Dr. Laird J. Stuart, interim president at San Francisco Theological Seminary, preached during the 2010-11 Opening Convocation on Sept. 15 in Stewart Chapel.

The event not only kicked off the start of the new academic year, but also served as a campus welcome to incoming students, who hail from places such as China, Korea and Ethiopia.

Adding an element of pomp and circumstance to the event, the SFTS faculty participated in a formal procession both entering and leaving Stewart Chapel.

The Litany of Commitment included participation by Trustee Jerilynn Blackstone, Vice President of Administration and Finance Barbara Brenner Buder, Associate Dean of Student Life Dr. Polly Coote, 2010 Master of Divinity graduate Joseph Nguyen (Associate Director of Enrollment), Vice President of SFTS/SC and Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins Rev. Dr. Judy Siker, and Director of Field Education and Placement Rev. Leslie A. Veen.

The service also served to reintroduce Rev. Dr. Jim Moiso to the SFTS campus. Moiso (BD ’67, D.Min. ’85) will spend the 2010-11 school year serving as Pastor in Residence. Moiso was campus chaplain in 2009, while former chaplain Rev. Dr. Charles Marks was on sabbatical.

Stuart, who took over as interim president in March, read from 1 Corinthians 2:1-13. He stressed the Seminary’s core mission to help students “read” books, the Bible and ourselves as we serve God’s people.