I am pleased to announce that Rev. Susan Pendleton Jones, a 1980
graduate of Virginia Wesleyan College, will serve as our Baccalaureate
speaker on Friday, May 19, at 6 p.m. at Haygood United Methodist Church
at 4713 Haygood Rd., Virginia Beach (not far from campus).
Baccalaureate
is a religious service held at most private, church-related educational
institutions before the commencement exercises. It is an important
tradition at United Methodist Church-affiliated colleges and
universities. A farewell sermon to the graduating class and selected
remarks, often from one or more representatives of the senior class, are
highlights.
Rev. Jones is currently senior fellow of the
Institute for Faith and Learning at Baylor University. She holds a B.A.
from Virginia Wesleyan College and an M.Div. from Duke University.
Rev.
Jones came to Baylor from Duke Divinity School where she served as
associate dean for ministerial formation. An ordained Methodist
minister, she is a frequent retreat leader for lay and clergy groups. At
Duke she had oversight of the contextual education programs, including
Mentoring for Ministry and Student Life, field education, the Hispanic
House of Studies, and the Thriving Rural Communities Program.
Her
teaching responsibilities have included courses on leadership,
forgiveness and reconciliation, and the pastor's vocation, team-taught
with her husband, L. Gregory Jones, now Baylor’s executive vice
president and provost. She and Greg have co-authored several Bible
studies and other curricular components for The United Methodist
Publishing House. She has also written articles and reflections for a
variety of publications, including Faith & Leadership, Christian Century, and The Upper Room.
I
invite you to join me in congratulating the Class of 2017 as they
prepare for this exciting weekend of tradition and celebration, of which
Baccalaureate is a valued and memorable part.
