely unsung, but remarkable and defining […]

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Treasures Await You in the Rare Book Room

Coming into the Rare Book Room is like dipping your toes into the sea of Medieval and Reformation history. The Bishop Payne Library’s Rare Book Collection consists of over 5,000 books with emphases on early English Anglican literature, Books of Common Prayer, Bibles, practical theology, and music. This collection offers a visual window into what […]

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Books are for Use

One of my primary jobs as User Services Librarian is to meet with students and faculty for research consultations. I try to listen carefully to their research questions and then I suggest ways they can enter the (inevitably) vast scholarly literature on their subject. My role is to help students and researchers find the “scholarly […]

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Celebrating the Bishop Payne Library Team

Readers of the Commentary will hear this week from members of the Bishop Payne Library team. Let me introduce them: User Services Librarian Vincent Williams will tell you about his work with students to identify library resources for their papers and sermons. Jim Fitch, Discovery and Technology Services Librarian, ably administers the library’s discovery catalog, […]

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Fall Visitors and CTEAC

Today we continue our sneak peak at fall events with CACS.  In addition to the Scriptural Reasoning (SR) Training of Facilitators and monthly sessions described yesterday, we look forward to hosting two sabbatical visitors:  The Rev. Natalie Arendse will join us September 15 – October 6 from the Province of Southern Africa and St. John’s […]

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Scriptural Reasoning: Training in September and Monthly Sessions

CACS is pleased to be starting off the fall with new opportunities for skill-building in interfaith engagement. On Wednesday and Thursday, September 6-7, a team from the Rose Castle Foundation, led by CACS Fellow in Peace and Reconciliation, and Rose Castle Founding Director, Canon Sarah Snyder, will lead a Scriptural Reasoning (SR) Training of Facilitators.  […]

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New International Students Coming in August

Connecting with our international DMin students in June provides us with wonderful windows into the varied cultural contexts of the Anglican Communion. This August VTS will be welcoming 4 new international MA/MDiv students and they will offer similar gifts during the entire academic year.  In this commentary, we’d like to introduce you to them, with […]

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What is CACS up to This Summer?

For day 2 of the CACS Dean’s Commentary, we are delighted to give you a window into our summer activities. Katherine Grieb, Director of CACS, spent a week in June in North Wales giving the Hellins Lecture at the St. Asaph Cathedral, leading a pre-ordination retreat for 7 deacons of the Diocese of St. Asaph, […]

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The Current CACS Team

The Center for Anglican Communion Studies (CACS) is pleased to be hosting the Dean’s Commentary this week and we thought we would begin by sharing updates on our team. In May, we were thrilled to welcome our new Administrative Coordinator, Andrea Gauntlett. Andrea earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from St. John’s University, Jamaica, New […]

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