by David Melton
Harold Rawlings, whose family was so instrumental in the foundation of Boston Baptist College, said it better than anyone else, “When this college was started, some said it was crazy and it would fail. But on the fortieth anniversary, I am happy to say that Boston Baptist College is alive and well!” And Faneuil Hall erupted in applause. It was that kind of week in Boston, as we celebrated our first 40 years during the last week in May.
Graduation Week is always busy in Boston, but this year included even more activity as college alumni and friends from around the world gathered to celebrate our first four decades. The reunion, held on Monday the 23rd, reunited alumni from every decade with leaders past and present, and friends from far and wide. Selfies abounded as did animated conversations about the good times and accomplishments of this improbable dream, a Baptist ministry college in the Northeast! Bill Howe from New Jersey, a member of the first graduating class, talked about “day one” — when A.V. Henderson addressed the first student body on the very first day of classes in Peekskill, NY. Jim Edge told a story almost nobody knew, how our campus in Boston came to be a reality. Then Loran McAlister left hardly a dry eye in the house when he told of the kindness of students to his family when they first moved to Boston. Friends just stayed and stayed and stayed. I went home by about 10:00 that evening — it was the first night of a long week! — so I really don’t know when the reunion finally ended. But what a night it was!
The evening before graduation, Tuesday night, is always an honored tradition in Boston. The graduating class shares a final dinner together with their families and friends along with the college trustees, regents, and staff. The graduation banquet is a huge family dinner, where the graduating men and women honor their families and churches through videos, and are honored with heartfelt tributes. It’s a scrumptious meal served with a lot of heart. It’s the classic warm-up for Commencement Day.
The culmination of all Graduation Weeks in Boston is a hectic, frenetic, and practically regal Wednesday in the heart of the city. Faneuil Hall belongs to the people of Boston, and it was where some of the earliest notions of a free nation were vocalized by the likes of Samuel Adams and John Hancock. These days, the Hall welcomes dignitaries, political forums, and more tourists than you can count. But, on Graduation Wednesday, it’s all ours, the venue for Class Day Honors in the early afternoon and Boston Baptist Commencement at the strike of five. That climax to our academic year starts with “the Boston walk”, a sort of “so long” to the city for our grads. The long procession stops traffic (that’s a power move in itself!), and once the bagpiper, the flag-bearers, and all the trustees and faculty and platform guests with the graduates reach Faneuil Hall, there is a short lull. I stood waiting with the graduates at the door and had a few minutes to let my mind wander. I don’t know if this is what A. V. Henderson, and John Rawlings, and Jack Henry, and Harry Boyle and so many others had specifically in mind. But I think they must be pleased. A Baptist college in the Northeast, more specifically in Boston! Harold Rawlings was spot on when he said that many thought it was a crazy idea — an idea doomed to fail. Standing outside the historic soul of our city, of our country, looking back at men and women ready to receive their degrees — knowing what they have studied, what they have experienced, and what they dream to do for the Lord — call me crazy, but I sensed those who put us on the map, stood and cheered in spirit. A new generation of Baptists is stepping up to the plate.
The Commencement ceremony itself soared. No less than three alumni missionaries were on the program: trustee and BBFI missionary to Ecuador, Tony Anzalone (’83), a missionary (’08) to a Creative Access Nation, and recently returned short-term missionary to Rwanda, Kelsey Simoneau (’14). Proud parents beamed. Not a few pastors in the crowd smiled those kind of smiles that are a little too infrequent. The graduates seemed to soak in every minute. For most of Commencement, I get a platform scene as a mere spectator, and the view is amazing, the experience gratifying. I watched Zach Viola, from Florence Baptist Temple, Florence, SC, (Bill Monroe, pastor) receive the Harry R. Boyle Achievement Award, in recognition of his extraordinary success in completing his degree. Zach will join our missionary force in short order. I got to be “just Dad” and see my own son acknowledged for his remarkable scholarship. I listened to wise words from Harold Rawlings, calling our graduates to the mission of Jesus, and to live holy lives anchored to the unchanging Scriptures. For me, there was little work, other than handing out some diplomas and shaking a bunch of hands, and giving even more hugs.
I cannot honestly say there is little I love more at Commencement than our final tradition. My wife, Kim, joins me on that historic dais, and all across the hall we join hands, and raise our voices in the “Doxology.” Faneuil Hall has heard so much in almost three centuries. It heard calls for revolution, calls for abolition, debates on political issues, and even one BBF national meeting. But nothing, and I mean nothing, tops hundreds of voices, joyful to overflowing, filling that majestic hall with the “Doxology,” the ultimate, timeless hymn of praise to the one true God.
Four decades complete. Started well. Alive and well. Just getting warmed up.