Date: September 3, 2025
As it happened, I was unwell. I had an infection with a fever over one hundred degrees, so I had to leave my wonderful wife to host the annual SOCU dinner at the Deanery last Friday evening. Seventy-one people attended, including senior staff, some spouses, and children. Among them, of course, was my wife, Lesley Markham. In a conversation at the Labor Day picnic, I remarked to Associate Dean Rachelle Sam that this might well have been the largest SOCU gathering ever.
The Rev. Dr. Elbert Ransom, Jr. (known to us as Bert, who passed into glory almost exactly a year ago) often said to me that the number of persons of color at VTS was once so small that they could all fit into the tiniest room on campus. The Rev. Dr. Judy Fentress-Williams can attest to the truth of his observation about the Seminary’s history.
Even now, it remains challenging for persons of color to navigate Virginia Theological Seminary. Yet there is at least more companionship on the journey through the complexities of both the Episcopal Church and modern America.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary