April 17, 2025
Looking back at last week’s Newton Theological Institution Bicentennial Celebration brings great joy to Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School! Our guest of honor and Bauer-Broholm Lecture keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Gina Jacobs-Strain, began the day with a sermon in Marquand Chapel entitled, “Maybe, Ask God First?” The opening of the Newton Bicentennial Archive Exhibit and a campus tour both welcomed and entertained the many alumni/ae who made the trip.
Just before the start of the Bauer-Broholm Lecture, Andover Newton Seminary at YDS Founding Dean, Sarah B. Drummond, offered a bicentennial toast in which she reminded us that the evening ahead sought to commemorate not a building, a campus, or even an institution, but a consistent and culturally crucial mission to provide a learned clergy for God’s church.
Drummond shared that “marking Newton’s bicentennial reminded us of the longevity and relevance of our mission. Then and now, we educate those who bring people together for the sake of love and justice. The shape of our institution and the needs of society have changed, but to our just and loving God, even 200 years is the blink of an eye. This knowledge gives us both humility and inspiration.”
Dinner and an Emmaus Gathering led by Rev. JaQuan K. Beachem, along with tributes from YDS Dean Greg Sterling, Andover Newton Professors S. Mark Heim and Gregory Mobley, carried a beautiful night that was concluded in song with the YDS choir. We are grateful to all who came in person to help us celebrate, and we are appreciative to those who were unable to attend and kept us in thought.