Congratulations to Alumna Rev. Dr. Angela Sims (Ph.D.’08), Newly Inaugurated President of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School
Charge to Dr. Angela Sims upon Her Inauguration as President of Colgate-Rochester-Crozer Divinity School
By Dr. Brian Blount*
President Sims, Angela,
I am sharing this charge to you from a quiet place in my home and not the charged place that is my office for a particular reason. My charge to you is to find and nurture the quiet spaces in your life. Places where you can find rest and refuge from the rigors and expectations associated with this wonderful, but challenging role, as seminary president.
As I begin my 14th year as president of one of your theological alma maters, Union Presbyterian Seminary, I have learned many valuable lessons. The lesson that remains primary for me is the one about self-nurture, self-care. People will need you. People will depend upon you. People will argue with you. People will challenge you. And yes, people will support you. But in the end, the one person, the only person who can guarantee your spiritual, mental, and physical well-being is you.
Identify your quiet, safe space. Nurture it. Put boundaries around it. And settle into it as a place of refuge from the storms that will surely come and as a place of well-being and regeneration from the pressure that builds slowly and somewhat invisibly over the days and weeks and months and years of this complex and wonderful call.
Remember Jesus. If ever there was someone who knew how to handle pressure, it was he. If there was ever someone who had somebody watching his back, it was he. If there was ever someone who could exercise executive authority it was he. Power and glory and might, according to the Book of Revelation, was his. Immanuel, God with us. Prince of Peace. Son of David. Lamb of God. Son of God. Exorcised demons. Healed disease. Spoke with an authority unlike anything the people had ever seen before. If ever there was a person with a presidential persona it was he. And at the very outset of his ministry, in chapter 1 of the Gospel of Mark, he realizes that one of the first things he needs to do is identify his quiet space.
Mark 1:35, tells us that very early in the morning, he got up and he went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Yes, there were people looking for him. In fact, Simon Peter and the disciples ultimately hunt him down and tell him that everybody is searching for him. And, knowing that he is needed, he gets up and gets on with is ministry. But, before he gets up and gets going, he kneels down and gets quiet, with God. He nurtures his soul so he will be able to equip his people.
People will hunt you down in this job, Angela. People will demand your attention, your presence, your intellect, your decision, sometimes, it seems, your blood. And you’ll want, because of who you are and your sense of calling to this role, to give it all to them. I charge you to make sure you keep something special for yourself. A place. Sometime in that place. And the determination to let them search for you for a little while. They will be all right. It will probably even be good for them. You do as Jesus did. You spend the time you need in the place you create for you. Just as God met Jesus in his quiet place, Jesus will meet you in yours. You cannot sustain them if you do not sustain You. My charge to you is to take care of you. In that way, when it is time to get up and meet those who are searching for you, you will have the energy, drive, passion, and spirit to guide them properly.
That is my charge. Find your quiet place. And find time to spend in it.
*Dr. Brian K. Blount, President, Union Presbyterian Seminary
Charge to the Students of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School upon the Inauguration of President Rev. Dr. Angela D. Sims on September 29, 2020
By Dr. Rebecca Davis*
Madam President, distinguished faculty, noted trustees, valued alumni and treasured staff, thank you for the privilege of being a part of this significant moment in the life of Colgate-Rochester-Crozer Divinity School.
God has summoned, and you have responded with great faithfulness, in calling Dr. Angela Sims to lead you confidently into this new and next chapter of your storied history.
And to the students, the heart of the Divinity school and to whom I was asked to give a charge:
You have before you an example of what bold, fierce, wise and prophetic leadership looks like – especially in a time of uncertainty. Study her, learn from her, be guided by her.
You also have, within you, the boldness of saying, “yes” to God’s call, the boldness of saying “yes” to God’s call, the fierce hunger for theological education, he wisdom of your personal and collective experiences and the merging prophetic voices- necessary-in these urgent and tumultuous times.
Be open, that she may study you. Be authentic, that she might learn from you. Be trustworthy, that you may guide her.
The reality is there would be no Divinity School without you and thus there would be no need for a President Sims to inaugurate.
However, it is equally true that without her, as without you Colgate-Rochester- Crozer Divinity School would not be living into the particular future God had in mind when all three of you were brought together for such a time as this.
In the tradition of the South African theology of Ubuntu –you are because she is and she is because you are. You need one another to grow into the fullness for which God created you.
*Rev. Dr. Rebecca L Davis, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Union Presbyterian Seminary, Charlotte, NC
