Date: August 27, 2024
This has been a busy summer. I finished Commencement in May and then I was preaching on Bishop Channing Moore Williams at Rikkyo University in Tokyo on the Saturday afternoon. I attended the Association of Theological Schools biannual in Atlanta and then the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Louisville, KY.
For our students, they have also had a busy summer. Many students did Clinical and Pastoral Education – always an important moment of self-discovery and formation. Others had diocesan required placements in congregations. All of us return to start a new semester conscious that the pause has been shorter than perhaps we would have liked.
Then on a national level, events have been extraordinary. We are in the middle of a presidential election and have seen an assassination attempt and a President decide not to seek reelection.
As we all ease into living together, let us pause and recognize everything that is going on and be especially gentle with each other. Before we send that angry email, do ask the question – what might be going on in the life of the receiver that should be taken into account? This is what “loving your neighbor as yourself” is all about.
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and the President of The General Theological Seminary