Date: January 28, 2021
Media Contact: Curtis Prather
Tel: (703) 461-1782
Email: cprather@vts.edu
ALEXANDRIA, VA – On Monday, February 1, 2021, Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) will celebrate the beginning of the spring semester with a service that features the debut of a special hymn, commissioned for the Seminary’s Bicentennial.
“As we mark our 200 years, we are blessed to have a hymn composed in honor of the moment,” said the Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D., dean and president.
The Very Rev. J. Michael A. Wright, dean of Grace Cathedral in historic Charleston, SC and an accomplished writer of hymn texts, set the hymn to the tune, St. Catherine. Marty Wheeler Burnett, D.Min., associate professor of church music and director of chapel music at VTS, had the opportunity to speak with Dean Wright about writing this hymn.
The performance will be streamed live on Monday, February 1 at 8:15 a.m on the Seminary’s YouTube channel.
“This hymn focuses on a place – the Holy Hill – that forms and shapes countless lives and will continue to do this work,” continued Markham. “I am grateful for this composition and look forward to singing the hymn often.”
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Founded in 1823 as a beacon of hope in a country new and finding its way, Virginia Theological Seminary has led the way in forming leaders of the Episcopal Church, including the Most Rev. John E. Hines (VTS 1933, D.D. 1946), former presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church; the Rt. Rev. John T. Walker (VTS 1954, D.D. 1978), the first African-American bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington; and theologian, author and lay preacher Ms. Verna J. Dozier (VTS D.D. 1978). Serving the worldwide Anglican Communion, Virginia Theological Seminary educates approximately 25% of those being ordained who received residential theological education. Visit us online: www.vts.edu.