Dear People of St. James’,
This past Wednesday was such a joyous celebration for our church community. St. James’ showed up at Commencement for the Seminary of the Southwest! This year, we celebrated four graduates in three different degrees, which is remarkable. You can watch the service here.
Scott Madison got his Master of Divinity. Scott will be ordained to the transitional diaconate on Saturday, June 28, at Christ Church Cathedral, and, after deaconing all day at St. James’ on June 29, he will begin his curacy at a church here in Austin on July 1. We look forward to having a St. James’ crew present at the Cathedral to cheer him on, and I know St. James’ will show up for his ordination to the priesthood in January or February of 2026. The Rev. Peter Mading Anyoun Akicmeir also received his Master of Divinity. Rev. Peter will be returning to his home diocese of North Dakota, specifically Fargo, in June, where he will be ordained to the priesthood.
TJ Poon received her Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction. TJ has started her own practice in spiritual direction, story coaching, and spiritual formation in family, group, and retreat contexts. You can learn more about her practice here. Katie Volk received her Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and she will continue to bring these skills to her work.
The service of Morning Prayer brought to us a powerful sermon from Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. His preaching challenged us to learn about what it means to do justice by putting ourselves into proximity with those who are being denied justice, especially those facing poverty. “To love mercy, we cannot look away from sin and harm,” he told us. Instead, we must do the courageous work of telling the truth in a way that sees the past and sees the other for all that they are, that “gets close enough to the condemned man to hear his song.” In Peter, Scott, TJ, and Katie, the Church has four great leaders in this work. Thanks be to God!
I want to thank all of the St. Jamesians who brought such a beautiful spirit and energy to this celebration. Our musicians were playing. St. Jamesians stood among the faculty, staff, and Board members. Then there was the community in the pews, bringing forth joy in the congregational singing and the spirit of worship! I have not yet received a godly admonition from either our bishop or our new Dean and President about this, but admittedly, we might have gotten a little rowdy. I know for certain that our grads knew that we were there for them.
St. James’ continues to be a place where people are invited to discern their call as baptized people. Sometimes that leads people to seminary programs, but sometimes that discernment just brings a more vibrant clarity of purpose to the way we live out our baptismal vows. If you find yourself to be in a season where you would like some company in this work of discernment, get in touch with me and we will chart a path forward with good companions for the journey.
Congratulations again to Scott, Peter, Katie, and TJ! We love you and are praying for your next steps.
Rev. Eileen
