Date: April 16, 2025
In my most recent sermon, I spoke of this Seminary’s commitment to adhere to the highest social and ethical values of the Christian tradition. I said it in an effort to inspire hope among those of us who, in these days read, watch, study, listen, examine and find it challenging to know the assurance of an unconditionally loving and supporting God. This institution is guided by the faith that no matter the circumstances, God is with us.
In just a few days, we will celebrate the joy of the Resurrection. Recall the Gospel accounts of Mary and Mary Magdalene who arrive at Jesus’ tomb and find it empty. The dazzling angel tells them the good news that Jesus is gone, he is risen, and that they will find him in Galilee, just as he told them. During these times when hope is in small and distant supply, we can remember this Easter promise that even in the midst of greatest and darkest despair, we can find the risen Christ. It is hope. And it is in Galilee. As believers, our Galilee is not merely a place on a map. Our Galilee is wherever we find the hope of the resurrection. It is that hope that we carry around in our hearts. That is where we find what we need to dismiss despair. On this campus the African American Episcopal Historical Collection (AAEHC) contains the oral histories and records of many who bear witness to astonishing lives of service, commitment and success. Oppression did not prevail to defeat them. Their stories must be told and preserved, especially given our government’s rush to erase and re-write. There is the recent report of the mercifully thwarted attempt by the National Park Service to eliminate from the Harriet Tubman story any references to the Underground Railroad. The AAEHC is determined that the history and the stories be preserved to keep them from the hands of those who want to cast them aside or obliterate them. African Americans in this country endured great suffering yet survived and struggled to overcome. In the AAEHC, over and over again, you will find remarkable stories of how ordinary and exceptional people alike, did not (and do not) allow oppression to prevail. Each story is a unique witness to achievement, success, and above all else that inner core of unshakable faith and resilience. As children of faith, we are obliged to tell and to share with the world these narratives of descendants of the enslaved who not only endured and survived, but they also with pride, determination and fortified by faith, stand and sing, “We Shall Overcome.”
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary