Here is the text version of my Commencement address at the Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana on Friday, May 8, 2015:
by Rev. Dr. C. Anthony Hunt
First,
I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Kendra Clayton, the Board of
Directors of the Graduate Theological Foundation, the faculty, students and
administration, for the very kind invitation to share with you on this
momentous occasion. It is quite an
honor for me to return to this institution that has been one of my intellectual
homes – an institution where I was a graduate student, and where I have been
privileged to serve as a part of the faculty over the past several years.
And
especially to the graduates of the 2015 class of the Graduate Theological
Foundation, I offer words of congratulations and blessing to you, your families
and the places you serve.
I
am reminded of a portion of a simple poem by the great American poet Langston
Hughes that encourages us to -
Hold fast to dreams
For
when dreams go
Life
is a barren field
Frozen
with snow. (“Dreams”)
It
is my sense that one of the things that all people of faith and conscious
wrestle with, and seek to hold to - in any variety of traditions, perspectives,
persuasions, or systems of belief – including those of the Abrahamic faith
traditions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity - is the matter of hope. The yearning to comprehend, and appropriate
hope is something that we all hold in common.
These are days
of tremendous change and challenge in our world. From the collapse of economies that affect all of us – to the wars
that are now being fought in various places across the globe - to natural
catastrophe – to the proliferation of violence that affects many people and
communities across America and the world, these are days of unprecedented
change and challenge.
