WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY School of Divinity Fall Convocation WAIT CHAPEL ELEVEN O CLOCK IN THE MORNING THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER THE FIFTH TWO THOUSAND AND THIRTEEN
Wake Forest University School of Divinity FALL CONVOCATION PRELUDE: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (SchÜbler Chorale #6)... Johann Sebastian Bach We all believe in one true God....J.S. Bach. Donald L. Armitage, University Organist PROCESSION: Voluntary in D Major....William Rowan INVOCATION... Veronice Miles Ruby Pardue and Shelmer D. Blackburn Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Christian Education * HYMN OF PRAISE: Let the Whole Creation Cry... SALZBURG * Everyone is invited to stand 1
SCRIPTURE READING: PSALM 145 (selected verses)... Jessica Chapman, MDiv 14 President, Student Leadership Council GREETINGS AND INTRODUCTION OF SPEAKER... Gail R. O Day Dean of the School of Divinity and Professor of New Testament and Preaching CONVOCATION ADDRESS: Faith, Values, and the Common Good... Melissa Rogers Special Assistant to the President of the United States and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE.... Bill J. Leonard James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and Professor of Church History BLESSING AND BENEDICTION.................................................................. Jill Y. Crainshaw Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology * SENDING HYMN: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (see page 3)... LOBE DEN HERREN POSTLUDE: Prelude in G Major....J.S. Bach * Everyone is invited to stand 2
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty All music is reprinted with permission under OneLicense.net License #A-701691 unless otherwise noted. 3
4
About the Speaker Melissa Rogers serves as Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Rogers formerly served as Director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and as a nonresident Senior Fellow in the Governance Studies program of The Brookings Institution. Prior to her time with Wake Forest University and Brookings, Rogers was the Executive Director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and General Counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. In 2008 Baylor University Press published a casebook co-authored by Rogers, Religious Freedom and the Supreme Court. She also led the drafting of Religious Expression in American Life: A Joint Statement of Current Law (published by the School of Divinity in 2010). In 2009 President Barack Obama appointed Rogers to serve as Chair of his inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In 2011 she was named to a subgroup of the State Department s Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group. Rogers has testified before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees. She earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Baylor University. About the Wake Forest University School of Divinity The Wake Forest University School of Divinity is a young and dynamic theological institution that prepares men and women to be religious leaders in a changing world. The School currently offers the Master of Divinity degree and several dual degrees in law, bioethics, and counseling offered jointly with other schools of the University. The Master of Divinity degree program encourages students to explore the rich histories and traditions of Christianity, to understand the changing social and religious landscapes of current times, and to gain awareness of and practical experience with the issues facing congregations and other ministry organizations in their local and global contexts. Through imaginative courses and diverse programs of community engagement, students are equipped to be agents of justice, reconciliation, and compassion in Christian churches and other ministries. 5