锦缎中的金线和牧灵研究院的未来（中英文）

上周末（2017年10月14日），罗耀拉大学）牧灵研究院（IPS）共聚一堂举行2017年校友与老朋友餐会，这是为牧灵研究院募集奖学金的一次活动。那天晚上最亮眼的内容，就是为深受爱戴的牧灵研究院的教授尹玮玲和白大诚夫妇（Evelyn and James Whitehead）颁授“与时俱进奖”（the Aggiornamento Award）。与会者观看了一部简短的录像片以表示对怀特海夫妇的敬意，录像片简述了他们四十多年来与研究院的友谊，这是一条扎根于“情感、灵修、心理和实践”上的友情连线。

牧灵研究院的名誉教授伯多禄·吉尔莫博士（Dr. Peter Gilmour）作了主题演讲，题目是《锦缎中的金线和牧灵研究院的未来》（Golden Threads in the Fabric and Future of IPS）。吉尔莫教授开场就邀请宾客随他一起穿越时空。他说：“请和我一起作一次时空之旅，前往一世纪之后的2117年吧。电视史上运作时间最长的节目之一‘古董巡回秀’（The Antiques Roadshow），依然是美国公共电视网（PBS：Public Broadcasting Service）的中流砥柱。今晚牧灵研究院毕业生的曾孙女之孙女朱莉·罗格（July Logue）和她的丈夫爱德（Ed）为该巡回秀带去了作者在二十世纪末和二十一世纪初所著的全套作品，这些书都是头版，而且每本书上都有作者的亲笔签名，这作者就是尹玮玲和白大诚夫妇……”（他演讲的全文刊登在后面。）

牧灵研究院院长布莱恩·施米瑟克（Brian Schmisek）对此活动作出评论说：“这么多人出席活动就表明了它的意义非凡，表彰了我们过去的殊荣，也驱使我们更好地走向未来。”布莱恩院长也提到了当晚的募款总额超出了预期！

以下是吉尔莫教授的演讲全文：

我愿以简短的未来史开始今晚的演讲。没错，简短的未来史！毋庸置疑，你们听到它是“简短的”，一定很高兴。或许你会怀疑，演讲者是否会遵守诺言？我有确实可靠的来源：他会的！

但是，“简短的未来史”？那是什么呀？

请和我一起作一次时空之旅，前往一世纪之后的2117年吧。电视史上运作时间最长的节目之一“古董巡回秀”（The Antiques Roadshow），依然是PBS电视台的中流砥柱。今晚牧灵研究院毕业生的曾孙女之孙女朱莉·罗格（July Logue）和她的丈夫爱德（Ed）为该巡回秀带去了作者在二十世纪末和二十一世纪初所著的全套作品，这些书都是头版，而且每本书上都有作者的亲笔签名，这作者就是尹玮玲和白大诚夫妇。古籍商查看了这些书并告诉他们，他对这些书感到亲切和熟悉，这有几个理由。他说：“首先，正如你们已知道的，怀德海的作品，在上世纪被大量论文以及许多论教会牧职的书籍所引用。但他们的作品并不是仅仅作参考的附注，而是具有‘头条要闻’的特质。这些书中的许多内容已经被梵蒂冈第三届大公会议的文献所引用，这届大公会议已在2054年至2060年召开。其次，你们所收集的全套怀德海的著作都是头版书，上面还有两位作者的亲笔签名，那就更胜一筹了，因他们的作品长久以来极为普及、广受欢迎，所以其中的许多书，都是一版再版。”

这位古籍商西奥多·顾泽先生（Mr. Theodore Guzie）继续说：“我个人对这些书很感兴趣。我曾祖父的父母亲泰特和诺琳·顾泽（Tad and Noreen Guzie）曾多年在牧灵研究院的夏季班授课，他们一定认识怀德海夫妇。”最后，顾泽先生提及，在牧灵研究院迄今153年的历史锦缎中所穿梭的金线，都可以在怀德海的书籍中发现，并得以证实。古籍商顾泽先生下了结论：“你们所收集的这全套书籍都是头版，并且有作者尹玮玲和白大诚的亲笔签名，很难确切地用金钱对它们估价；但我想说，你们一定知道，就如与这所牧灵研究院（其悠久的传统已超过了一个半世纪）有关联的许多人所知道的一样，——说实话，这些书是无价的。”

