/Karen/

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Dip. B.&M.

Thursday, 23 March, 2006

Thank you for all the congratulations! Monday night was great. I was really nervous for some reason and drove Ben crazy on the way in on the train. There were stacks of people there already, even though it was only 7 p.m. The ushers knew my name even though I had forgotten theirs and they pointed me in to the area where we were supposed to get robed. I ran into Robert Doyle and John Woodhouse on the way but of course they didn't remember me. In the corridor off to the side outside the robing room there were lots of graduands—people in my year and people in the years above. Oh yeah, that's right, you guys are all graduating too! I thought. It was very cool to see them all again and to catch up with what they were all doing. One of the girls in my prayer triplet was very close to giving birth; she was so large!

In the queue, I got into conversation with Archie Poulos which continued as we entered the robing room. And then I got the surprise of my life because I found that one of the girls I had met at AFES women's retreat in 2003 was there, helping the graduands get robed! She told me she was in first year college now and was living at MAC.

We were waiting in the corridor for ages while various administrative people like Alan Hohne came to give us instructions or various important people like John Woodhouse gave us a pep talk. In the main hall the music was starting and we could hear the singing. We arranged ourselves in two lines according to the information that we had been given. Some of the girls still had their handbags and didn't really know what to do with them so they hid them underneath the black robes just for the processional.

It seemed like we were waiting for ages and then finally Alan came around and led us to the main entrance and we entered the hall while everyone was singing (with strict instructions from Alan about how fast we were to walk and which row we were to turn into and sit down in). Walking in was absolutely amazing because the Town Hall was so packed and there were all these people singing and looking at us and smiling and they were so excited for us because we were graduating, even though they didn't know us—they just knew that God was doing something really exciting with all of us graduating and so they smiled at us and we smiled back.

Behind the students came the procession of academics which ended with the principal and the Archbishop. They all filed on stage. John Woodhouse gave the welcome and we watched a short video outlining the first 150 years of the college. The bits with Chappo made everyone laugh. Then we were called up to receive our degrees. When all the B&M-ers were done, Kel Richards interviewed Teresa and she did very well—so natural, very earnest and honest.

The rest of the ceremony was taken up with conferring degrees on the bachelor and masters students and it was very cool to see people I knew—especially people I knew when they were doing MTS or even before that—finally graduating and hearing about what they were doing now. For example, Tara: I remember when she was writing overhead notes for Phillip Jensen's talks at MYC and then when she started as the women's staffworker at Campus Bible Study! It was so encouraging to hear of all the great things that God is doing in the world and really that's why you ought to go to Moore graduation more than anything else—because of this.

I enjoyed Peter Adam's address and I enjoyed watching John Woodhouse enjoy Peter Adam's address even more. He preached on John 3:16 with humour but without detracting from the central message. We also watched a short video on the future of Moore College and heard about plans to expand the college so that it could triple in size. Such an amazing thought that the college could triple in size!

As we sang the last hymn, the academic procession streamed out down the aisle and it was over. I got to catch up with some friends and I wished I hadn't given my camera to Ben because I could have gotten some good photos with them. I went hunting for my mum and Ben and found them up the back. We took some photos together as well as photos with some of my other friends. My mum was pretty tired and wanted to go and I went to return the gown but kept running into people I knew and who I wanted to take photos with. But finally we got out of there and into the St. Andrew's House car park (with some assistance from the Bishop of the Northern Region). My mum drove us all back to our place and then Ben dropped Naomi home and it was over.

I was kind of sad that, out of my whole family, only Ben and my mum could make it; in the end, my father and stepmother weren't in the country and my in-laws contracted flu and stomach bugs. But I was very happy that Naomi came to support me and that there were so many other people there I knew who were also excited I was graduating. The reality also hit home for me that now all these people are no longer at college and college will never be the same for me again.

But then we can always look forward to heaven where we will all be gathered together in a place bigger than the Town Hall and where many many more voices will be joined in song.

(Sydney Anglicans covers the graduation ceremony. See more photos.)

/Karen/ had a thought at 9:42 PM | | EE comments (2)

Posted in: Moore College