Date: December 19, 2024
On Friday, the Seminary will close at lunchtime. And it will not open again until the New Year. But of course we do need a team of people who are available if there is a crisis. Today, I want to honor the on-call rota of the Facilities team. They rotate around the team the responsibility for being “on-call”. This is the person who will make the journey in if the pipes freeze and there is a burst. This is the person who will join others if there is heavy snow fall and the campus needs to be cleared. They have to have their phone with them all the time. It might be the middle of the night or the middle of a dinner party, but if they are on-call, then they know they must come in.
These are the people on whom the operation of Virginia Theological Seminary depends. It is hard and difficult work. Even if you are not “called in” you cannot take a flight or take a train or even a significant car ride. You always need to be available. And every time the phone rings, you will inevitably wonder: is this the moment when I will come to the Seminary and help with a problem?
So today, thank you. Thank you to those who are willing to be “on call”.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary