This week’s Commentaries have been written by members of the AAEC (Alumni Association Executive Committee). For Commentary readers unfamiliar with AAEC’s work, here is some brief information about their role and activities. The AAEC is the elected executive body of the Alumni Association of Virginia Theological Seminary. As all VTS alumni are members […]
As I look back at my time at VTS, I feel grateful for my experience as a seminarian. Now, as an alum, I am grateful to be on the AAEC. It has been quite a journey from postulant to alum. After being made a postulant, I was concerned about finding a seminary that would […]
“You are to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor.” From The Examination, Ordination to the Priesthood, Book of Common Prayer 1979, p. 531 After 34 years of ordained life as a priest, and belonging to a lot of […]
When one is preparing for their seminary journey, spiritual formation and excelling at one’s academic work are top priorities for the incoming seminarian. They leave the comforts of their homes, their sponsoring parishes, and their dioceses and make a new home at VTS with the commitment to do very well in these endeavors. But […]
As I watched graduation online last month, I was reminded of my own graduation in 2008. Having been in parish ministry for 15 years I still value the formation I experienced on our beloved holy hill. The voices of professors still ring in my ears and not just their lectures but also their subtle […]
I love the story in Genesis where Abraham tries to convince God not to destroy Sodom. He’s basically haggling with God (Gen 18:22–33), right? But I love how the story shows us that God doesn’t expect huge numbers to be happy. This is important to keep in mind because we sometimes tend to think that […]
Earlier this year, we announced Project Phoenix, an ecumenical project that aims to develop an experimental prototype faith community for people in their 20s. We are lucky enough to be working with the ELCA, PCUSA, TEC, and Roman Catholic Church. We’re also in conversation with the Disciples of Christ and Methodist Church about this project. […]
As many of you know, I travel quite a bit for work. One of the things that I love about that is that I get to talk to many people doing the work on the front lines. And I love to hear about their problems. This isn’t because I am a glutton for punishment. Rather, […]
In our May newsletter we put out a call for ideas we could fund to create minimum viable prototypes (MVPs) to try new things this summer. We called it the “summer of innovation.” We just announced the ideas where we’re partnering to fund these MVPs. Here’s a sampling of the ideas: “Refresh unused church office […]
In the business that is our every day, it makes sense to pause every once in a while and take stock of our work. Recently, I looked at the more than 90 experiments we have conducted to see what lasting impact TryTank is having. It turns out that we have given birth to 13 new […]