The 2022 Graduation Ceremony was held at the Melbourne Campus on Tuesday, 8th March. It was a joyful occasion to remember God’s blessings and celebrate a significant milestone in the lives of our students. We recognise that completing a degree involves a significant level of commitment and perseverance on the part of students, so we were very happy to celebrate the day together, remembering God’s grace and their hard work. We also, were thankful to be allowed to worship together again with Martin Park and Joshua de Graaf leading a rendition of “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.”
FR: Murray Capill, Tina Wang, Duan Ziegelaar, Tony Deenick, Phillip Scheepers, Graham Hamill, Michelle Dempsey
While the accomplishments of all the graduating students are impressive, special mention must be made of Graham Hamill, who was awarded his Bachelor of Ministry at the age of 89! Obtaining a theological degree was an unfulfilled ambition for Graham and he finally decided to launch into degree studies during his eighties. In completing his degree, he became by far the oldest ever RTC graduate and the oldest student to receive an award from the Australian College of Theology. Congratulations to Graham on this remarkable achievement!
When asked about what he appreciated most during his time at the RTC, Graham had this to say:
“It was not easy to resume study at 80 years of age, although I was not conscious of the number of years at the time. I was driven by a deep desire to deepen and intensify a theological understanding of Scripture and its relation to the Lord. It was disappointing that memory loss prevented my full recovery of Greek and Hebrew learnt in former years, however, I am grateful for what has been achieved and the encouragement and understanding of all the lecturers and staff have been outstanding. I am deeply grateful for their help and friendship and particularly for Carolyn, our always helpful librarian.”
In total there were 13 graduands, receiving awards ranging from certificates to masters degrees and we give thanks to God for our graduands and their families, and we are grateful to everyone who has prayed for and supported our College over the years.
Our graduation ceremony also doubled as the Induction Service for Dr Stephen Lewis as our Lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. Stephen has been with us for more than a year (with his first semester taught online from the US), but COVID restrictions prevented us from formally inducting him during 2021. The chairman of the RTC board, Tony Deenick, officiated at the induction, formally charging Dr Lewis to minister with diligence, faithfulness, and commitment. Stephen responded with an induction address based on Proverbs 30:24-28 and entitled “On Being Small and Wise. We thank God for bringing Stephen, Amy, and their boys to Australia and the RTC. Please continue to uphold them in your prayers.
