+ 2023 COMMENCEMENT THEME AND ARTIST INFORMATION +

You Will Be My Witnesses (Acts 1:8)

The artist commissioned to produce materials for this year’s program is Ann Gerondelis AIA, IDSA. Ann is the Head of the Design Department in Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. A passionate design evangelist and inclusive leader, she draws on her broad range of experiences in educational innovation and design in multiple disciplines.

Reflecting on her design for this year’s commencement, Ann said, “This artwork is from a drawing I created for LSTC a few years ago when we were exploring the theme Sent into the World. While working on it, I said this prayer: Courageously and tenderly, may we bear witness to God’s call. Let us step out in confidence, stirring up the dust, bringing the joy of God’s light and love to all the earth.”

+ LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT +

LSTC recognizes that our school stands on the lands of the Potawatomi, Miami, and Peoria peoples. For thousands of years before their forced removal, this was their traditional homeland, and it continues to hold their ancestral stories and wisdom. We honor and thank the elders of these and other nations, past and present. These lands are still home to many indigenous people, and we are grateful to learn in this place.

+ RECONCILING IN CHRIST SEMINARY +

As a Reconciling in Christ seminary, LSTC seeks to offer hospitality and welcome to all who enter LSTC’s academic programs. Following Jesus Christ, whose reconciling love bridged barriers and made strangers friends, we seek to welcome and learn from one another’s particularity—including but not limited to one another’s race, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, physical ability, social status, and theological diversity.