 thing to the desk in case anyone was concerned. Thank goodness. Graduates, as you come on, please turn on your camera so we see you. This is a blessing in music for our graduates. Good evening. Welcome to all who are joining us on Zoom and by livestream for this commissioning service. I am Janine Berchy Johnson, director of Campus Ministries of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Tonight, our graduates will be sent forth from here with a blessing for whatever lies ahead. We gather to pray for them and celebrate with them. I especially welcome family members and friends. We are glad you are here. To better focus on those being recognized, we encourage everyone in the Zoom meeting to disable their own video unless you are a graduate or you are speaking. And if you want to focus in even more, you can hide non-video participants. To do this, click the arrow, the up arrow beside the video camera icon, and choose Settings. Scroll down to hide non-video participants and remove the check mark. Also, please remain muted unless you're giving a blessing to one of the graduates. Please join me in prayer. God, our creator, redeemer, and sustainer, we gather to praise you and to celebrate the 2021 graduates of AMBS. May they know your gracious presence in their lives and your spirit empowering and guiding them. May your face shine upon them and upon all of us so that your ways may be known throughout the Earth. I'd like to share some interesting facts about the graduating class. This year's graduates are from seven countries, Argentina, Canada, Chile, Ethiopia, France, India, and the United States. Those from the US are from five states. Indiana has eight, Kansas two, Nebraska two, Ohio two, and Washington one. Nine of the graduates are members of Mennonite Church USA, one of Mennonite Church Canada, and five graduates are from Mennonite Churches in other countries. Three graduates are from the United Methodist or Wesleyan tradition, one from the Evangelical Free Church, and two from non-denominational churches. All of the Mennonite colleges in the United States are represented in this class with four grads who previously graduated from Goshen College, three from Bethel College in Kansas, and one each from Bluffton University, Eastern Mennonite University, and Heston College. In addition, one graduate previously graduated from Maserati Christos College, a Mennonite school in Ethiopia. This class had a wide range of undergraduate degrees. As college students, seven of them majored in religion, Bible, ministry, or peace and justice. Three of them majored in education, and six of them in other liberal arts areas, three majored in health-related fields, three in other sciences, and one in business administration. Three members of the graduating class had previous master's degrees, including one person, Prateek Bog, who already earned a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from AMBS before getting an MDiv. Eight of the graduates, Prateek Bog, Alex Feldman, Joshua Janssen, Denae King, Andy Oliver, Hank Unruh, and Michael Unruh, did at least part of their degree through our distance programs. And 11 of the graduates lived on campus for at least part of their studies, Marcus Acosta, Prateek Bog, Quinn Brunneke, Tyler Brinkman, Ndolk Degafu, Salome Haldeman, Ann Jacobs, Joshua Janssen, Hennach McConan, Louise Tapia, and Michael Unruh. At least eight of the graduates passed her to congregation while they were in seminary. Prateek Bog, Quinn Brunneke, Alex Feldman, Joshua Janssen, Amy Kratzer, Andrew Oliver, Matthew Troyer-Miller, and Hank Unruh. Three others worked for a Mennonite agency or institution while they were in seminary. Becky Helmuth for the Mennonite, Ann Jacobs for Mennonite Mission Network, and Michael Unruh for Camp Menesca and Bethel College. Two of this year's graduates have parents who also graduated from AMBS. Amy Kratzer's father, Ruben Chup, received a graduate certificate in 2010, and Kathy Stoner's father, John Stoner, received a BDiv in 1967, and a Master of Divinity in 1997. 13 of the class members have children with 31 and 1 half children between them. Ann Jacobs is the only grandparent I know about, and she has 15 grandchildren. Amy Kratzer gets the award for the longest time as a student, at least within this class, having done her studies over 16 years. And Quinn Brunneke gets the award for being most indecisive about starting seminary. He tells us that he flipped a coin multiple times, and it kept coming up heads. Thank goodness. This is a wonderful class, and we will miss all of you very much. It's now time for the heart of the commissioning service, the blessings of the graduates. Four graduates are not participating this evening. Dene King, Andy Oliver, Matthew Troyer Miller, and Amy Whitehead. The rest have each invited someone from the AMBS community to prepare a personal blessing for them. We will do this by alphabetical order, a first name. While I introduce each graduate, their video will be spotlighted. Then the spotlight will turn to