Dear Friends,
As you can imagine, the joy of this week, in which we mark the end of classes and prepare to honor our graduates, has been diminished by the tragic events at Virginia Tech. Our students are struggling with competing emotions as they try to focus on writing papers and preparing for exams while feeling deeply the suffering of the Virginia Tech community. Their questions are as profound as their sorrow. To assist them in addressing the emotional and spiritual questions of this time, we are keeping the chapel open for prayer and quiet reflection and opening the treasures of the Scriptures and the storehouse of Christian hymnody which speak profoundly to human suffering and of the ineffable love of God in Christ Jesus. During these days, our students are coming to understand in a deeper way the truth recorded in the Letter to the Hebrews: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (4:15)
This weekend, we will celebrate Graduate Recognition Sunday and send some remarkably faithful and caring “leaders and best” out into the world. It’s always a bittersweet time; we will miss their presence in our midst even as we look forward to discovering how they will contribute to society in the future. Again this year, we expect to commission one or two graduates to serve with AmeriCorps and the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. These young people’s commitment to public service has been nurtured and shaped in campus ministry. We are grateful for your partnership that helps to make that possible. With your help, we are able to provide a community in which young people can reflect intentionally upon their vocations as they seek to live out their callings as the baptized children of God.
I give thanks for this remarkable ministry and for your partnership in it.
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
As you can imagine, the joy of this week, in which we mark the end of classes and prepare to honor our graduates, has been diminished by the tragic events at Virginia Tech. Our students are struggling with competing emotions as they try to focus on writing papers and preparing for exams while feeling deeply the suffering of the Virginia Tech community. Their questions are as profound as their sorrow. To assist them in addressing the emotional and spiritual questions of this time, we are keeping the chapel open for prayer and quiet reflection and opening the treasures of the Scriptures and the storehouse of Christian hymnody which speak profoundly to human suffering and of the ineffable love of God in Christ Jesus. During these days, our students are coming to understand in a deeper way the truth recorded in the Letter to the Hebrews: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (4:15)
This weekend, we will celebrate Graduate Recognition Sunday and send some remarkably faithful and caring “leaders and best” out into the world. It’s always a bittersweet time; we will miss their presence in our midst even as we look forward to discovering how they will contribute to society in the future. Again this year, we expect to commission one or two graduates to serve with AmeriCorps and the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. These young people’s commitment to public service has been nurtured and shaped in campus ministry. We are grateful for your partnership that helps to make that possible. With your help, we are able to provide a community in which young people can reflect intentionally upon their vocations as they seek to live out their callings as the baptized children of God.
I give thanks for this remarkable ministry and for your partnership in it.
Peace, Shalom, Salaam,
Sue
No comments:
Post a Comment