Online graduation, valedictory service close year for ALC

Australian Lutheran College (ALC) Principal James Winderlich was among 98 graduates awarded for academic achievements at the University of Divinity’s 2021 graduation ceremony last week.

Pastor Winderlich was awarded a Graduate Certificate in Research Methodology at the 3 December ceremony, which for the second year in a row was forced online by COVID-19 restrictions. Traditionally held in Adelaide, the event drew staff, students and families from ALC and the university’s other member colleges.

While many students chose to graduate at this virtual ceremony, others have elected to delay their graduation until an in-person ceremony due to be held in Melbourne in March 2022.

The online graduation, along with the ALC Valedictory Service held in November, rounded out the year for the college.

The closing service in the college chapel at North Adelaide was an intimate event due to COVID restrictions, but it was also shared online for those not attending in person.

In his address to all of those who gathered for the valedictory service, Principal Winderlich said God has ‘remained faithful to all of us, working to complete that good work which we can neither begin nor complete ourselves’.

‘In 2021, despite inconvenient and crushing disruptions, whatever they might have been for each of us, God’s remarkable good work, that gives holy life, was worked in us, for us’, he said.

The valedictory included the presentation of certificates to higher education students who have fulfilled the vocational requirements of their courses, and an acknowledgement of those who had completed vocational education and training (VET) studies throughout the year. These students will now go on to serve the church as teachers, pastors and lay workers.