Â鶹Çø

Order of Ceremony

PRELUDE MEDLEY

FACULTY PROCESSIONAL  
Sing Praise to the Lord, You People of Grace (Lim)

WELCOME & OPENING REMARKS  
Greg Elzinga, MBA, president

OPENING SONG  
Psalm 150 (Praise the Lord) (Boswell, Papa)

EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK  
Noah Toly, PhD, provost

STUDENT REMARKS  
Alyssa Pokharel ’27, student body co-president

INVESTING YOUR TALENTS | Matthew 25:14–30  
Sarah Visser, PhD, executive vice president  
Greg Elzinga, MBA, president

PRAYER OF BLESSING  
Mary Hulst, PhD, university pastor

We will be praying for each other this afternoon. When you are praying for others, extend a hand toward them in a gesture of blessing. When you are being prayed for, please hold your hands in front of you as a gesture of reception. 

For these new students, Lord, we pray for courage. Bless them with a willingness to try new things, explore new subjects, and expand their worlds. Give them the freedom to fail, and then build up in them the resilience to try again. 

For the students’ families and friends, Lord, we ask that you turn their hearts away from worry and toward gratitude, away from regret and toward contentment, away from holding on and toward letting go. Give them the courage to leave this campus today knowing that their children are in the palm of your hand. We are grateful for how you have used parents and step-parents, relatives and friends to shape these students, and we pray that you give them wisdom as they continue to invest in their students’ lives. 

For the returning students, Lord, we pray that you empower them to be people of integrity: May the words they sing in worship be lived out in the classroom, playing field, rehearsal room, and residence halls. May the lives that they live and the choices that they make mark them as followers of Jesus. As they choose areas of focus for their studies, guide them to areas in which they can find you already at work. 

For the faculty and staff, Lord, we pray for joy as they enter into a new academic year. May those who teach be empowered by your Holy Spirit to teach with boldness and compassion, with warmth and fairness, with justice and mercy. We pray that all employees of Â鶹Çø will be blessed with a longing to serve those around them wisely and well, with patience toward those with whom they work, and with joy that pervades their lives at work and at home. 

For all of us: May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord let the light of his countenance shine upon you and give you peace. Amen!

ALMA MATER  
Calvin, Calvin, sing we all to thee;   
To dear Alma Mater, we pledge fidelity.   
Forever faithful to maroon and gold,   
Thy name and honor we ever shall uphold! 

Calvin, Calvin, God has been thy guide;   
Dear Alma Mater, thy strength he shall provide;   
Be loyal ever to the faith of old,   
God’s name and honor we ever shall uphold!

RECESSIONAL  
Rejoice in All Your Works (Kimbrough)

POSTLUDE