让我们回到2017年的今晚，牧灵研究院已亲眼见证了十位美国总统，八位芝加哥市长，五位教宗，五位芝加哥枢机主教，五位罗耀拉大学的校长，以及七位牧灵研究院院长。53年前，谁会想到互联网会发展成为重要管道，传递着信息、错误信息，并通过它进行教育？此外，互联网，作为社交媒体，瞬间就可以让世界公民彼此衔接起来。

今天，我们的许多学生都是从互联网上得知牧灵研究院，而不是通过口口相传。牧灵研究院的故事和信息，过去是通过爱尔兰的修会团体、德国的咖啡馆、澳大利亚的教会山，以及曼谷的酒吧来传递的，而今天却通过脸书和谷歌进行传播。或许除了2016年诺贝尔文学奖的得主在1964年所唱的“变革的时代”（The Times, They Are A-Changin）外，还有谁会花大力思考，变革正以前所未有的快速在递增，机器人产生的效应，人工智能，多元化的形成，以及在广袤的宇宙中，在大自然中，到处有着智能生命的可能性？感谢你，鲍勃·迪伦（Bob Dylan）！

我曾听人在谈到牧灵研究院时说，经验过它的人，你不必对他作任何说明；而对那些没有经验过的人，你做再多的说明也无济于事。今晚聚集在这儿的许多人——学生、校友、教职员工，等等，你们已经是牧灵研究院极其重要的一部分，你们已经有极好的能力来意识到并庆祝这持续不断的、充满活力的传统，所以，你们能识别穿梭在这锦缎中的金线。对于另一些人，但愿我短短的演讲和述说的故事，能让你们知道我们这研究院在过去53年中的概况，以及我们在未来的一百年中将成为什么模样；我希望并祈祷，我给予你们的将不只是一个暗示。在箴言中有这句话：“智慧为她自己建造了一所房屋。”是的，智慧在这儿为她自己建造了一所房屋。

深具洞察力的美国教会评论家之一、已故的蒂姆·恩斯沃斯（Tim Unsworth）在描述它时说，“芝加哥罗耀拉大学的牧灵研究院提供了坚实而创新的研究项目，……每年从世界各地吸引了许多学生。”毫无疑问，他描述得很好；但他没有暗示牧灵研究院那具有魔力的、神妙的、奇迹般的、穿梭在其中的金线，而那恰是其内在之动力。

牧灵研究院，首先且最首要的，关注的是人。乔叟为他的《坎特伯雷故事集》收集了各类人物，从那以后，或许还没有一处像牧灵研究院一样，把具有不同特色的灵修与人生观的人如此紧密地混杂在一起。国内的和国际的，纠结的和亲密的，诙谐的和聪明的，乡村的和城市的，感性的和圣事性的；牧灵研究院的人都行走在心智、心灵、灵修的朝圣路上。我们的学生来自全球五湖四海，有许多学生来自附近的芝加哥南部，北岸、沃基根、哈维、橡树园、霍兰德、密歇根；但也有许多学生来自遥远的澳洲的悉尼、印度的巴特那、中国的北京、巴西的圣保罗、加拿大的魁北克、德国的波鸿等地。这个由学生和教职员工所组成的团体，每学期和每个夏季都聚集一堂，共同深入地仔细考查宗教传统、古典和当代的文化，以及个人经验的各种样式。牧灵研究院吸引着世界各地的忠信者前来这儿——转型教育的震中地带。

最初，牧灵研究院只提供单一的宗教教育学位，而现在已发展到提供牧灵研究、牧灵咨询、灵修、神学、社会正义等诸多学课的各种学位。牧灵研究院的学生可以同时获得罗耀拉大学其他学院的各类学位，各种证书，并参与一系列的研讨会——我们现在的学生已体现出其多元性，他们来自世界各大洲（除了南极洲！），并有着不同的宗教传统和背景，年龄段也不断扩展，从年青学子到退休老人都有。

是的，牧灵研究院从本质上来说，就是关于人的一所学院。

牧灵研究院的学生和毕业的牧者以后将接触的也是人——他们不管在宗教机构、公共和私人单位、在街上或家庭内，都将接触人。我们的毕业生返回到他们的神圣场所，或到新的单位，去帮助那些忠信者们在自己的生活中，或在所从事的行动中，努力辨认人生的目的；引导他们去关爱他人、服务他人，尤其为最需要者服务。在牧灵研究院所孕育出的这种转型教育将在我们毕业生的牧职服务中成为一股创新的力量，转而，他们的牧职服务又将改变、触及他们所服务对象的心灵。