the person doing their blessing. And this is just a reminder that if you are not one of the graduates, please turn off your camera so that it's easier to see the class. And you're welcome to use the chat to add your own words to the graduates. Those of you who are doing the blessings, please remember to turn both your camera and your microphone on when it's time for you to speak. And if you would do that when I name the student that you're doing the blessing for, that will lessen the lag time. So I'm going to introduce you to our next speaker. He's Alex Feldman of Lithopolis, Ohio. He's graduating with a master of divinity with a major impasse. He plans to continue serving as interim pastor of Lithopolis United Methodist Church, which is a congregation of the capital area, South district of the West Ohio conference of the United Methodist Church. Is Alex here? I don't see him. Then we will hold on to see if he arrives later. Amy Chup Kratzer. Is Amy here? There she is. Great. Indiana is graduating with a master of arts in Christian formation. She is concluding 18 years of service on the pastoral team of Sunnyside Mennonite Church in Elkhart and plans to teach music in Goshen Community Schools. Amy will be blessed by Rachel Miller Jacobs, Associate Professor of Congregational Formation. Amy, these words come from Jan Richardson, but they are also my words to you. This is entitled, A Blessing That Does Not End. From the moment it first laid eyes on you, this blessing loved you. This blessing knew you from the start. It cannot explain how it just knows that the first time it sat down beside you, it entered into a conversation that had already been going on forever. Believe this conversation has not stopped. Believe this love still lives. The love that crossed an impossible distance to reach you, to find you, to take your face into its hands and to bless you. Believe this does not end, that this gesture once enacted endures. Believe this love goes on, that it still takes your face into its hands, that it presses its forehead to yours, as it speaks to you in undying words, that it has never ceased to gather your heart into its heart. Believe this blessing abides. Believe it goes with you always. Believe it knows you still. Believe this love. Amy, this joy that you have, the world didn't give it. The world can't take it away. Anne Jacobs of South Bend, Indiana, will graduate in December with a Master of Divinity, with a major in Christian faith formation. She plans to continue in her role as a church relations resource and network associate with Mennonite Mission Network in Elkhart, Indiana, in collaboration with constituents across Mennonite Church USA. Anne will be blessed by Melinda Berry, associate professor of theology and ethics, and Rebecca Slough, academic dean emerita. Dear Anne, you have had a long, tiring, often frustrating and sometimes rewarding journey towards your master's degree at AMBS. You are my image of tenacity, always holding firm and not giving up. The apostle Paul writes that suffering produces tenacity, which produces character that leads to hope. And I'm going to be so bold as to add wisdom to Paul's list. Life has made you a woman of wisdom, seeing God in the midst of what is possible and what is not yet possible as you keep moving forward in hope. And my blessing for you draws from Proverbs 3, 13 to 18. May you be happy in the riches and honor of woman wisdom. May her blessing of understanding bring you peace. May you lay hold of her tree of life and be blessed in holding her fast for nothing that you desire can compare with wisdom. Along with these words of scripture, we also want to gift you with some words of poetry. And so I've selected a few stanzas from Maya Angelou's poem Continue, which she wrote for Oprah Winfrey. And so we give these and gift these words to you on this occasion in. Into a world which needed you, our wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are and how you are to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue in a society dark with cruelty to let the people hear the grandeur of God in the peals of your laughter. Continue to let your wisdom elevate the people to heights they had only imagined. Continue to put the mantle of your protection around the bodies of the young and the defenseless. Continue to let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer and let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. Continue to ignore no vision which comes to enlarge your range and increase your spirit. Continue to float happily in the sea of infinite wisdom which set aside riches for you before you had a name. Continue. And by doing so, you and your work will be able to continue eternally. Amen. Amen. Kathy Stoner of South Bend, Indiana is graduating with a Master of Divinity with a major in Christian Faith Formation. She is currently working as a recovery coach for Oakland Psychiatric Center in South Bend. Kathy will be blessed by Becky Helmuth, a fellow graduate. Hello, Kathy. You have brought a sincerity