Date: May 23, 2023
Yesterday, some members of the class of 1963 gathered on zoom. The primary reason was they wanted to learn about “The Class of 1963Continuing Education Fund”, which is primarily focused on enabling clergy to do continuing education. We were pleased to report on how the fund has been used and the impact of that fund. And then the meeting moved into the realm of remembrance.
We went around the zoom room and each person present reflected on the impact of VTS on their lives. The Rev. Robert Wollard talked about a former dean, the Rev. E. Felix Kloman and how he had impacted his ministry; the Rev. Bill Lane talked movingly about arriving as a young man and VTS being the space where he matured; the Rev. Peter Thomas talked about how those words “Seek the Truth come whence it may, cost what it will” have become his lifelong motto; the Rev. Dick Lewis and his wife the Rev. Sarah Lewis talked about the Faculty – the great names that formed their worldview; and the Rev. Doug Hiza talked about VTS being the best three years of his life.
I felt very honored to be listening to these reflections. These priests have served for literally decades (and between them probably 200 or so years). I was humbled. Thank you to the class of 1963.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary