In the end, the campus is just amazing. It is especially beautiful as the sun shines, the flowers bud, and the history of the place is seen in these historic buildings. Recently Professor Jane Shaw, the Principal of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford and a professor of the history of religion, stayed on the campus. She wrote to me, “It has been lovely to be at General again. The campus is looking beautiful and we enjoyed talking to students we bumped into. The whole place has a great welcoming feel.”

I plead with all of us committed to the General project to change our rhetoric. Instead of “it’s a ghost town”; let us share with others the experience of Professor Shaw. It is a stunning campus; and this campus has worked to do.

As we start the journey of Holy Week, let us walk to the cross aware of all the tragedy and trauma of life. And, at the same time, let us be aware of the ways in which grace is constantly there to be found - if we just look for it.

The Very Rev. Ian S. Markham, Ph.D.
Dean and President of Virginia Theological Seminary and President of The General Theological Seminary