Fine Arts Chorale & Friends

It was an appropriate song of celebration as members of the Class of 2008 were presented to God as “Trophies of USC.”

Dr. Donald King, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Union Conference, USA, along with his wife, Dr. Lois King, were the special presenters for the Baccalaureate Service.  Dr. Lois King, an alumna of USC, serves as the Director of Student Support Services at Atlantic Union College.  She is also an avid member of the North America Alumni Association.

Dr. Lois King

Dr. Lois King, in her presentation, reminisced on the time she spent at the institution.  She spoke in admiration of the tremendous growth of USC.  She also recalled the care and nurture that she received from her teachers and the fun and fellowship that she enjoyed with friends in the dormitory, “her home away from home.” 

Her fond memories of the Friday-evening special of ‘slabounce and peanut punch’ and the criticisms of the ‘café food’ -- which she felt constituted a “critical thinking” befitting a university environment -- engendered nods and smiles from the audience.   She ended with congratulations to USC on its continued growth, and pledged her support and prayers for the institution.

Dr. Donald King

In his Baccalaureate Sermon, Dr. Donald King presented three inspirational Contradictions, which he called “Triumphant Paradoxes.”  He charged the graduates:

1. You must go down in order to go up.
King explained that real excellence and results require energy and sacrifice.  “Graduates, your tassel is worth the hassle,” he added. “You being here testifies to this fact. And it will continue to be true all throughout your life.  You would need to go down into the gold mines of Scripture, history, science, technology, philosophy and engage in meaningful prayer and study everyday, in order to achieve the ultimate success that you all desire to attain.” 

2. You must surrender in order to be free.
“To be truly free,” King explained, “is to surrender to the just principles of the Laws of Society and God.”  “No one can be free if he/she engages in abusive practices whether against another or him/herself.  Laws are made for our benefit and they bring lasting happiness and ultimate freedom.”

3. We must give in order to gain.
According to King, the “Acquisition Mentality” seems to govern the behavior of society today: “Get all you can, and can all you get, and then sit on the lid.”  However, he noted that the legacy that a man/woman will leave after he/she passes on is not how much he/she accumulated, but how much that person gave and contributed -- how much that person impacted the lives of others. 

All Smiles!

“Graduates, you must give of your time, love, caring and means and your lives, if necessary.  Follow the true standard of excellence — God — who so loved the world that he gave his only son that a world dying in sin could have everlasting life.”

He explained that Jesus — our greatest example — lived and taught by paradoxes.  He was a King, yet he was a humble servant; He was Human, yet Divine; He died, so that we could live and be ultimately free.  His miracle of paradoxes resulted in our salvation; he looked beyond our faults and saw us as faultless, through his grace.  That’s why he went to Calvary for us.

I shall forever lift my eyes to Calvary,
To view the cross where Jesus died for me.
How marvelous the grace that bought my fallen soul,
He looked beyond my faults and saw my need.