牧灵研究院自1964年开启后，其内在动力——即始终贯穿在其中并不断运作的一条金线——就是对转型教育的一种呼唤。有时候，这条金线是一个柔软的扶手，把研究院推向复兴和成长；另有时，它是安置在课程小径上的一口喷井。有时候，当许多人在迈向成熟的灵修之旅上心灵难免遇到黑夜时，那条金线会为他们照亮前路；另有时，那条被仔细编织进多彩多姿的生活锦缎中的金线，对于未经训练的双眼未必能注意到它的生命力，但它却成了一颗指明方向的北极星。或者，它为我们指出了迈向一条遍地碎石路的方法，而这条路正是先知的呼声在敦促我们去追循的。

让我们再一次跨越时空，回到未来——回到那简短的未来史，也就是一世纪后的2117年。海蒂·拉塞尔（Heidi Russell）的后裔偶尔发现了她曾祖母之祖母的一些信息，她是一位神学家，二十一世纪初她在罗耀拉大学的牧灵研究院教书时，出版过一些开拓性的作品。拉塞尔的曾孙女之孙女最近被祝圣为罗马天主教的一位司铎——这传统是二十一世纪后期所召开的跨信仰的梵三大公会议的成果之一——她本身正在攻读神学博士学位。她到芝加哥罗耀拉大学去寻找档案资料，不仅是为了获得她著名的祖先的一些信息，而且是为了收集资料，因她的博士论文主题是关于牧灵神学。

令她深感惊讶的是，她竟然发现了牧灵研究院创立时的一份文件之原始副本，复印件上的紫色墨迹现已褪色，那是二十世纪中期所熟知的那种胶板印制——得使用明胶模板，和以酒精湿润过的纸张。她在这份创院文件中发现了这表述：“本研究院提供一个相互交织的研究项目。它不是一所教理讲授、圣经、礼仪研究院，而是牧灵研究院。这意味着该学院将研究教会的全部活动——讲道和教学，祈祷和朝拜，引导和培育。”

我们的教会观并不是排外而狭隘的，我们的牧职实践超越了传统宗教的结构和体系。毫无疑问，它产生了一种动态的、建设性的神学；这神学要在人们身处的地方与之相遇，随着去体验每个人的个人生活，并经验每种世俗的和神圣的文化，而逐渐加以发展。或如圣依纳爵简洁地所表达的：“在万事中发现天主”。透过我们的毕业生所从事的各种各样的牧职培育，展现出牧灵神学的基准为：不管是神职人员或非神职人员，作为信仰团体的领导者在堂区进行牧职服务；在学校和堂区教授宗教课程；在信仰背景下为人们作心理咨询；提供灵修指导；在医院中做住院神父；努力为穷人和边缘人士争取社会正义；以及为处于各种形势和境遇下的有需求者提供帮助。

因此，今晚我们聚集在这儿，不仅是庆祝牧灵研究院的内在动力，而且也是为庆祝卡尔·拉纳在1979年演讲中所说的内容，他当时演讲的题目是“对梵二会议的一种基本解读”。他预示了一个世界教会的来临——她不是以欧洲为中心，而是以世界为中心。这是把其他信仰视为启示的各种坩埚来加以庆祝；它尊重多种多样的文化经验和信仰表达，并在多元化中发现伟大的含义和力量。阿尔弗雷德·丁尼生爵士（Alfred Lord Tennyson）在他的《国王叙事诗》（Idylls of the King）中，暗示了这种惊人的改变：“旧秩序在改变，让位于新秩序。天主以多途径实现自己。免得一种好习俗将败坏这世界。”牧灵研究院既是拉纳的世界教会的一个神圣坩埚，也是进入未来的那先知性的一瞥。正如神圣的《可兰经》所说：“我们已形成你们……并指定了你们的种族和部落，以使你们能彼此认识。”

今晚，我们聚集在一起，认真地对待玛窦福音上的这句话：“你们是世界之光。点亮的灯不会放在斗底下，而是放在灯台上，照耀屋中所有的人。照样，你们的光也当在人前照耀，好使人们看见你们的善行，而给予你们称赞……”

