Friends:

Last evening I was happy to attend Choral Evensong
at the Washington National Cathedral. As usual our prayer
together--and the singing of the choir--were very uplifting.

The Evensong was in Thanksgiving for the ministry of Howard Anderson.
He has been a Canon of the Cathedral and Warden of the Cathedral College, an
Associate Member of the Consortium. Howard is becoming the Pastor of a very active parish in California.

I will miss his presence at the College. He is a man of great energy and of many creative and interesting ideas. As Dean Samuel Lloyd remarked later at the Reception, Howard is a man of great love for all--a true Christian.

Peace,
John

Friends:

The inauguration of Dr. Brian Blount
as president of Union/PSCE two weeks ago
was an event to remember. I was privileged to walk
in the Academic Procession and sit near the front.

The ceremony was impressive. His family was bursting with pride.
The community was in a jovial mood.

Dr. Blount's Sermon was magnificent. He proposed a vision
for the future. He named issues and possibilities in a dynamic
presentation. I could not summarize what he said. You can view his sermon at
www.union-psce.edu.

This has been quite an outstanding academic year.
Many new presidents and deans have take office. Still more
will take positions this summer. There is a new energy as almost
all our institutions take stock of the present as they plan for the future.

Peace,
John

Friends:

It is a great day to drink coffee.
The sun is shining and a holiday looms.

Our offices, located at Dominican House, are surrounded by
quiet as all who live and work here are present at St. Dominic's Parish
for the ordination of five Dominicans to the priesthood. In two hours they
will return--with family and friends--for a festive dinner under a tent pitched
in the back yard!.

Such are the happy events--graduations and ordinations--at this time of year.

Peace,
John

Friends:

I have been drinking a lot of coffee these last two days.
Things built up in the office while I was teaching ecumenism last week at Wesley. It was a delightful week. The class was small but highly interactive--lots of practical discussion with this group of Doctor of Ministry students in my elective course.

A always learn a lot from my students. Each has ecumenical involvement and projects and was seeking to learn more. I hope that I successfully conveyed a little knowledge.

As some readers of this blog know, I am moving toward writing a book on Spiritual Ecumenism. This course moved me a step further down the writing path.

Peace,
John

Friends:

It has been a busy few days as I have started to teach my course
on ecumenism at Wesley. I will return to this blog when the course
is completed.

Peace,
John

Friends:

I had a fine meeting yesterday with Dr. Richard Jones and Dr. M. Adam Elsheikh
about their initial course on Muslim-Christian Dialogue at VTS. Their last
class for the students is next Tuesday--and they promised me a full report
on what they have learned as professors. They have given immense help in launching this
challenging new Certificate Program [12 credits] in the Consortium.

We also, of course, discussed many other matters--including pastoral concerns of priests and imams these days.

Peace,
John