Class of COVID-19: 3 Commencement Addresses That Highlighted Faith
Tom Hanks delivered a virtual commencement speech on May 2 during a surprise message to graduates of Wright State University. Wikipedia Commons photo.
NEW YORK — The late spring is typically marked by graduation ceremonies, with schools across North America handing out their undergraduate degrees to students after four years of college. Like everything else in society that involves large gatherings, the global pandemic has forced many schools to either hold their ceremonies online or postpone them to a future date.
For the colleges and universities that did decide to hold ceremonies this month, the topic of God wasn’t far from the minds of some commencement speakers. It’s not surprising given how the contagion has led to the death of thousands of people around the world, forcing stores to shutter and in the process destroying economies.
Many institutions of higher education — especially Protestant and Catholic ones — have decided to postpone in-person graduation ceremonies to later this year in the hopes that coronavirus infections have either subsided or that a vaccine makes social distancing measures obsolete. Like classes that went online this spring, so did many commencement exercises. While it wasn’t the graduation ceremony many had expected, these remote ceremonies to honor seniors were seen as a necessary sendoff.
God and graduation isn’t a new thing, a topic highlighted by several speakers last year. Denzel Washington, speaking at Dillard University’s commencement in New Orleans in 2015, famously said: “Number one: Put God first. Put God first in everything you do. Everything that you think you see in me. Everything that I’ve accomplished, everything that you think I have — and I have a few things. Everything that I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift.”
Below is a roundup of notable virtual commencement addresses that featured faith:
Tom Hanks (Wright State University)
Hollywood star Tom Hanks delivered a virtual commencement speech on May 2 during a surprise message to graduates of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
The actor, who famously played the iconic Mister Rogers in the movie A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, was raised in Roman Catholic and Mormon household, and described himself as a “Bible-toting evangelical” during his teenage years. Hanks, who became Greek Orthodox as an adult and still attends church regularly, wasn’t afraid to use religious language in his message.
“Congratulations to you, chosen ones," said the actor, who along with wife Rita Wilson recently recovered from COVID-19. “I am calling you ‘chosen ones’ because you have been chosen in many ways. First, by the temperament and discipline you've lived by, by the creative fires that are inside of you, and the instinctive lunges of your desires.”
In Judaism, the concept of "chosenness" is the belief that the Jews, via descent from the ancient Israelites, are the chosen people to be in a covenant with God.
Barry Black (The King’s College)
Barry Black, who serves as the 62nd chaplain of the United States Senate, delivered his address to the graduating class of The King’s College in New York City on May 9 via Zoom.
Black began serving as Senate chaplain in 2003, becoming the first African American and the first Seventh-day Adventist to hold that office. In his remarks, Black called on students to serve as ambassadors for God.
“Members of the Class of 2020, God expects you to be defenders of the faith,” he said.
Black was awarded the Becket's 2019 Canterbury Medal for his defense of religious liberty for people of all faiths.
Eboo Patel (Berea College)
Eboo Patel, who is the founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, delivered the commencement address at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky on May 17 during an online ceremony. Patel previously served as a member of President Barack Obama’s inaugural Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships before founding the Chicago-based international nonprofit that aims to promote interfaith cooperation.
In his address, Patel highlighted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the struggles of the Civil Rights era.
“In the story of the Good Samaritan, we are taught that eternal life is what awaits the one who is a good neighbor — who stops to attend to the wounded, who engages in acts of kindness across lines of difference,” he said. “This is what attracted you to Berea College in the first place. This is what Berea has nurtured in you. Remember the words of Martin Luther King Jr.”
While these are just a sampling, stay tuned as future speakers invoke God to help students make sense of the current crisis as well as their role in society going forward.
Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.