Austin Seminary
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas, will hold its commencement service on Sunday, May 21 at 2:30 p.m. The Reverend Judy Fletcher, the first female Austin Seminary graduate to serve as executive of the Synod of the Sun, will address graduates at commencement. Sixty-one students are expected to receive degrees. Among Austin Seminary’s graduating students this year are six married couples, some seeking placement as co-pastors of a congregation. This year the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is celebrating the fiftieth year of the ordination of women to the ministry of Word and Sacrament; thirty-four members of the 2006 graduating class are women. Commencement exercises also include the granting of special awards to graduating seniors who have distinguished themselves.
The Reverend Dr. David Johnson, director of the Supervised Practice of Ministry and the Certificate in Spiritual Formation Program at Austin Seminary, will preach during the baccalaureate service at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 20. Presiding during the service of Word and Sacrament will be the Reverend Dr. Cynthia Rigby, Austin Seminary’s W. C. Brown Professor of Theology. Both baccalaureate and commencement events will be held at University Church, 2208 San Antonio Street, Austin, Texas.
Columbia
Columbia Theological Seminary will hold its baccalaureate service on Friday, May 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Columbia Church in Decatur, Ga. Delivering the sermon will be Dr. Tom Long, Bandy Professor of Preaching, Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Dr. Long’s address is entitled “Making Friends.” Reception will follow the service in the President’s Home. The commencement service will be Saturday, May 20, 10 a.m. at Peachtree Church, Atlanta, Ga. A reception will follow in the Fellowship Hall.
Dubuque
Dubuque Theological Seminary/University of Dubuque held its baccalaureate service Friday, May 12. The commencement was held Saturday, May 13, 9:30 a.m. at Westminster Church in Dubuque, Iowa. The commencement speaker was Dr. Jack H. Haberer Jr., editor-in-chief of The Presbyterian Outlook.
Louisville
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will hold its commencement on May 21, 3:30 p.m. at Harvey Browne Memorial Church. The speaker will be Dr. Marian McClure, Director of Worldwide Ministries Division, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Dr. McClure is also an alumna of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (M. Div. ’95). The baccalaureate service will be the same day at 10:30 a.m. at Frank H. and Fannie W. Caldwell Chapel on the campus of the seminary. The sermon will be delivered by Dr. Dianne Reistroffer, Professor of Ministry and Director of Methodist Studies at LPTS. Dr. Reistroffer has been a member of the faculty since 1998. She also served as Dean of the Seminary from 2000-2005. During commencement exercises, the Devoted Service Awards will be presented to Dr. McClure and Thomas F. Pickering, Moderator of the Synod of Living Waters, and Richard Menzel, Moderator of the Synod of Mid-America. LPTS has historic covenants with these two synods.
McCormick Seminary
McCormick Theological Seminary’s 172nd Commencement was scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 9 at the University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Chapel. The Rev. Christine Chakoian, pastor of First Church of Lake Forest, Illinois, spoke. For more information, visit https://www.mccormick.edu/commencement/2006 .
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will hold its baccalaureate service on Thursday, May 25 at 10 a.m. at Hicks Memorial Chapel on the campus of PTS.
The Rev. Don Dawson, director of World Mission Initiative will deliver the sermon.
The 210th commencement will be Thursday, May 25 at 7 p.m. at the East Liberty Church. Dr. Kenneth Bailey, Presbyterian author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies, will be the commencement speaker.
The John Anderson Award, named in honor of one of the Seminary’s founders, recognizes the unique services and contributions of special friends of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will be presented at the commencement.
This year, the Most Reverend Metropolitan Philip Saliba, archbishop of New York and metropolitan of North America of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, will receive the award.
Princeton
Princeton Theological Seminary held its baccalaureate service Friday, May 12 at 3 p.m. at Nassau Church, Princeton, N. J. The speaker at the service was Dr. J. Ross Wagner, Associate Professor of New Testament. The commencement exercises were held Saturday, May 13 at 5 p.m., at Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, N. J. The commencement speaker was Dr. Iain R. Torrance, President and Professor of Patristics.
San Francisco
San Francisco Theological Seminary will hold a baccalaureate service on Friday, May 19 at 4 p.m. at First Church in San Anselmo, Calif. The Rev. Dr. Marvin L. Chaney, Gray Professor of Hebrew Exegesis and Old Testament will be delivering the sermon. Commencement exercises will be Saturday, May 20 at 9 a.m. on the campus of San Francisco Theological Seminary in San Anselmo. Calif. The Rev. Marilyn Chilcote, recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award, will be the commencement speaker.
UTS/PSCE
Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education. Richmond, Va., will hold a baccalaureate Service on May 26, 7 p.m., at Watts Chapel on the campus of UTS/PSCE. The 194th commencement session will be May 27 at 10 a.m. at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church, 1627 Monument Avenue in Richmond. The commencement speaker will be The Rev. Ramiro Ros, pastor of Beth-El Farmworker Ministry in Wimauma, Fla. The title of his address is: “How Can This Be Possible?”
Non-Presbyterian Seminaries
Colgate/Rochester/Crozer Divinity
Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School’s 2006 commencement exercises were held Saturday, May 13, at 10 a.m. at Mount Olivet Baptist Church, 141 Adams Street, Rochester, N. Y. The commencement speaker was Congresswoman Louise A. Slaughter, representative of the 28th Congressional District in New York.
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School will hold its commencement exercises as part of the larger university ceremonies. Graduation will be June 8, with the commencement morning exercises at 9:45 a.m. in Harvard University’s Tercentenary Theatre. The diploma awarding ceremony will be on Andover Lawn at 1p.m. There will be numerous other events associated with commencement but many of these are ticketed events for the entire university.