to the seminary, a straightforward, free-flowing way of always saying what you mean. And what you say is always intuitive, thoughtful, and to the heart of the matter. You're willing to put yourself out there to find answers to the pieces you suspect are just at your fingertips. You have a special way of seeing the world that always leaves me in awe. At the heart of your being, you're not just saying the words. You're living them. You're living God's shalom, looking for answers, questioning the powers, demanding justice. Keep being where you are. Keep doing what you do. And keep stepping out of step. May the mothering God who began this good work in you carry it through to completion, enabling you to use your talents to the fullest. May you continue to feel disquieted at easy answers, at half-baked ideas, and superficial relationships so that you will always live deep within your heart. May God bless you with the faith to believe that you can make a difference in the world. To continue to do the things that others tell you cannot be done. May God strengthen you with love, passion, hope, and determination that you continue to change this world for the better. Endalk Degafu of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia is graduating with a Master of Arts in Christian Formation. He is discerning where God is leading him, whether it might be to a pastoral ministry position in the United States or Ethiopia, or to a mission or service assignment in a different place. Endalk will be blessed by Andy Brubaker-Katler, Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Culture. Endalk, I know a few people who model the Christian virtues of gentleness, patience, and care, really, all of the fruit of the spirit, as naturally as you. Since embarking on your cross-cultural journey from Ethiopia to northern Indiana, you have demonstrated determination to learn and grow, and an extremely generous curiosity to better understand sisters and brothers in Christ, whose practices and beliefs differ from your own. You have inspired us with the enthusiasm of a first-generation Christian and the wisdom of someone steeped in the tradition living out the best in each of these. I want to bless you with this passage from Galatians 5, 13 to 15. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh, rather serve one another humbly in love, for the entire law is filled in keeping one commandment, love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you will be destroyed by each other. I leave you this text, not so much because you need it more than others, but because you live it better than many of us, and we need to keep hearing it from you and seeing it in you. And, Alk, may you receive neighborly love in the weeks, months, and years ahead as you have shared it with us at AMBS. Go in peace. Alex Feldman of Lefopoulos, Ohio, is graduating with a Master of Divinity with a major impastoral ministry. He plans to continue serving as Interim Pastor at Lefopoulos United Methodist Church. Alex will be blessed by Safwat Marzouk, Associate Professor of Old Testament. Alex, you have blessed us and inspired us with a consistent desire and commitment to integrate academic theological reflections and personal spiritual growth. Despite all the intensive labor of reading, reflecting, writing, serving the Church, being present for your family, your presence at AMBS has always been assuring, encouraging, and supportive to all those who got to know you at AMBS. I believe you're able to be this way because all of this is real for you and all of it is connected. All of these different pieces of life faith and ministry are grounded in your deep love for God and your genuine love for others around you. May God give you the resilience needed to build the Church centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ that seeks to embrace all without compromising God's mission of justice and reconciliation. May God give you the pastoral wisdom and the prophetic courage as you lead in the Church at a time of polarization in a way that helps people see the world through the eyes of the other. In times of uncertainty, change and transition, may you and your family trust that God will journey with you, blessing you, keeping you, shining God's face upon you and granting you peace. Amen. Hennach Makonin of Nazareth or Amia Region, Ethiopia is graduating with a Master of Arts, Theology and Peace Studies. He looks forward to continuing to live in Elkhart and to work as AMBS's assistant for the Master of Arts, Theology and Global Anabaptism cohort program offered through our partnership at the Nazareth-Cristos Seminary. Hennach will be blessed by Rebecca Slau, Academic Dean Emerita. Dear Hennach, I consider it one of the most significant blessings in my life that I met you in Janus Political Theologies course in 2019 and then that we worked together in four online sections of LEAP. It has been a joy to watch you awaken to the possibility of teaching as a profession. The Christian educator Parker Palmer describes the grace and