On November 16, 2022, the annual Blandy Lecture was presented by the Southwest Alumni Association to a full audience in attendance in Knapp Auditorium on the campus of Seminary of the Southwest. The event was livestreamed to the Southwest website and Facebook page. This year’s lecturer, Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, the Senior Vice President and Director of the Shay Moral Injury Center at Volunteers of America, gave an eloquent and engaging talk, “The Moral Epidemic: What We Can Do for Recovery.” After the lecture, Dr. Scott Bader-Saye, Academic Dean, led Dr. Brock in an engaging Q&A.
“Rita Brock brought insight and passion to the Blandy Lecture, one of the first person lectures she has presented after the crisis of the pandemic,” said the Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, Dean and President. “Her analysis of the impact of moral injury and its healing in community is relevant to much of the trauma we experience in our work of ministry and counseling today. Those in the audience drew these connections explicitly and expanded on her topic in the questions and discussion. It was a stimulating and inspiring evening.”
This year will mark the 54th anniversary of this annual gathering created to honor the Very Rev. Gray M. Blandy for his ministry and work as the first dean of the Seminary of the Southwest.
Before the lecture, the Southwest Alumni Association presented the 2022 Hal Brook Perry Outstanding Alumni Award to Chaplain Loren K. Peters, class of 2011. Peters was recognized for his long-standing service in hospice settings and his commitment to supporting those who are in transition and their loved ones in the myriad ways needed after a death.
Named for the the late assistant dean, registrar and instructor in church history, the Hal Brook Perry Award is conferred upon a graduate of Seminary of the Southwest who exemplifies exceptional ministry to parishes, dioceses, and/or specific communities or ministries – locally, regional, or worldwide.
“How meaningful it was to honor Chaplain Loren Peters with the Hal Perry Award,” said Kittredge. “Chaplain Peters brings spiritual presence and solace to all who suffer, working in collaboration with ministers who are primarily affiliated with church communities. Chaplain Peters urged us to expand our view of ministry.”
