Date: November 3, 2021
Every institution has a magazine. Often the focus is special guests or recent events on the campus or news of alums. This is, of course, all good. However, from time to time, it is worth pausing and having the magazine focus on the core work of the school. Our task as a graduate school and seminary is to instruct seminarians – to prepare human lives for the challenge of ministry. This is an issue dedicated to the teacher.
I must admit I love this issue. Every page opened up a new world. The Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Rev. Dr. Melody Knowles, provides a lovely overview. The Rev. Dr. Ruthanna Hooke takes up the theme of homiletics and illustrates how her scholarship – with an emphasis on embodiment – weaves into her teaching. Dr. Sharon Heaney gives a fabulous exploration of the Academic Resource Center. The Rev. Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams reveals her deep motivation; her classes are her testimony about a love affair with the Old Testament. Her colleague in Old Testament, Dr. Stephen Cook, takes us through the ways in which technology can transform the classroom (and those QR codes are so cool). Lifelong Learning reflects on their teaching and learning style; and CACS explains how we had the privilege of “teaching” with the Archbishop of Canterbury in a virtual sabbatical.
Naturally, there is news from the Holy Hill. Vice President Knowles has a remarkable article out which is really equivalent to a short book. There is an update on reparations. And we share the news about the appointment of the Rev. Dr. Shawn Strout as Associate Dean of Chapel. The campaign gets appropriate attention; the 200 sermons and the renovated spaces are all captured. It is an amazing journey.
Well done Mr. Curtis Prather and his team. This is an extraordinary achievement.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President