今晚，我们聚集在这儿，赞美我们的牧灵研究院，特别表彰与我们合作的中流砥柱，他们的教学构建了转型教育和牧灵神学的根基，这些课程是贯穿在牧灵研究院生命中的金线，召唤人们进入这正来临的世界教会。他们首次来牧灵研究院上课，那时登月才刚二年。怀德海夫妇跨出的一小步，却让牧灵研究院的转型教育和牧灵神学跨出一巨步。《德训篇》上有这样一句话：“众人将赞美他们的明智，它将永远不被遗忘。对他们的记忆将不会消失，他们的名字将世代长存。”

吉姆和尹玮玲，今晚，我们为你们庆祝。你们对转型教育和牧灵神学的持续发展贡献良多。“现在让我们大家，以心灵和双手，并用我们的嗓音，感谢我们的天主。祂已完成了奇妙之事，整个世界因祂而欢欣鼓舞……”我们——牧灵研究院的所有人，对你们为牧灵研究院在转型和牧灵上所奉献出的见解和所承担的使命，衷心感谢你们！

作者：罗耀拉大学牧灵研究院荣誉教授

2017 IPS Alumni and Friends Dinner

October 17, 2017The Institute of Pastoral Studies community gathered this past weekend for the 2017 Alumni and Friends Dinner, an event dedicated to raising funds for IPS scholarships.The highlight of the evening saw Evelyn and James Whitehead, beloved IPS professors, receive the Aggiornamento Award.  This video tribute to the Whiteheads details the over 40-plus year relationship they’ve had with IPS; one rooted in an “emotional, spiritual, mental, and practical connection”.

IPS Professor Emeritus Peter Gilmour gave the keynote speech titled “Golden Threads in the Fabric and Future of IPS“.  Professor Gilmour began his address, “Time travel with me to the year 2117, a century from now.  One of the longest running shows in the history of TV, The Antiques Roadshow, is still a mainstay of the PBS network.  Tonight the great, great, great granddaughter of IPS graduate, July Logue and her husband, Ed have brought to the Road Show a complete set of 1st editions written in the late 20th and early 21st centuries by authors, James and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead…”  Read on below for the full text of Professor Gilmour’s keynote address.

IPS Dean Brian Schmisek commented on the event: “So many of those present made a point to say how meaningful the event was, how it honored our past and propelled us into the future.”  Dean Brian also added the evening’s fundraising total exceeded expectations!

Click here for photos from the event.

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October 17, 2017

11:15 am

2017 IPS Alumni and Friends Dinner

October 17, 2017

The Institute of Pastoral Studies community gathered this past weekend for the 2017 Alumni and Friends Dinner, an event dedicated to raising funds for IPS scholarships.The highlight of the evening saw Evelyn and James Whitehead, beloved IPS professors, receive the Aggiornamento Award.  This video tribute to the Whiteheads details the over 40-plus year relationship they’ve had with IPS; one rooted in an “emotional, spiritual, mental, and practical connection”.

IPS Professor Emeritus Peter Gilmour gave the keynote speech titled “Golden Threads in the Fabric and Future of IPS“.  Professor Gilmour began his address, “Time travel with me to the year 2117, a century from now.  One of the longest running shows in the history of TV, The Antiques Roadshow, is still a mainstay of the PBS network.  Tonight the great, great, great granddaughter of IPS graduate, July Logue and her husband, Ed have brought to the Road Show a complete set of 1st editions written in the late 20th and early 21st centuries by authors, James and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead…”  Read on below for the full text of Professor Gilmour’s keynote address.

IPS Dean Brian Schmisek commented on the event: “So many of those present made a point to say how meaningful the event was, how it honored our past and propelled us into the future.”  Dean Brian also added the evening’s fundraising total exceeded expectations!

“Golden Threads in the Fabric and Future of IPS”

Keynote Address on the occasion of Evelyn Eaton and James D. Whitehead receiving the Aggiornamento Award from IPS, October 14, 2017

Dr. Peter Gilmour (pgilmou@luc.edu)

I’d like to begin tonight with a brief history of tomorrow.  That’s right, a brief history of tomorrow.  No doubt you are delighted to hear it will be brief.  Perhaps you wonder if the speaker will live up to that promise.  I’ve got it on good authority he will!

But, “a brief history of tomorrow”?  What’s that all about?

