Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Ruff day


Yesterday I saw a man wearing a ruff - and, I don't think he was having a laugh. No, he was in earnest. It was the Opening Convocation for the 195th Academic Year at Princeton Theological Seminary...

All incoming students enjoyed a reception at the house of President Iain Torrance. We then tottered over to the steps of Miller Chapel for the Class photograph. Then it was dinner with the President and Faculty. Then the convocation service, where Professor Gordon Graham gave his inaugural lecture as the new Professor of Philosophy. Then a few of us went downtown to unwind.

It was a great day. The more people I meet here, the more I feel pretty out of my depth. You bump into former moderators of the Church of Scotland - but they are the least impressive of an illustrious community of Christian people. Numerous international students on my Th.M. course who are pastors, and who teach at seminaries. American nationals who are top notch scholars and professionals (e.g. one individual who received a distinction working at Cambridge with John Polkinghorne).

Daft thing is, I keep forgetting to carry my camera - so, sorry, but you'll have to make do with the animated ruff. (Seriously, one of the Deans was wearing a ruff round his neck...)

5 comments:

Danny said...

Hey sounds wild – not sure anyone will be wearing a ruff for first day of term (or the candidates’ reception) at Glasgow, but I live in hope!! As for being out of your depth, you are as impressively professional and illustriously academic as the next person (would I lie to you?) and I fully intend to drop your name at parties in the not too distant future…if I ever get invited to any parties that is...

C G said...

Dave,

think about how many FUTURE moderators of the CofS there are around you ... present company being excepted, of course ...

Anonymous said...

Are you sure that it wasn't a surgical collar?

Anonymous said...

rock on shed.
prof Gordon Graham is not my dad but he did teach me philosophy at St As 1991, unless there are more than one of him...

Anonymous said...

The Ruff wearer was Academic Dean Darrell Guder, whose PhD is from Hamburg. Hence the Ruff. Incidently, he has to send it to Germany on a regular basis to get it "powered"