Date: September 10, 2021
It was the Board of Trustees in 2016 that mandated the Intercultural Competency Course for every employee and every student. Last week, I cleared my Wednesday to be fully present. I had not done the program for four years. It was riveting. From “I really did just think there were seven Fs in the sentence” to sitting there horrified as I listened afresh to the tragic narrative of Seminary involvement in injustice to the beautiful movie about Jewish and Muslim women working together, every component was thought-provoking, well organized, and transformative.
The fact that I am writing about this over a week later illustrates how the program continues to live with me. I was stretched, and I was disturbed. It was an important day.
The Rev. Joe Thompson, Ph.D., did the exercise of expressing his gratitude to all those who put the program together at the outset of the day. So I will not repeat here the list the names of those who made this excellent program possible. All I will do is add my gratitude to Joe’s. A massive thank you to all those who did that work. May we all continue to live in this world thinking about these issues.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President