Time travel with me to the year 2117, a century from now.  One of the longest running shows in the history of TV, The Antiques Roadshow, is still a mainstay of the PBS network.  Tonight the great, great, great granddaughter of IPS graduate, July Logue and her husband, Ed have brought to the Road Show a complete set of 1st editions written in the late 20th and early 21st centuries by authors, James and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead.  The antiquarian book dealer looks them over, and tells them that he is familiar with these books for several reasons.  He says, “First of all, the Whitehead’s work has been referenced in myriad dissertations and books on church ministry this past century, as perhaps you already know.  But they have been more than footnotes; their work is the stuff of headlines.  Many of these books have also been referenced in some of the Documents of Vatican III, the church council held from 2054 to 2060.  Secondly, since your complete collection of the Whiteheads’ books are all 1st editions signed by both the authors, this is even better since so many of their books went through several printing due to their perennial popularity.”

The Antiquarian book dealer, Mr. Theodore Guzie, continues, “And I have a personal interest in these books.  My great, great, great grandparents, Tad and Noreen Guzie spent many summers teaching at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, and no doubt knew the Whiteheads.”  Lastly, Mr. Guzie refers to the golden threads that run through the entire history of IPS to date, some 153 years now, which can be found and documented in the Whiteheads’ books.  The antiquarian book dealer, Mr. Guzie, concludes, “it’s hard to put an exact dollar figure on this complete collection of autographed first editions by authors Jim and Evelyn Whitehead, but I’d say that you know, like so many others who have been associated with IPS through its more than century and a half tradition, that it is fair to say, these books are priceless.”

Back to tonight, 2017.  IPS has been witness to 10 presidents of the United States, 8 mayors of Chicago, 5 popes, 5 cardinal archbishops of Chicago, 5 university presidents here at Loyola, and 7 directors of IPS.  Who would have guessed 53 years ago that the Internet would develop into a significant conduit for information, misinformation, and education?  Add to the Internet the phenomenon of social media instantaneously connecting the citizens of the world with one another.

Today, many of our students first learn about IPS through the Internet rather than word of mouth.  Stories and information about IPS once shared via religious communities in Ireland, coffee houses in Germany, church halls in Australia, and bars in Bangkok are spread today via Facebook and Google.  Who other than perhaps a Nobel Laurette who sang in 1964, “The Times, They Are A-Changin” would have given much thought to the ever-increasing rapidity of change, the effects of robotics, artificial intelligence, the formation of the multiverse, and within it myriad universes, and the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in creation?   Thank you Bob Dylan!

I have heard it said about the Institute of Pastoral Studies that no explanation is necessary for those who have had the experience; for those who have not, no explanation is sufficient.  So, identifying the golden threads for so many gathered here tonight who have been such a significant part of IPS – students, alums, staff and faculty – you already are well able to recognize and celebrate this continuous living tradition.  For others, it is my hope and prayer that my few words and stories might give you more than a hint about what we have been about these past 53 years, and what we will no doubt be about in the next hundred years.  In the words of the Proverbs: “wisdom has built herself a house.”  Yes, wisdom has built herself a house here in this place!

One of the insightful commentators on the church in America, the late Tim Unsworth, described IPS as “a sturdy, innovative graduate program in pastoral studies at Loyola University of Chicago that draws…students each year from all over the world.” Good description, for sure, but no big clues about the magical, mystical, miraculous golden threads that are the inner dynamism of IPS.

IPS is, first and foremost, about people.  Perhaps not since Chaucer collected characters for The Canterbury Tales have spiritual and spirited personalities rubbed shoulders so closely.  National and international, intricate and intimate, witty and wise, rural and urban, sensual and sacramental, the people who are IPS are on pilgrimages of mind, heart, and spirit.  From places as near as the south side of Chicago, the North Shore, Waukegan, Harvey, Oak Park, Holland, Michigan, and as far away as Sydney, Australia, Patna, India, Beijing, China, San Paulo, Brazil, Quebec, Canada, Bochum, Germany and many other places round the world, our students have come.  This community of students and faculty gathers every semester and summer to examine in-depth various aspects of religious traditions, classical and contemporary cultures, and personal experiences.  IPS draws faithful people from around the world into an epicenter of Transformational Education.

What began with a single degree in Religious Education has evolved into degrees in Pastoral Studies, Pastoral Counseling, Spirituality, Divinity, and Social Justice.  Duel degrees with other schools at Loyola as well as certificates and workshops complete the spectrum of offerings for the diversified students of IPS who now come from many religious traditions and backgrounds, from most all continents of the world (Antarctica aside!), and an ever widening age demographic, from young adults to retirees.

Yes, IPS is essentially about people.

