Date: December 6, 2024
One important role of this position is to leave the Holy Hill and spend some time with our alumni in ministry. So, I was delighted to accept the opportunity to go to Church Church Ponte Vedra in Florida. I am the keynote speaker for the Bridge Institute, addressing the theme “Life Together”.
I leave early on Wednesday and return on Friday. These trips help me understand the Church that VTS seeks to serve. I learn from leaders of congregations as they grapple with the post-COVID church attendance and the challenge of political polarization.
Seminaries must remain connected to the congregations that we seek to serve. The survival of the faith continues to depend on people gathering regularly. Once that stops that we will join the ruins of other religions that thrived for a season and then ceased to be. For me, this is an opportunity to refresh as I learn about the challenge and effectiveness of ministry in 2024.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary