Date: April 10, 2024
I try very hard to send signals that students should not try to do everything. There are sometimes wonderful things that you should simply pass on. One corporate act of worship and your classes are the requirement; everything else should be a result of reflection and discernment about one’s personal priorities.
The one additional requirement is full participation in the Commemoration marking the legacy and witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tonight we have Professor Brian Bantum from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He will be addressing us at 7pm in the Lettie Pate Evans Room on the topic “Who Will We Be?: Identity in a Splintered World.”
On every level this is a priority. Racial justice is a priority for the Board of Trustees; it is in the Strategic Plan; and it is part of the Covenant that we affirm as a community. But more, this is old-fashioned Gospel work. We dig into our prejudices; we recommit to making the world a better place; and we anticipate the work that Christ has already done in the resurrection. See you tonight everyone.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary