I will be taking my vacation this summer. I need a pause from the demands of my position. I will enjoy a different pattern for a week or so. Vacation is important. I love my work: every day I awake and thank God for the privilege of this work, even if there are days when […]
On Monday night at the end of the year Faculty dinner, we took the opportunity to say goodbye to the Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson and the Dr. Hannah Matis. It was a poignant moment. We are very conscious that they have given so much; we are aware that they are seizing opportunities; and we will […]
Yesterday the Faculty gathered. It is our practice to have a day-long Faculty meeting towards the end of the semester. Yesterday was a Faculty meeting with a difference. We had a Dr. Oliver McMahan with us; he was a facilitator of a conversation about the shape and nature of the institution after the affiliation with […]
I do hope everyone is enjoying the glow of a fabulous set of events last week. The Board meetings went well. The attendance was high; and the spirit among Board members was positive. The food and meals by Meriwether Godsey were excellent. And the rain cleared up in time for the Service of the Mission […]
I marvel at teachers. My person debt is considerable. I can remember my teachers from my various stages of education and I am grateful. As a teacher myself, I enjoy the privilege of having the space and opportunity to participate in the holy work of shaping a mind. And every day, I am grateful for […]
This is 2023. VTS has been going for two hundred years. It probably is not literally true that we have had two hundred commencements. Presumably students took some years to earn the first degree. But this commencement is highly symbolic. We have had many years as an institution in taking human lives and forming those […]
As I watched Archbishop Hosam Naoum present the consecrated oil to the Archbishop of Canterbury I marveled. Here was a VTS alum (twice over – he has a MA and a DMin from VTS) carrying the Bible at the coronation of King Charles III and then participating in the sacred rite of anointing a monarch […]
Today the Board of Trustees gather on the campus. We have a plenary that starts at 1.30pm. Then we have the VTS Board of Trustees, which will be followed by the Board Dinner in the evening. Then tomorrow at 9.30am, we have the GTS Board of Trustees. It is a complex season. The business of […]
So papers are submitted. Senior grades are in. Juniors and Middlers are planning to head out. The Seniors are focused on commencement and moving. It is a significant season. Some concern continues to bubble around the system because it is not clear where the graduate will land. So, it is an unsettling season – one […]
Last night the Refectory was humming. We had enjoyed the Commissioning of Spouses and Families service (one of my favorite occasions in the year); and then we moved to the Refectory. There must have been a thousand conversations happening as I walked in and joined the back of the line. Everyone was talking about everything […]