{"id":3520,"date":"2022-08-28T17:18:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-28T22:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/?p=3520"},"modified":"2022-08-28T17:22:29","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T22:22:29","slug":"fall-2022-convocation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/2022\/08\/fall-2022-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall 2022 Convocation Remarks from Dean emilie m. townes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dean Emilie M. Townes’ Fall Convocation remarks, as delivered on August 26, 2022<\/em><\/h3>\n

each opening convocation, we have begun by remembering those who have died since we were last together in May and to celebrate the new births during this time as well<\/p>\n

today, we remember<\/p>\n

those killed in mass shootings in<\/p>\n

highland park, il (july)
\nuvalde, tx (may)
\ntulsa, ok (june)
\nbuffalo, ny (may)
\nbutler township, oh (august)
\nand more<\/p>\n

professor dr. terrance dean
\nreverend dr. autura eason-williams<\/p>\n

please call the name of others who have died or been born since May of this year<\/p>\n

blessed be<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the saying comes in many forms:<\/p>\n

be with someone who makes you look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

everybody deserves someone who makes them look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

everybody deserves someone who makes them look forward to tomorrow. Be that someone for someone<\/p>\n

be someone who makes someone else look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

being with you always makes me look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

how to look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

it\u2019s nice to have someone who makes you look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

just the thought of being with you tomorrow is enough to get me through today<\/p>\n

look forward<\/p>\n

looking forward<\/p>\n

as we look back, we look forward to tomorrow<\/p>\n

and eventually, it morphs into sayings about hope<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

the desire, the admonition, the encouraging word to look beyond today is not a surprising thing from era to era and society to society<\/p>\n

particularly when we are living in a maze of ugliness<\/p>\n

that seems to greet us at most turns in our living<\/p>\n

and would have us call it quits with hope<\/p>\n

and slip into a mind-numbing cynicism that might even become a withering nihilism that settles into despair that breeds ruthless armadas of hatred<\/p>\n

i hope that you are here today and will remain here for the time it will take to complete your program because you think that there is a better way to be with each other and the creation that surrounds us<\/p>\n

that you are willing to take the leap into learning and to open yourselves up to new ideas, new perspectives, new histories, new words\u2026just overall new stuff<\/p>\n

for part of what we do in theological education is make a commitment\u2014faculty, staff, and students\u2014to be open to the journey of bringing together head and heart, body and spirit, intellect and intuition, reason and experience as natural dance partners and not warring states of being<\/p>\n

we, my friends, are trying to bring humanity back as we enter our classrooms, talk in the common room, gather in the atrium, sit in worship, travel here and back, hang in al\u2019s pub, and more<\/p>\n

because there is more in this world that calls out the good, if only we have the skills, will, strength and vision to do so<\/p>\n

rather than only point to the bad and tell the big lie that the bad is <\/u><\/em><\/strong>the status quo<\/p>\n

and the good news is that we do not do this alone<\/p>\n

God is in the midst of us and will not be moved<\/p>\n

as you and i seek to move beyond a sterilized, codified, and cul-de-sac faith<\/p>\n

to one that challenges the head, heart, body, and soul<\/p>\n

that encourages us to lean into mystery<\/p>\n

to learn from intellectual rigor<\/p>\n

to bring the two together so that we can share what we are learning with others rather than hording it in the narrow harbors of our souls and intellect<\/p>\n

looking forward means that together, we<\/u><\/em><\/strong> craft a community of learning<\/p>\n

made up with peoples of all racial ethnic groups<\/p>\n

both cisgenders, trans, fluid, nonbinary, intersex<\/p>\n

varied lifestyles and abilities<\/p>\n

different political and theological agenda<\/p>\n

from all levels of the class structure<\/p>\n

documented and undocumented<\/p>\n

all ages<\/p>\n

and on and on into the richness of our living and laboring<\/p>\n

looking forward means that we become a community of learning that strives to be active witnesses to a more humane and better way to live into a world that needs a strong word, willing hands, invigorating spirituality, and moving bodies that will act and not just pontificate<\/p>\n

because we refuse to believe that maudlin loathing is divine commandment<\/p>\n

and we live our lives as a ripening into wholeness<\/p>\n

and not a current event<\/p>\n

or spiritual two-step<\/p>\n

or round house of academic arbitrariness<\/p>\n

or momentary bout of holified indigestion<\/p>\n

i encourage all of us to be theologically fabulous and get God up doing a standing ovation in creation<\/p>\n

by refusing to accept what is, as the best there can be<\/p>\n

by shaping our worlds as models for justice and hope and love and deep spirit<\/p>\n

and we hold ourselves accountable to remembering that we owe one another respect and to treat others with dignity<\/p>\n

for if we deny justice, hope, love, and spirit; we are, in effect, telling those who go without them that they are worthless<\/p>\n

and none of us. . .none of us\u2026<\/strong>has that right<\/p>\n

although some of us have the power and privilege to do so<\/p>\n

as we begin this new year, we are being called to be the ones that seek wisdom, welcome change (or at least endure it), grow in grace, spread care, celebrate\u2014really celebrate life\u2014and not be the ones who are the poster children for a melancholy status quo<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

so, welcome to this new year and the great gift of possibilities, of looking forward, that you will find here and beyond<\/p>\n

let’s open our hearts and minds to the wideness of God\u2019s mercy<\/p>\n

and tackle the hard issues and injustices of our day with fierce determination<\/p>\n

a rock steady sense of hope<\/p>\n

a laser pointer of love<\/p>\n

and an ornery unwillingness<\/u><\/em><\/strong> to live in indifference whose only companion is a conscience that is soundless<\/p>\n

let\u2019s make some noise and get busy with it<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

blessed be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dean Emilie M. Townes’ Fall Convocation remarks, as delivered on August 26, 2022 each opening convocation, we have begun by remembering those who have died since we were last together in May and to celebrate the new births during this time as well today, we remember those killed in mass shootings in highland park, il…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9344,"featured_media":3522,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1064,1],"tags":[10,1140,210,31],"class_list":["post-3520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dean-townes","category-news","tag-dean-emilie-townes","tag-fall-convocation","tag-spirituality","tag-vanderbilt-divinity-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9344"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3520"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3521,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3520\/revisions\/3521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/vanderbiltdivinity\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}