May is a month ripe with new beginnings. The sun is making regular appearances, pushing away the cold rains of March and April. For those who garden, it is when we finally start to see the first bright flowers pop against lush green after weeks of planting and tending. All the sweat, grime, and dirty fingernails are forgotten momentarily as everything blooms into vibrancy.
May is also graduation season. On May 9, 2024, Palmer Theological Seminary celebrated its 99th commencement at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. 67 soon-to-be alumni waited in anticipation to hear their names read aloud from the stage. Years of tilling the hard soil of seminary-cultivated cries and laughter of celebration from graduates, friends, and family alike. Many more were honored and recognized in absentia as graduates from our OpenSeminary and Maestria En Estudios Teológicos En Línea cohorts. Portions were translated into Spanish and the ceremony was live-streamed so friends and family from across the globe could watch and celebrate. Each year, commencement reflects the breadth and reach of the Palmer community more than the last.
The commencement address was given by Dr. Jeffrey Haggray, Executive Director of the American Baptist Home Missions Society and CEO of Judson Press. Dr. Haggray titled his address “Telling the Time,” and spoke of the need for a prophetic voice in our moment in history, and the necessity of wisdom in knowing when and how to use it. He described how every king and leader from King David to John F. Kennedy had a prophet who spoke on behalf of God and called them to account for the injustices in the halls of power. Dr. Haggray charged graduates to go out into the world as ministers of the Gospel, bearing wisdom and courage as they considered when and how they would be called to use their prophetic gifts.
Then came the climactic moment that all had been waiting for, especially the students who devoted themselves to study and formation for several years. The conferring of degrees representing Palmer’s many programs was met with cheers and applause from those who traveled across states and countries, for those present on stage and online.
Each May, we celebrate that God is still enabling Palmer to equip people to share the Whole Gospel for the Whole World through Whole Persons. We eagerly anticipate the testimony of how they are living out the Palmer mission and vision in local churches, nonprofits, and across the globe.
We celebrate because we see God’s faithfulness bloom after years of reading, writing, and discussing. We celebrate that these students graduated amidst a wide array of personal and professional challenges outside of the classroom. We see God’s love for God’s people blossoming! We celebrate the echoes of Psalm 100--“For the love of God is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations.”
Amen and Amen.
About the Author
Dan lives with his wife, Libby, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Palmer Theological Seminary with his Master of Divinity in 2018. He now serves full-time as the Director of College and Young Adult Ministries with the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, PA on the campuses of Eastern University and West Chester University. He also serves as a Chaplain and Seminary Storyteller for our Center for Alumni Care and Seminary Engagement.