Graduation Days

Today and tomorrow are Graduation Days at Heritage. Today, at 2:00 pm, we will celebrate our college grads. Tomorrow at 10:30, it’s our seminary graduates. You can watch the graduation ceremonies here.

It’s hard to put into words the gratitude I have in my heart for the Lord’s steadfast love and sustaining grace. Last September, we started the school year in the midst of the pandemic. We were able to have a reduced number of college students living on campus and in the classrooms. Our staff team worked hard to follow safety protocols and procedures. Our faculty adjusted to teaching courses online. Our collective prayer was to “make it to Christmas.”

After Christmas break, we launched into the winter semester in the midst of a provincial lockdown. We asked the Lord to help us “make it to graduation.”

Today, I give thanks to the Lord for answering our prayer. By His grace, we went through the entire year with no COVID cases on campus. (We do continue to pray for Mark Beach, the husband of our registrar, Theresa Beach; Mark contracted the virus off campus and is still in ICU).

Today and tomorrow at the graduation services, we will celebrate our grads and also commission them. We are giving each graduate a Bible and a candle. At the close of the service, we’ll ask them to light their candles as a reminder they are sent to bring the light of Christ in to a dark world. These graduates have been shaped by their study of God’s Word at Heritage. Now it’s time for them to step into the future He has planned for them. We send them with our love and our prayers.

At the very same time we hold our College graduation service in Cambridge, there will be a funeral going on in Ottawa. The memorial service will honour the life of a dear friend and colleague, Pastor Randy Jost. For fifteen years, I had the joy of serving on the pastoral team at the Metropolitan Bible Church with Randy. He was a godly man, a gracious leader, and a good friend. Most of all, he was a faithful servant of Christ Jesus. After serving the Lord for four decades, Randy has “graduated” from earth to heaven.

I pray our graduates will be faithful and fruitful servants for Christ in the same way as Randy Jost. If Heritage grads serve Christ like Randy, our churches will be stronger and our world will be brighter.