Date: January 2, 2025
As the holidays slowly recede, we now start the journey of 2025. We all look back on 2024 with different feelings. For some, it was a good year. For others, it was a transition year. For others again, it was a difficult year shaped by significant loss.
As an institution, this was a transition year. The epic journey of our Bicentenary, which had dominated the last five years, was over. With it, the capital campaign and the construction are over. The two year affiliation with The General Theological Seminary reached a significant conclusion with the lease arrangement with Vanderbilt University. By the end of 2024 and into this year, we are embedding our work. The reparations program is continuing to be an important witness. New faculty and staff have arrived and are making a difference. The St. Nicholas Center started taking shape. The focus has shifted back to that core work of recruiting students, providing quality program, and graduating our students. Our astonishing record with grant success is continuing. And the wider impact of the Seminary in Lifelong learning, Trytank, and the Center for Anglican Communion Studies is felt across the church and the world.
Hopefully, calendar year 2025 will be a little more gentle than the demanding ride of the Bicentenary years. My prayer for all those who read this commentary is that 2025 may be a gentle year for us all. Be healthy, find time to pray, and be a constructive presence in our homes and in our networks. God bless you all.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary