McCormick Theological Seminary recently inaugurated and installed a native of Chicago, the Rev. Dr. Maisha I. Handy, as its 12th president. She is the institution’s first African American president and its second female leader. Handy is the founding pastor of Rize Community Church in Atlanta and served the past 24 years at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, most recently as interim president and professor of Religion and Education.
The joyous three-hour installation, which was also livestreamed, took place in the church where Handy grew up, First Baptist Congregational Church of Chicago. A Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Handy called It “a joy” to “foster meaningful connections and co-create a vision with a community’s enduring history of 195-plus years.”
“We are actively moving into our future,” she said, “led by God’s Spirit, through collaborative storytelling and strategic planning.”
Storytelling was on display throughout the service. A highlight was an enstooling ritual by Dr. Itihari Touré, senior director for Major Grants for Program Development at McCormick Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Dr. Melva Sampson, teaching professor of Preaching and Practical Theology at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity.
The stool came from the Asante people of West Africa. Touré called it “a scared symbol of leadership.”
The two scholars also led a purpling ceremony in which they poured red and blue liquid into a bowl to produce purple, “the color of royalty, courage and visionary leadership,” they said. “The ritual of purpling honors the lineage of womanist scholars who came before us, stand alongside us and will come after us. … We are being called into a holy disturbance that will ultimately bring about greater justice and liberation.”
Before Handy took her place on the stool, she was wrapped in purple Indigenous fabric. “By seating yourself, you embody the practice of purpling,” Touré and Sampson told Handy, “changing the red of transformative vision with the blue of nurturing stability. May the blue energy protect you, uphold you and steady you, such that you lovingly guide McCormick and all our community toward deeper bonds of friendship.”
“May the red energy disrupt you when necessary, speak truth without fear and serve as a beacon of change that draws us ever closer to liberation. As you sit upon this stool, we charge you to protect the tradition, even while you propel us into our futures. Nurture us with compassion even while you name the injustices. Tend to the community even while you bring the fire of creativity and transformation. May you feel the hands of the ancestral women … and all the womanist leaders pressed gently but firmly on your shoulder.”
“As you take your place in the lineage of McCormick leadership, may your leadership restore, balance, dismantle oppressive systems and call all of you” they told those assembled, “to a shared journey of ministry.”
David H. Crawford, who preceded Handy as McCormick’s president, offered a prayer, reminding Handy “there will be days when grace and gratitude seem in short supply, days you will wonder, why did I take this job? At McCormick, we know to trust the journey. Gracious God, give President Handy the perseverance to allow her to trust the journey. May the work fit the rhythms of [Handy’s] soul. May you have the gift of encouragement,” he told Handy, “building in them the confidence to follow the call.”
“We have been a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1829, and a progressive leader in the Reformed tradition,” said the Rev. Amy Pagliarella, chair of the seminary’s Board of Trustees. “We are ecumenical, urban and cross-cultural.” Pagliarella read the constitutional questions to Handy, then led her in the oath of office. After that, Pagliarella gave the crowd the words they’d come to hear: “Dr. Handy, child of God, daughter of this congregation, today it is an honor and a privilege to add an additional title to your name. It is an honor and a privilege for us to officially recognize you as President Handy, the 12th president of McCormick Theological Seminary.” Those in attendance stood and applauded.
Watch the three-hour service here.
Mike Ferguson, Editor, Presbyterian News Service (Click here to read original PNS Story)
Let us join in prayer for:
Maria Perry, Manager, Synod of Boriquen (PR), Plan Operations, Board of Pensions
Lisa Pesavento, HR Generalist, Presbyterian Foundation
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, your sacrifice came in dying. May ours come through living — in the shadow of the cross. Amen.
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