Date: April 17, 2023
Formation at VTS needs many avenues. One of them is the contextual ministry site. It is here that one focuses on the craft of ministry. How exactly does one grow? How exactly does one bring the word of God to a group of people in their particular time and place? When I speak to alumni they often share their sense of gratitude for their contextual ministry celebration.
It was lovely to see busy clergy and lay people find time on a Saturday afternoon to attend the CXM Celebration. The Rev. Dr. Canon Altagracia Pérez-Bullard created an imaginative program; and the Rev. Laura O. White created the splendid atmosphere, with balloons and gifts for all those present.
Our seniors will miss their supervisor and their lay committee. This was a key ritual in the journey of graduation. Thank you for those attending; and thank you to all those supervisors and lay committees who pay such a pivotal role in the formation of a seminarian.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary