Date: February 11, 2022
Sometimes life feels very surreal. As part of our Bicentenary, we are organizing 24 “Marking the Moment” events around the country over the next two years. So Dr. Hawkins and I are in New Orleans participating in a gratitude events for alumni and friends. Then at the same time, I am one of the speakers at the “Conference on Religion, Ethics, and Science” at Arizona State University on the theme of “Brave New World? Revisiting Utopia.” (It is free; you’re welcome to join the conference.) Thanks to Zoom, I am able to participate in the other sessions, as well as my own, online. Then on Saturday night and Sunday morning, I am a preacher who will be participating in a service where I will have the privilege of presenting the Dean’s Cross to William Barnwell (posthumously) and Corrine Barnwell at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans.
In many ways these moments are very energizing. Connecting with alums is always a privilege. Having the privilege of bringing the Word to the people of God is always a sacred honor. And thinking about “utopia” and how best it should be understood in our moment is a delightful challenge. It is amazing how technology opens up these opportunities.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President