Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold urged graduates to "give root room to the Holy Spirit" and nurture a companionship with Christ through prayer during his sermon at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest's commencement May 18. "Without an intimate and enduring companionship with the risen Christ, our ministries are dead in the water," he said.
Citing the Archbishop of Canterbury's call for "passionate patience," Griswold cautioned the 34-member Class of 2004 about "the need for patience, not simply with others, but with ourselves." Developing such patience, he added, "both grounds you as ministers of reconciliation and also helps your people live the present season themselves with graced patience that is faithful to the spirit of the gospel."
Griswold explained the importance of developing an "undefended heart" when joining worshipping communities as it in this context that the pastoral and liturgical competencies acquired in seminary, will be "shaped and formed by the very people they perceive they have been sent to serve." Develop an "undefended heart," he said, by opening yourself "in patience to the promptings and motions of grace."
"Be ready for surprise," he added. "Be ready to be disconcerted, be ready to be turned around and aimed in the opposite direction, be ready to be thwarted at every turn, be ready to be unsettled by the goings on in the church; but always be ready to be patient and listening."
Citing the presiding bishop's commitment to reconciliation, the seminary awarded him the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. "Christ-centered theologian, thoughtful shepherd of the faithful and tireless advocate of reconciliation, you lead the Episcopal Church through our turbulent time with care, respect and love for all those within the Body of Christ," read the citation that accompanied the honorary doctoral degree.
The Seminary of the Southwest also honored the Very Rev. Durstan McDonald and Lucy Nazro with honorary degrees at graduation.
McDonald, dean-emeritus of the seminary, was lauded as a "gifted teacher" who fostered the growth of the seminary "from its regional roots to a vital church-wide presence during your 18 years of leadership."
Nazro was honored as an "exemplary educator, visionary leader and energetic doer" who has "firmly deepened the footprint of Episcopal education in Austin and, by example, throughout the country." The 1966 Seminary of the Southwest graduate is Head of School at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin and past president of the National Association of Episcopal Schools.
Malcolm Cooper, an Austin investment manager who recently retired from the seminary's board of trustees after 22 years of "indefatigable and prodigious" service.
Full information about the Seminary of the Southwest's commencement, including the full text of the presiding bishop's sermon and honorary degree citations is available at www.etss.edu/Comm04.shtml.
