 Faculty, family and friends celebrated the passion and perseverance of the Class of 2007 at ABSW commencement ceremonies May 19 at Beth Eden Baptist Church in Oakland.
Fourteen degrees were awarded. Natalya Johnson gave the student address. The Rev. Ingrid Roldán-Román was the guest speaker, focusing her remarks on "Reclaiming the Reign of God
for the Poor."
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President Keith Russell (center) awarded honorary doctorates to the
Rev. Ingrid Roldán-Román and the Rev. H. James Hopkins. |
A missionary with the American Baptist Board of International Ministries, Roldán-Román has worked with the poor of Latin America over the past 20 years. Today she serves leaders and churches in Panama and Costa Rica. She also works through the Theological Center of the Caribbean, based in Limón, Costa Rica.
Roldán-Román and the Rev. H. James Hopkins, a 1983 graduate of ABSW, received honorary doctorates from the seminary.
Hopkins has been pastor of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland for 18 years. During that time, he has come to be regarded as one of the city's foremost pastors and a leader among progressive Baptists in the region and nationwide. A seminary trustee, Hopkins is a founding pastor of the Oakland Coalition of Congregations, past president of the Pacific Coast Baptist Association, and a founding pastor of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists. He is in his second year as president of the Alliance of Baptists.
"Ingrid and Jim are great leaders of compassion and
wisdom. They witness to the liberating message of the Gospel of Christ every day in their ministries, and their service inspires us," says ABSW President Keith Russell. "We are privileged to count them as companions in our community of learning."
Special awards were presented to the following graduates:
- Claiborne M. Hill Award for Highest Academic Standing for an M.Div. student was awarded to Joanne Marie Tooley
- Jessie Day Drexler Scholarship Prize for Highest Academic Standing for an M.A. Student was awarded to Sara Jane Lemme
- L. Doward McBain Preaching Prizes went to Jonathan Zingkhai and Michael Jordan
- J. Alfred Smith, Sr. Award for Outstanding Ministry in the Black Church was presented to Ray Fitzgerald Montgomery
- Jessie Day Drexler Award for Pastoral Ministries was awarded to Trevor Brian Hanbridge
- Jessie Day Drexler Award for Competence in the Field of Bible and Theology went to Celinda Enriqueta Miranda
- Marion E. Bratcher Scholarship Prize in Functional Theology was awarded to Fannie Marie Davis
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