b'2 CampusPRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATIONHarnessing the Usable PastIn May of its 212th year, Union Presbyterian Seminary inaugurateditseighthandfirstfemalepresident, Dr.Jacqueline (Jacq) E. Lapsley. It was a day that recalled the past and looked to the present and the future, even throughtheselectionofmusicfromthetraditional Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee to the more modern, forward-looking Gracious Spirit, Heed Our Pleading, written by Wilson Niwagila in 1965 when the various Lutheran churches of Tanzania united to form one Lutheran church. Jacq Lapsleys two children, Emma and Sam, delivered a warm, funny, powerful introductionwhich, to their mothers feigned relief, was not a roast.In her inauguration address, President Lapsley drew lessons from history and the arts to describe the future that can be created for Union Presbyterian Seminary. She referred to cultural critic and literary scholar Van Wyck Brooks, who said the study of history could spark rather than inhibit creativity. If we focus on what he called the usable pastand discernment is critical herewhich elements from our history are unusable and need to be purged? Lapsley asked. And which elements do we need to steward so that we might have a usable past in service to the future for all?Lapsley spoke of a 2014 sculpture by Lynda Juel that she keeps in her living room that is alive with exquisite colorblues, bursts of red, yellow, green, and violet. To me, the sculpture buzzes with possibility, with life. This work of art began as discarded aluminum canssoda, beer, and seltzer cansbut in the artists hands, they began to fulfill a new purpose as found art.We are called in this time to become found artists who, in concert with the Spirit, take the materials bequeathed to us, shedding what has shackled us from the pastthe racism, sexism, injustices, and oppressionsand forge the treasures into something new and beautiful that the world longs for and needs.Doesnt God take the found material of the cross and turn it into the life-giving art of resurrection? In concert with God, who longs for all of Sharon & Brook 2024 SUMMER ISSUE'