Sharing in One Bread

Bishop Rennis Ponniah, Chairman, and Members of the Board of Governors, Principal, faculty, distinguished guests, family members and friends.

On behalf of the graduating class of 2018, I would like to thank you for taking time to be with us on this very special occasion, as we close one chapter of our lives and are at the threshold of the next.

Our graduation theme is “Sharing in one bread” which is inspired by the Holy Communion Service, particularly the portion of the ritual, taken from that says “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, because we all partake of the one loaf“.

Beautifully captured in this statement is the profound truth that, just like the different components that had been gathered to form the bread, members of the assembly with differing backgrounds and situations are gathered to form one worship assembly, which is a sign of our unity in Christ. At the end of the Service, the assembly is sent into the world once again, having been blessed, to bless others.

This encapsulates our TTC journey, for we who were once scattered, were called together by God, united to be trained to serve him better. Equipped with the skills to reflect upon, interpret, teach and preach God’s word accurately, we learned to appreciate our rich church traditions and rituals. More importantly, we used the skills and knowledge we acquired to minister to one another and the world, fulfilling our mandate to “love our neighbours as ourselves”.

Though we are unique individuals, our lives have been intertwined because God has formed us into a community with a shared experience; we were gathered by God, because of God, and in God. Hence, we thank God for being the initiator and finisher of our journey; without God we wouldn’t be here, and without Him the purpose of our gathering would be meaningless.

Just like how the ingredients of the Holy Communion need to be gathered by many hands, so many people have laboured with us over the last few years. Therefore, we would like to thank the Board of Governors for the support they have given the college, being so generous with their time to be with us in our various college events; the Principal and administrative team for setting the direction for the college; the faculty who not only imparted knowledge to us, but offered their very lives as models for us to follow and provided us with pastoral care; the sponsoring churches for believing in us and for supporting and praying for us; the staff for keeping the college running smoothly from day to day; our juniors for being a part of our TTC experience; and most importantly, our family members and friends for the years of sacrifice, love and encouragement.

Every one of you are a crucial part of our journey and we are here because of your continued support. This celebration of our graduation is as much for you as it is for us and we thank God for each and every one of you for sharing in that one bread with us.

The final portion of the Holy Communion Service is the sending, whereby the congregation is sent back into the world, and this is where we are at right now, eager to begin the unique ministries that the Lord has prepared for each one of us.

Fellow graduands, even as we are sent into the world, let us be intentional in spending time with the host of the Holy Communion, our Lord. May we also take time to gather again with those whom we have shared the one bread over the last few years, encouraging each other and pointing one another to the Lord. Finally, may we be ever faithful in our Call to extend God’s invitation to the world to partake of that one loaf with us, used by Him to bring love, hope and peace into a very broken world. Amen.