Date: March 24, 2022
I confess that sometimes VTS is exhausting. There is so much going on. Grumbles have reached my ears about the number of conflicting events. It is true that the COVID backlog has hit the campus this week. Malcolm Guite is on the campus; the Rev. Mike Angell, our Hines Award winner, is on the campus; and the Rev. Professors Keith Ward and Sarah Coakley are in discussion. These are rich offerings.
I must admit I have spent the last two nights in the presence of Malcolm Guite. These are evenings I will remember forever. There are strange moments that live with you: I love the Peggy Parker sculpture “Mary the Prophet,” and so does Malcolm Guite — and he is right that his poem the “Annunciation” should be forever associated with that sculpture. What the artist says in sculpture, the poet says in words, and both get to the essence.
With so many wonderful events taking place on our campus, it is true that you will have to choose which ones to attend. Tonight you can decide between Mike Angell (whose first contextual ministry sermon was preached in front of President Barack Obama) in the chapel or Sarah Coakley in Scott Lounge. But please do choose one! Don’t miss the opportunity by opting to spend the evening in your dorm room or in 1823 or the Flamingo. If the entire community decided between one of these two events, then both events would be packed and people would grumble about why we don’t have more events!
The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D
Dean and President