Senior Chapel Week: Florida-Dunnam Campus
by Dr. Jeffrey W. Frymire, Associate Professor of Homiletics and Dean of Chapel, Asbury Theological Seminary, Orlando
Every year the Florida Campus takes a week of Chapel services to honor its graduating seniors. Senior Chapel week features not only a time of prayer and dedication over the graduates, but also takes the opportunity to have two of the outstanding preachers from the graduation class to speak in Chapel. This year the two speakers highlight the wonderful diversity and demographics of the Orlando Campus of Asbury. Both speakers represented the age demographic of Asbury Florida (neither came to the Seminary right after college but after years of being in the work force) and the diversity of our student body (Alix is a native Haitian; Kim is one of our many women in ministry).
On Tuesday the guest speaker, Senior Alix Brun, Jr., has participated in Chapel on numerous occasions by reading scripture in his native Creole. He was selected by a committee of the Faculty and chose to preach on the subject, “We Are a Sign of God’s Grace” taken from the Gospel of John 9:1-12. As Alix entered the student lounge prior to the service he was surprised to find his son, a student at FAMU in Tallahassee, FL. had driven all the way down to honor his father and support him in the service. Alix shared a marvelous sermon about what it means to be a sign (a thing which indicates by its presence the presence of something else). He challenged the worshipers to be the kind of witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ that he desires us to be
On Thursday the guest speaker was Senior Kimberly Koi. Kimberly is the director of InterVarsity Ministries in the Central Florida region, working closely with college students in various states and private colleges throughout the area. Kim was a unanimous choice of the faculty to preach at Senior Chapel. She spoke on the subject, “What is it About Antioch?” from Acts 11:19-30. Kimberly shared both about her long trek through the MDiv. program and her joy and sadness about it coming to an end. In her sermon she challenged the worshipers to realize how important it is to be heralds of the gospel story even in the midst of a culture that is resistant to it. Within both services a time of dedicatory prayer was issued for the graduating seniors.
On Tuesday, Dr. Steve Gober led the prayer over those who had gathered at the front of the Chapel to have hands laid on them and prayer spoken over them. On Thursday Kim’s parents, who had arrived to support their daughter in the service, joined Kimberly at the front. Dean of the Chapel, Dr. Jeffrey W. Frymire led a dedicatory prayer over Kim and the rest of the graduating seniors asking God to continue to love, grow, and challenge them all as they go forth in ministry.
In addition, two of the graduating seniors were asked to share their testimony at the following Tuesday’s Testimony Chapel. Seniors Josias Garcia, Keith Holcombe, and Andrew Springsteen gave witness to how much the experience at Asbury had changed and molded their lives. Josias, a native of Honduras; Keith, a native of Liverpool, England; and Andrew, a native Floridian gave witness to how the experience at Asbury had helped to not only educate them in theology, but form them in their walk with Christ. The common thread in their testimonies centered on the power of God to mold us into the kind of ministers He wants us to be.
On Saturday May 17 the Orlando Campus of Asbury Theological Seminary will hold its Twelfth Commencement ceremony where it will graduate 39 students: 3 in Biblical Studies, 1 in Christian Leadership, 7 in Counseling (including Marriage and Family Counseling and Mental Health Counseling), 2 in Theological Studies, 25 as M.Div recipients, and one student who will receive his DMin. degree.
Who is Alix Brun and how may he be contacted?