The late spring is typically marked by graduation ceremonies, with schools across North America handing out their undergraduate degrees to students after four years of college. Like everything else in society that involves large gatherings, the global pandemic has forced many schools to either hold their ceremonies online or postpone them to a future date.
For the colleges and universities that did decide to hold ceremonies this month, the topic of God wasn’t far from the minds of some commencement speakers. It’s not surprising given how the contagion has led to the death of thousands of people around the world, forcing stores to shutter and in the process destroying economies.
Many institutions of higher education — especially Protestant and Catholic ones — have decided to postpone in-person graduation ceremonies to later this year in the hopes that coronavirus infections have either subsided or that a vaccine makes social distancing measures obsolete. Like classes that went online this spring, so did many commencement exercises. While it wasn’t the graduation ceremony many had expected, these remote ceremonies to honor seniors were seen as a necessary sendoff.
God and graduation isn’t a new thing, a topic highlighted by several speakers last year.
The son of a Pentecostal minister, Hollywood superstar Denzel Washington — speaking at Dillard University’s commencement in New Orleans in 2015 — famously said: “Number one: Put. God. First. Put God first in everything you do. Everything that you think you see in me. Everything that I’ve accomplished, everything that you think I have — and I have a few things. Everything that I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift.”
Below is a roundup of notable virtual commencement addresses that featured faith:
TOM HANKS (WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY)
Hollywood star Tom Hanks delivered a virtual commencement speech on May 2 during a surprise message to graduates of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
The actor, who famously played the iconic Mister Rogers in the movie A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, was raised in Roman Catholic and Mormon household, and described himself as a “Bible-toting evangelical” during his teen-age years. Hanks, who became Greek Orthodox as an adult and attends church regularly, wasn’t afraid to use religious language in his message.
“Congratulations to you, chosen ones," said the actor, who along with wife Rita Wilson recently recovered from COVID-19. “I am calling you ‘chosen ones’ because you have been chosen in many ways. First, by the temperament and discipline you've lived by, by the creative fires that are inside of you, and the instinctive lunges of your desires.”
In Judaism, the concept of "chosenness" is the belief that the Jews, via descent from the ancient Israelites, are the chosen people to be in a covenant with God.
BARRY BLACK (THE KING’S COLLEGE)
Barry Black, who serves as the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate, delivered his address to the graduating class of The King’s College in New York City on May 9 via Zoom.
Black began serving as Senate chaplain in 2003, becoming the first African American and the first Seventh-day Adventist to hold that office. In his remarks, Black called on students to serve as ambassadors for God.
“Members of the Class of 2020, God expects you to be defenders of the faith,” he said.
Black was awarded the Becket's 2019 Canterbury Medal for his defense of religious liberty for people of all faiths.
Continue reading “Class Of COVID-19 — 3 Commencement Addresses That Highlighted Faith,” by Clemente Lisi at Religion Unplugged.