Seminary Journal 2008 (August) - Virginia Theological Seminary

This has been a very wonderful family
gathering today, and I have learned
a little about the Virginia Seminary
family by the privilege of participating
in this recognition for Martha Horne.
I have come this evening from
her other family, the broader
community of theological education,
to thank her and recognize
her many years of wonderful
service. Martha served as
vice president of The Association
of Theological Schools in
the United States and Canada
from 1998–2000, as president
from 2000 until 2002, and as
chair of the Personnel Committee
from 2002–2004. This work
often took her from this campus
to Pittsburgh and elsewhere
to help with the broader work
of theological education, and
I want to begin by thanking
the board and friends of this
school, as well as Martha’s
family and colleagues, for the
time that ATS co-opted and the
absences that her responsibilities
required. She served ATS
exceedingly well, and I am sure
that many of the qualities that
she brought to the Association
have been evident in her tenure
as Dean and President of the
Protestant Episcopal Theological
Seminary in Virginia.
I also fi nd myself in a diffi cult position.
Some of you have had the responsibility
of saying something nice
Acts of Faithfulness
The Rev. Dr. Daniel Aleshire
Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools
about someone who wasn’t all that
nice, and all of us have heard fl attering
words about people we were sure
were not true. When I looked over
what I had to say, I concluded that it
was exceedingly positive. My problem
is that all of it is true, and I don’t want
you to think for a minute that these
are glowing words about someone
undeserving of them.
ATS is a very diverse organization,
and its theological and institutional
reach is broad. Martha’s work in ATS
demonstrated how deeply and caringly
inclusive she is. She works well
with people who orient their
lives and faith much differently
than she does, and in a
world where partisan champions
are often the most valued
of participants, she is unceasingly
fair, unrelenting in her
ability to hear the views of
others, and undeterred from
ensuring that systems do not
favor one group over another.
What a gift to the diverse world
of ATS and to the diverse world
of the Anglican Communion.
Martha, as you know, is an
intelligently humble person. She
is smart enough, wise enough,
and thoughtful enough that she
could choose to dazzle us with
how smart, wise, and thoughtful
she really is. But she holds these
rare abilities humbly. In a world
where many people feel a need
to parade intellectual prowess,
Martha simply uses hers, humbly
and self-effacingly, on behalf
of the persons and institutions
she serves. What a gift!
During Martha’s term as chair of the
ATS Personnel Committee, we experienced
some complex personnel issues.
“Complex” is a word that, when associated
with the word “personnel,” cov-
26 VIRGINIA SEMINARY JOURNAL AUGUST 2007