St. Stephen’s Episcopal celebrates St. Augustine’s Day
Dr. Ward
BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY
FOR THE CHRONICLE
With education being the key that opens so many vocational doors and opportunity, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, at 810 N. Highland Ave., held a celebration for St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, N.C.
St. Stephen’s has had a long relationship with the university as many of the members either attended college there or have had family members to do so. With St. Augustine’s being one of only two historically black colleges in the United States affiliated with the Episcopal church, they are visiting churches in the area that have supported the university throughout the years to give an update on the status of the school.
St. Augustine’s president Dr. Everett Blair Ward, along with the university choir, attended Sunday’s service.
Ward, who was named the 11th president on April 10, 2015, is the third alumnus to hold the post in the 149-year history of the school. Ward also has ties to the Triad as well, as he earned his Ph.D. from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
According to Ward, he wanted to focus on three keys during his tenure: focusing on returning the institution to financial stability; strengthen-ing the faith of the students, employees, and alumni in the viability of the school; and engaging the community and corporate stakeholders for mutually beneficial partner-ships.
Ward stated that he wants to keep St. Augustine’s connection to the Episcopal Church strong and vibrant as it was in the past.
According to Ward, St. Augustine’s once held the distinction of being the premiere institution for producing more –African-American priests
than any other institution in the country. He wants to return to that tradition and the only way to return to that is through the church. To assist in that effort, they re-instituted the tradition of all freshmen students attending chapel every Sunday.
The St. Augustine’s University choir led by M. Kimberly Dunn sang beautifully throughout the service as well.
“We believe as a historically black college, we are in a position as a private institution to look at the whole student, so it’s not just what happens inside of the classroom but outside it as well, because leadership and intellectual development requires a holistic approach so we work on mind, body, and soul,” said Ward of his approach to his students’ development.
Ward closed by saying it is paramount to prepare every student for success beyond the walls of the college and he does not want it to stop there. He wants to instill in every student that it’s not enough to just achieve personal accolades and accomplishments, but they have an obligation to go back to the community and help the next generation of people.