wonder of great things. Those subjects that are deep and wide, rich, worthy of our attention and of our respect and requiring the engaged sharing of many people. Examples of great things might be the mysteries of our own and other cultures. The opportunity for peace-building in the face of ethnic violence. The possibilities of using educational technology efficiently and responsibly. And discerning the calling of the church in this time, in whatever context we are. The joy of living and teaching comes from being curious about such great things and giving ourselves to the exploration of great things in a community of open-minded and big-hearted people. Hennach, you are a man interested in great things. And so I bless you for growing curiosity, for love and passion in serving others, for confidence in the knowledge and skills that you have and those that you are yet to gain, for humility, to embrace your limits and your heirs, and courage to say, I was wrong. And most of all, for trust in God, who holds all great things together in the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Amen. Henry Unruh of Newton, Kansas is graduating with a Master of Divinity with a major in Pastoral Ministry. He is pursuing a Pastoral Ministry assignment and is currently the Youth Pastor at First Menonite Church in Hillsborough, Kansas. Hank will be blessed by Andy Brubaker-Katler, Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Culture. Henry, I have come to know you as the Stealth Youth Pastor. You have a quiet and assuming presence and manner, but then all of a sudden, boom, you sneak up and surprise us with a wonderfully keen insight or a caring gesture. You're laid back, approachable personality, you're ready-listing ear, explain why people trust you and enjoy being around you. I admire your steady resolve and deep commitment evident in both your ministry at First Menonite Church in Hillsborough and your studies here at AMDS. I bless you with this passage, a paraphrase from Isaiah 44, one to five. But now listen, Henry, my servant, Hank whom I have chosen, this is what the Lord says, God who made you, who formed you in the womb and will help you. Do not be afraid, for I will pour water for you when you are thirsty and water on the ground when it is dry. I will pour out my spirit so that they will flourish and by your leadership they will write on their hand we are the Lords. Henry, in your humble unassuming way, may you continue to nurture faith and hope in all who call you pastor and friend. Amen. Joshua Janssen, originally of Aurora, Nebraska and currently residing in Altona, Manitoba, Canada, will graduate in December and master divinity with a major in Christian faith formation. He plans to continue in his current assignment as associate pastor of youth ministry at Berg-Taller Mennonite Church of Altona. Joshua will be blessed by Alan Rudy Fros, associate professor of Christian proclamation. Joshua, a word of blessing for you from Voices Together, 1058. I've made some small changes. The original writer is Ruth Fox. Joshua, may God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers and half truths and superficial relationships so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart. May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, exploitation of people so that you may work tirelessly for justice and freedom and peace. God will bless you with the gift of tears to shed with all who suffer from pain, rejection and starvation so that you may reach out to bring comfort and transform pain into joy. Josh, God will bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in your place and in your time so that you are able with God's grace to do what others claim cannot be done. Amen. Luis Tapia Rubio of Valparaiso Chili with a master divinity with a major in theological studies, history, theology and ethics. He plans to pursue a career in teaching. Luis will be blessed by Jamie Pitts, associate professor of Anabaptist studies. Luis, as you know, McLendon's ethics begins with the line theology means struggle. And during these past four years you have dedicated yourself to that struggle. You have read countless books and articles. You've written hundreds and hundreds of pages. You've wrestled in the murky depths with history with ethics and you grappled on windy heights with philosophical theology. You've repeatedly sought to escape theological quicksand and keep moving beyond the limitations, moral and intellectual of the present options toward a post liberalism, a post foundationalism, a post colonialism. McLendon also insisted that theology was a part of one's life that biography could be theology. And only God and your close friends know how your intellectual struggles in these years have been woven together with the joys and the pains of your life beyond reading and writing. But I sincerely hope that your journey in academic theology has been and will be what philosophy was for Wittgenstein. A means of working on oneself. The grammar of that phrase work on oneself could lead