On Sunday I have the privilege of preaching at the Chesterton High School baccalaureate. It is a great opportunity, especially since I am the new guy in town and a rather unknown around here. The question is, however, “What do graduating seniors need to hear?” I can’t remember if I heard anything inspirational as I prepared to graduate, or if I would have remembered even if I did. I want to avoid cliches as much as possible. I want to challenge them. I wan to help them identify parts of themselves that are changing during this process that they may not even notice.
Mainly I want to simply give voice to what they are experiencing and offer them some perspective for the next step in their journey. Any suggestions for what you would say to graduating seniors? If you give me a good enough suggestion I will even quote you and give you a credit in my sermon! Offers like that don’t come around every day!
May 28, 2009 at 7:24 am
Where is the baccalaureate service held? Do a lot of the graduating seniors attend?
I’m just curious.
I don’t know if Valparaiso High School has one. They used to, and the ministerial association used to be involved with it each year, but at some point there was a disconnect, and that relationship was never re-established.
Hmmm… What to tell them? Nothing immediately comes to mind… If something pops into my head later, I’ll be sure to share it with you!
May 28, 2009 at 7:40 am
The service is held at St. Patricks on Sunday afternoon. I have no idea how many seniors attend, but I am hopeful it will be more than I expect.
May 28, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Greg,
Charles Kuralt spoke at my UNC graduation and I do remember something about how the efforts of the saving minority–those ten percent of people who provide ninety percent of the effort and contribution–are really what makes good things happen in the world. I believe we were encouraged to cast ourselves in that group. Of course, this is now 24 years old and it may not even have been Charles Kuralt who spoke these words…might have been Bill Friday now that I think really hard about it. Well, in any event, I have clearly slipped back into the idling minority, but just wanted to share an idea for your sermon. Mark