Date: February 20, 2026
This is the season of Admissions, when prospective students walk our pathways, sit in our classrooms, and try to imagine whether Virginia Theological Seminary might become home. Their experience while here is pivotal. Long before they read a strategic plan or examine a course syllabus, they are asking a simpler question: How does it feel to be here? Every greeting, every shared meal, every casual conversation contributes to their discernment. A warm smile in the hallway, an invitation to join a table at lunch, or a few minutes of genuine interest in their story can make all the difference. The culture of welcome they encounter will speak as loudly as any formal presentation.
At the same time, we are blessed with visiting scholars – among them our Dean’s Scholars distinguished academics or senior leaders in congregational life –  who come to work on writing projects and to make a contribution to the Church and the academy. They enrich our common life simply by being present. Please introduce yourself. Ask about their work. Welcome them to campus life. Make time, if you can, to have a drink together in 1823 or at the Flamingo. These moments of collegial hospitality often become the very spaces where ideas are refined, friendships are formed, and the Seminary’s reputation for intellectual generosity is strengthened.
I want everyone who comes to VTS to have a truly good experience—prospective students, visiting scholars, partners, and friends. Learning the art of welcome here is not incidental; it is formation. The habits of hospitality cultivated on this campus will travel with our seminarians into the parishes and ministries they will one day serve. If we practice thoughtful, attentive, gracious welcome now, the Church will be stronger for it. Hospitality is not merely politeness; it is a quiet but powerful expression of the gospel.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary.