Every year at Commencement, a faculty member delivers a charge to the graduating class as they prepare to go and live into their callings. Here, Dr. Angela Parker, Affiliate Faculty for Biblical Studies, charges graduates to leave their career as students here with a changed voice. You can also view the entire Commencement ceremony here.
“As we send you forth, I have two charges for you: I’m charging you to a changed relationship with us, but I’m also charging you to a changed voice. Your voice is very different than when you first walked into the building. You didn’t know how your voice was going to change, you didn’t even know you had a voice, you didn’t even know what your voice was to be raised up for. And so, this is what I charge you to do: don’t you dare let anyone remove that voice from you.”
Dr. Parker reflects on the past four years of her tenure at The Seattle School and the profound change she herself has experienced. In her charge, she calls the class to sit with those they serve by cultivating a resurrection from the dead that they did not see coming. She recounts the resurrection story in John 20, translating as she reads from the original Greek, and emphasizes Mary’s charge to a different voice and relationship, something each student should also embrace upon leaving The Seattle School.