it to be confused with the narcissistic self-help psychologies of our day. But for Wittgenstein as for McLendon and as for you friendship and teaching and community are necessary parts of that work. And at least for McLendon and for you the work or the struggle of theology is a response to God's gracious invitation in Christ. May you struggle long. Let's explore a ministry assignment. Markos will be blessed by Professor of Old Testament. Markos you have shown me and your classmates and the AMBS community that the categories liberal and conservative are truly artificial. What you said in classrooms and what you wrote in forums and papers always that defies these categories. You are able to do that because your self-knowledge is always open to being transformed by authentic encounters with God and others. You have blessed our community with a creative balance of being grounded knowing what you think but at the same time you are flexible. Hungry to know more and to put that new knowledge into practice. May God give you the pin of a creative writer so that you may not only find your voice but so that your voice would give voice to those who do not always fit in the preconceived categories. May God give you the patience and the wisdom as you bring people who are different around the sacred word as they discern what the spirit is saying to the church and the world in these days. May God give you the joy of seeing people transformed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ drawing more and more people into God's ring. Amen. Meredith Caldwell of South Bend, Indiana is graduating with a master of divinity with a major in pastoral ministry. She plans to continue working as a radiographic technologist while pursuing a pastoral ministry assignment. Meredith will be blessed by Rebecca Slough academic dean emerita. Dear Meredith your time at AMBS trials and joy and you've persevered to the end. You're going to graduate with an MDiv kudos and now you're moving into a new season of life that promises to draw together who you have been what your life has taught you your passion your increasing trust in your own voice and your deep sense of call. You may remember that at the end of your senior interview I invited you to consider what scientists are learning about trees as a possible metaphor for your ministry. Trees are complex organisms who need a community of trees to flourish. They communicate with each other they protect and they care for one another. The roots go deep in the soil of nourishment connecting with other trees and grounding the tree deep in the earth. Trunks are the trees core muscles providing strength and flexibility and height supporting new growth and it is the nutritional lifeline for the whole tree. Limbs reach for the light stretching to connect with those of other trees and reaching to the height that each tree is meant to be and the leaves enhance the tree's beauty and also provide needed food for the entire system and when they die they nourish the soil as they are transformed into humus. Meredith, as you trust your own voice more and more I hope that the image of a tree in a community of trees inspires you to grow in courage, faith and delight in God like the trees planted by the streams bear good fruit and prosper in all that they do. Amen. Michael Anru is graduating with a master divinity with a major in Christian faith formation. He plans to continue serving as campus pastor at Buffalo College in North Newton, Kansas. Michael will be blessed by Andy Brubaker-Katler, associate professor of Christian formation and culture. Michael, you have grown in wisdom not just in knowledge and information but in frenesis practical wisdom. You have grown in your pastoral skills but most importantly you have grown in self-confidence that God has called you to be a leader in the church. I absolutely admire the dedication I witness in you to your wife, Lena and beautiful son whom you have with you and who is taking all of our attention and focus. And with all who have had the privilege to know you and work with you I admire your honesty and integrity. I admire how you model healthy masculinity listening first listening carefully maybe speaking if it is really helpful. These qualities and many others make you a wise choice for the new campus pastor at Buffalo College. My blessing for you comes from Romans 12, 3-6 If Paul meant it as an admonition I mean it as an affirmation. For by the grace given to me I say to you do not think of yourself more highly than God. But think of yourself with sober judgment for just as each of us has one body with many members so in Christ we form one body and each member belongs to the others. We have different gifts according to God's grace. Michael, thank you for sharing your gifts and your presence with us at AMBS for being a vital part of this community here in New York. I would like to thank you for being a part of this initiative. May you continue to be a vital part of your family and the faith communities in Newtons, Kansas to which you