Baccalaureate
Friday, April 26, 2024 6:00 p.m.
Baccalaureate Ceremony
Prelude
Processional
Welcome
*Invocation
*Audience Standing
Graduating Seniors from the Division of Music & Theatre
Cameron Kavanaugh, Marimba “Land”
Takatsugu Muramatsu
Laura Olson, Piano
8 Concert Études, Op. 40, No. 6, Pastorale Nikolai Kapustin
Reagan Schwinn, Clarinet
Andrew Napolitan, Staff Pianist
Clarinet Sonata in Eb Major, Op. 120, No. 2
I. Allegro amabile
Johannes Brahms
Joelle Johnson, Soprano
Abigail Huck, Soprano
Laura Olson, Piano
“Take My Life and Let it Be”
Arranged by Bonnie Lauper Goodliffe
Matthew Knouse, Saxophone
Andrew Napolitan, Staff Pianist
“Romance”
William Grant Still
Rebekah Pyle, Piano
“Amazing Grace”
Arranged by Joseph Joubert
Honors Brass Quintet
Led by Briana Blankenship
Dr. Jon S. Kulaga President
Dr. Nate Foster
Dean, School of Integrated Health
IWU National & Global
**Audience Remains Seated Until the Recessional is Complete
Special Music
IWU Chorale
“Way of Peace”
Words: Luke 1:68-79
Music by David von Kampen
Corporate Worship Led by Rejoice
Address
Dr. John Drury
Professor of New Testament
School of Theology and Ministry
*Commissioning of Dr. Andrea Summers Graduates
**Recessional
Mace Bearer
Dean of Spiritual Formation, Campus Pastor
Honors Brass Quintet
Led by Briana Blankenship
Mrs. Kim DeMichael
Assistant Professor of Education
*Audience Standing
**Audience Remains Seated Until the Recessional is Complete
Commissioning of Graduates
Leader: Graduates, dearly beloved children of God, it is hard for us to watch you prepare to leave this place. Yet we know there is a time for every purpose under heaven. And we know that currently the world that you enter needs what you carry with you: the Joy of Salvation, the Spirit of Truth as revealed in Scripture and the Motions of Grace.
Graduating Seniors: We carry with us the Cross of Christ.
Leader: And do you understand what it means to carry His Cross?
Graduating Seniors: It means that all we do, filled with His grace and enlightened by the Truth of God’s Word, we do as grateful servants of Jesus.
Leader: It means that without complaining or tiring, you must pursue your vocations with energy and discipline, practice your professions with purpose and integrity, serve your families, your churches, your colleagues, your friends and your enemies with the humility, in accordance with the light of God’s Word, and the love of God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus.
Graduating Seniors: We understand what it means and pledge to carry the Cross of Christ.
Leader: It means that you must dedicate yourselves to accomplishing all that is good in your communities, with God’s Word as the standard and guide, you must promote peace and justice, you must fight against cruelty and greed, you must advance healing and hope wherever you move in the world.
Graduating seniors: It means that all we do, we do as grateful servants of Jesus.
Leader: We will thank our God for you and always remember you with joy, confident that the God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Carry His Cross. Hold out the Word of Life. Carry His Light into the World.
All: Thanks be to God.
Prayer of Blessing
Leader: Dear Father,
On behalf of these who will be graduating, I thank You for the blessings that You have showered upon them during their years at Indiana Wesleyan University. I thank You Lord for the support and prayers of parents and friends, for the patience and devotion of professors who have often gone beyond the call of duty to serve their students, and for the lifelong friendships that have been formed with fellow classmates and roommates.
Help these whom You love so dearly and deeply to:
Walk in step with Your Word;
As they live life - In Christ;
Through the power of the Holy Spirit;
To the praise and honor of God the Father;
As they leave the familiarity of this campus, remind them again that worship does not only take place in a special building, on a special day, but any place and every day as they offer themselves as a living sacrifice, wholly devoted to You.
Graduating Seniors: Dear Father,
Help us who are graduating to recognize that You have called believers to help others to find their way into Your kingdom. Use our hurts and struggles to better understand the hurts and pains of others.
Help us to love all people unconditionally.
Help us to communicate the Truth of Scripture winsomely. Help us to touch the lives of others for their good, and Your honor.
Leader: O, Lord, use these, who are graduating tomorrow, to build their families, communities and cultures, to expand Your Kingdom, on earth, as it is in heaven - and bring You alone, all the glory.
AMEN
2024 Baccalaureate Speaker
About IWU
Rev. Dr. John Drury is a Professor of New Testament and Spiritual Formation at Indiana Wesleyan University. He is an alumnus of IWU and also holds M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of numerous articles and a book entitled The Resurrected God. John loves praying with and mentoring students. He lives in Marion with wife Amanda and their three children.
Indiana Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian comprehensive university of The Wesleyan Church, with its world headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1920, the University is committed to liberal arts and professional education.
With a current enrollment of more than 13,000 students, IWU is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a leading regional university in the Midwest. IWU is one of the largest institutions in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) and the 2nd largest private university in the state of Indiana.
IWU has three Principal Academic Units:
The College of Adult and Professional Studies: Providing educational opportunities for working adults through instruction at locations in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, and globally, via online instruction. The College of Adult and Professional Studies serves more than 10,000 students, with cutting edge majors relevant to today’s workplace.
The College of Arts and Sciences: Founded on a traditional, residential educational model enriched by innovative instructional programs, The College of Arts and Sciences serves more than 2,300 undergraduate and more than 400 graduate students in over 80 liberal arts, preprofessional, and professional major fields.
Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University: With more than 500 Master of Arts in Ministry, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry students, the first seminary of The Wesleyan Church is impacting congregations throughout the country. The Master of Divinity program provides on-the-job ministry training in an onsite and online innovative format. The accredited Spanish Master of Divinity program offers courses primarily online
Division Receptions
Health and Human Performance Senior Reception
Immediately following Baccalaureate Recreation and Wellness Center
DeVoe Division of Business Reception
Immediately following Baccalaureate
The Commons, Barnes Student Center
Behavioral Sciences Graduate Reception
Immediately following Baccalaureate Century Dining Room, Barnes Student Center
Natural Sciences Reception
Immediately following Baccalaureate
Piazza, Barnes Student Center
Mathematics, Engineering and Computer Sciences Reception
Immediately following Baccalaureate
Piazza, Barnes Student Center
JWHC Graduate Blessing
Saturday, April 27 at 8:00 a.m. Williams Prayer Chapel
Modern Language, Literature & Communication Graduate Reception
Immediately following 10:00 a.m. Commencement Elder Hall
Indiana Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered academic community committed to changing the world by developing students in character, scholarship and leadership.