Holding On and Letting Go (Graduation Part 2)

Gerald Gerbrandt opens the Baccalaureate Service

     Sunday, April 22.  A big day for me and some 87 other graduates. I must have been nervous, because I woke up at 7, which allowed two long hours for breakfast. There were still a significant number of people around because of choir involvements today. Finally it was time to head to north campus, where I put on my graduation gown in preparation for the Baccalaureate Service. 

     In a processional, we filed in taking our place at the center of the packed gym.  CMU president Gerald Gerbrandt opened the service by referring back to the chapel reflection he gave two weeks earlier.  "Even as we worship and praise God for all that He has helped us achieve," he said, "we are standing on holy ground."  After his words, the graduates were individually introduced to the multitudes of family and friends in the audience.  

Several choirs were involved in the worship service.

     Sheila Klassen-Wiebe was the speaker for the morning.  She talked about the verse the grads had chosen, Isaiah 43:18-19a: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"  She stressed that the verse is not as simple as it might appear.  Elsewhere in the Bible, like in the book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are called to remember the past and hold onto it.  So while the graduates are moving on, the new things spring up from the old.  "You must always remember that you take CMU with you wherever you go."  She emphasized that the kind of people we have become in these years - the insights, values, and skills which have become a part of us - would stay with us forever.  Our stories at CMU need to be told and retold, because these stories are a part of who the graduating class is. What we have learned here will help us as we continue. And yet at the same time we have to let go.  We are moving on to even greater things, and we need courage as we take the next steps on our journey. 
     As we prayed and sang the closing songs, I sat there very thankful for this final worship service sending us off.  We prayed and then broke for lunch - our last meals as undergrad students.  

My sister was pretty excited.

Saying goodbye to two wonderful fellows from my floor.

Class of 2012