relate. May God bless you. I would like to pursue a PhD or a doctorate ministry in the near future. He is currently in a volunteer pastor at an Asian church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and hopes to continue to work in the church as a lead pastor. Prateek will be blessed by Cheryl Zaire, Executive Assistant for the Church Leadership Center. Prateek, I offer these words adapted from Father Michael Graham to you, Shabnam and Shanice as you continue in your ministry in the spaces and places that will call you. Prateek, may God who began this good work in you continue to enable you to use your talents to the fullest. May God give you the grace to make wise choices and to be faithful to your commitments always confident in the support of those who love you. May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths and superficial relationships so that you will live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice oppression and exploitation of people so that you will work for justice equality and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain rejection starvation and war so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and help them in their pain. May God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done. May your integrity be a gift to the world and may the spirit of God be with you always. Much love to you from myself and the AMBS community. Dr. Wayne Indiana is graduating with a Master Divinity with a major in Theological Studies, History, Theology and Ethics. He plans to continue serving as co-pastor at Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart. Quinn will be blessed by Jamie Pitts, Associate Professor of Anabaptist Studies. Soon after your arrival at Seminary Quinn, I left for a sabbatical and although I had known that you had lived for a time before Seminary in southern Mexico, I did not know that you had worked with my friend Fernando Sandoval who affectionately referred to you as El Compa Quinn. And though I've never called you that to your face, I confess that over these years, every time I think of you, I think of El Compa Quinn, El Compa, Compañero, companion, one to share bread with. Quinn, you've given your life to share bread with Jesus and with all those with whom he sits down to table. Your gospel commitment to intercultural giving and receiving has led you to ministry in Chiapas, south Texas and now south central Elkhart. You have given much to us at AMBS and I hope that you have received much as well. As you finish your studies, I pray that you will continue to grow in companionship with God and all God's creatures that you will continue to be El Compa Quinn. Rebecca Helmuth of Goshen, Indiana is graduating with a master of divinity with a major in Christian faith formation. In 2020, she ended nearly 16 years of working with the Mennonite magazine. She is looking forward to pursuing a pastoral ministry assignment. Becky will be blessed by Melinda Berry, associate professor of theology and ethics. Becky, it has been a joy to be your advisor and professor. The common experiences of being Midwestern middle-aged Mennonite women has given our conversations together special depth and meaning for which I am so grateful. Along with formal pastoral ministry, you have been preparing yourself to be an earthkeeper. One of God's household staff who listen attentively to the soil and the wind, curiously wonder who tended this land before my forebears left their indigenous lands and carefully seek the restoration of relationships of all kinds. So to bless you for the work you have brought to completion, the work you are doing and the work that is waiting to meet you, I have some elemental words and images to bless you with from the ancient community of Celtic Christians. Deep peace of the running wave to you, Becky. Of water flowing, rising and falling, sometimes advancing, sometimes receding. May the stream of your life flow unimpeded. Deep peace of the running wave to you. Deep peace of the flowing air to you, Becky, which fans your face on a sultry day, the air which you breathe deeply, rhythmically, which imparts to you energy, consciousness, life. Deep peace of the flowing air to you. Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, Becky. The earth, herself unmoving, harbors the movements and facilitates the lives of 10,000 creatures while resting contented, stable, tranquil. Deep peace of the quiet earth to you. Deep peace of the shining stars to you, Becky, which stay invisible till darkness falls and close their pure and shining presence beaming down in compassion on our turning world. Deep peace of the shining stars to you. Salome Haldemen of Strasbourg, France is graduating with a Master of Arts Theology and Peace studies. Salome will return to France soon and is exploring pastoral ministry and peace ministry options. She will be blessed by Jana Hunter Bowman, associate professor of peace studies and Christian social ethics. Salome, it's been such a joy and privilege to be your professor and your