IPS is also about the people to whom our students and graduates minister, whether it be in religious institutions, public and private venues, on the streets, or in our families.  Our graduates, return to their holy places, or go on to new venues to assist faithful people who strive to identify purpose in their lives and pursue action that is oriented toward care and service to others, especially those in most need.   Transformative Education, gestated at IPS, becomes a generative force in our graduates’ ministries that in turn transforms — touches the hearts – of those to whom they minister.

This inner dynamism of lPS, one golden thread that runs through IPS since its inception in 1964, is a call to Transformative Education.  Sometimes this golden thread is a gentle pull towards recovery and growth.  Other times it is a well laid out curricular path.  Sometimes that golden thread shines through the inevitably dark night of the soul many people encounter on that journey towards spiritual adulthood.  Other times that golden thread, carefully woven into the colorful tapestry of life and living unnoticed to the untrained eye, but becomes a lodestar.  Alternatively, it might point the way toward a rock-strewn road that a prophetic voice urges us to follow.

Let us time travel once more, back to the future — a brief history of tomorrow — for another moment.  Again, the year is a century from now, 2117.  A descendent of Heidi Russell has stumbled across information about her great, great, great, great grandmother, a theologian who published groundbreaking work in early part of the 21st century while teaching at Loyola University’s Institute of Pastoral Studies.  Professor Russell’s great, great, great, great granddaughter, recently ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic tradition – one of the developments of the latter 21st century interfaith Council, Vatican III – is herself pursuing a doctorate in theology.  She is searching the archives at Loyola University Chicago, not only for information on her famed ancestor, but also to gather data on her doctoral dissertation subject – Pastoral Theology.

To her amazement, she comes across an original copy of the founding document of IPS, duplicated with the now quite faded purple ink of the mid 20th century known then as hectograph, involving a gelatin stencil and alcohol moistened paper.  She comes across the following statement in this founding document: “The Institute provides an interwoven program of studies.  It is not a catechetical, biblical, or liturgical Institute, but pastoral.  This means that the Institute studies the total action of the Church, which is preaching and teaching, praying and worshiping, guiding and forming.”

Our view of church is not exclusively parochial and our practice of ministry transcends traditional religious structures and institutions.  This of course generates a dynamic, constructive theology that meets people where they are, evolves with the experiences of each individual life and every secular and sacred culture.  Or, as Ignatius succinctly said” “Finding God in all things.”  These are the benchmarks of Pastoral Theology unfolding in the many and varied forms of ministry our graduates pursue: pastoring churches as either ordained or non-ordained leaders of faith communities, teaching religion in school and parish settings, counseling people within the context of faith, providing spiritual direction, providing hospital chaplaincy, working towards social justice for the poor and marginalized, and in so many other settings and situations.

And so we gather here tonight to celebrate not only the internal dynamism of IPS, but also what Karl Rahner, S.J. spoke about in his 1979 talk titled, “Toward a Fundamental Interpretation of Vatican II.”  He heralded the coming of a world church, not Euro-centered, but world-centered.  A church that celebrates other faiths as crucibles of revelation, which reveres the many and varied cultural experiences and expressions of faith, and finds great meaning and strength in diversity.  Alfred Lord Tennyson hinted at this epic change in Idylls of the King: “The old order changeth, yielding place to the new.  And God fulfils himself in many ways.  Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”  IPS is both a sacred crucible of Rahner’s world church and a prophetic glimpse into that future. As the holy Koran says, “We have created you…and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another.”

Tonight we gather to take seriously the gospel of Matthew’s words: “You are the light of the world.  No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where in shines for everyone in the house.  In the same way your light must shine in the sight of humanity, so that, seeing your good works, they may give you praise…”

We gather here tonight to give praise to IPS and, particularly, to a partnership of mainstays whose teaching has been a constitutive part of Transformational Education and Pastoral Theology, the golden threads running through the life of IPS, calling people to the coming world church.  They first taught at IPS just two years after the moon landing.  One small step for the Whiteheads; one giant step for Transformational Education and Pastoral Theology at IPS.  In the words of Ecclesiasticus:  “Many will praise their understanding, and it will never be forgotten.  Their memory will not disappear, generation after generation their name will live.” 

Tonight we celebrate you, Jim and Evelyn. Your contributions to the ever-ongoing development of Transformational Education and Pastoral Theology are many.  “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices. Who wondrous things has done in Whom this world rejoices…”  All of us who are IPS thank you for your dedication to its transformational and pastoral vision and mission of IPS.