co-worker these years. I so appreciate your thoughtfulness, your deep concern for issues that matter to us both. Your consistency and fresh insight to us and as you work in the peace studies department. I appreciate your commitment to following through to get things done from internship placements to backyard bonfires during the pandemic that help us as peace study students and committee members and professors stay in touch in relationship. I appreciate your questions on belonging and the way that you pursue them in your academic work and in conversations that weave rich relationships and integrate knowing, being and doing. You do that. My blessing for you as you go forward is to claim the questions that are given to you. Claim the discoveries along the way as you ask your questions. Claim the knowledge and the skills that you acquire as you are pursuing the questions that are yours. My blessing is that you know your deep belonging to the communities that you have knit together and the rich communities embodied intellectual and processes into which you are knit through time and space. And my blessing is that you claim your voice and the power that emerged from this journey because they're yours. I'm going to be the first person to respond to the call on your life which I've had the privilege of seeing these years. This is sacred ground you're walking and it's been a joy and honor to walk some paces with you. I and I know that others in the AMBS community too, speaking for all of us when I say we can't wait to see where this journey takes you. Tyler Brinkman of Elkhart, Indiana is graduating with a master of theology and ethics. He plans to explore a career in which he can continue his research, writing and possibly teaching. Tyler will be blessed by Andy Brubaker-Caitler, associate professor of Christian formation and culture. Tyler, you are one of the most fascinatingly quirky and enigmatic individuals that I know. You have drawn me into some worlds that I'm pretty sure I would not have gone into on my own. The world of progressive yet stubborn Wesleyanism, the world of Charlie Kaufman movies and the world of men wearing tights, not while they are running or cycling. This has been a few years here at AMBS characterized by disruption and clarity in identity in your growing family and in thinking about your faith family and church associations. I want to quote for you here something from Charlie Kaufman in Sinecta Key, New York that I think describes both this disruption and this clarity. Everything is more complicated than you think. You only see a tenth of what is true. There are a million little strings attached to every choice you make. And yet, Tyler may you find something to make you feel connected, something to make you feel whole and something to make you feel loved. My blessing for you comes from 2 Timothy 4, 1-5. In the presence of God and Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead in view of Christ's appearing and the kingdom I give you this charge. Preach the word. Be prepared in season and out of season. Correct, rebuke and encourage always with great patience and care. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine but will gather around those who preach words they want to hear. But keep your head in all situations doing the work of the evangelist. And Tyler may you continue with the evangelism of Holy mischief that we have come to know and appreciate about you. Disrupting our easy binaries and directing us to God's vast inclusive kingdom. Amen. At this point I want to make sure all of the graduates have their screen on. Andrew straight assistant professor of New Testament will read a commissioning for the whole class. Graduates I invite you to hold up your hands to receive this blessing. Graduates you came to AMBS following God's call and trusting in God's presence. You came with your gifts, your strengths, your fears, your doubts. Your uncertainty and confidence. Blessing and challenge. May God who has guided you in classroom and in conversation in grief and despair in laughter and in tears in worship and in prayer continue to bless you and keep you friends, families and faith communities we love you. We surround you and we uphold you as you leave here. We trust that God will continue to shine in your hearts and lead you into a future with hope. We send you forth in the love of God with our prayers and blessing. We pray that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion. We pray that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best so that you produce the harvest of righteousness and justness that comes through Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you all for joining us tonight. On Zoom please turn on your cameras for the benediction all of us and then following the benediction I will give instructions for how to greet the graduates. Receive this benediction from Voices Together 1069 Christ be within us to keep us beside us to guard before us to lead behind us to protect beneath us to support above us to bless. Amen.