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JACKSON, Tenn. — June 20, 2020 — 51���� celebrated the graduation of 593 students at its 195th annual spring commencement June 20 on the Great Lawn. Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver delivered the commencement address.

Spring commencement was originally scheduled for May 16, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Oliver spoke on Psalm 121, one of the “Songs of Ascent” and part of the “pilgrimage psalms,” which was intended to be sung by the faithful as they made their way to Jerusalem. Graduation is in many ways a milestone in the pilgrimage of life, he said, and in celebrating this milestone it is right to reflect on the Word of God.

“Over the past few months of quarantine and social distancing, our physical and mental health have been continually tested,” Oliver said. “But the last few months have also given us some time and some space to slow down and to consider a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives, to think about the question, ‘What really matters?’”

Psalm 121 gets to the heart of what really matters, Oliver said, which is being under the shelter of the most high God. The only safe and sure place is trusting in God.

“Graduates, do not face the future with fear and do not face the future with timidity,” Oliver said. “Face it boldly, courageously and joyously. Have faith in what the future holds because of who holds the future. With the Lord as our keeper, we don’t have to fear the sun or the moon or any evil as we go about our lives. He holds us fast — today, tomorrow, forever.”

Although their senior year was cut short because of the coronavirus, several graduates reflected on what their time at Union meant to them in a digital Graduation Commissioning Service May 16.

“Union has prepared me well to be a minister of Christ in this increasingly post-Christian world,” said Anna Strand, a nursing graduate from Northfield, Minnesota. “While this isn’t the end I would’ve hoped for the class of 2020, I’m excited to see what the Lord does in this next stage of our lives.”

David Kagaruki, who is from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, graduated with a degree in Christian studies. He plans to become a church planter sent out by his church in Jackson.

“The past four years at 51���� have been pivotal in my life and have shaped me into the man that I am now, and will be an impact in my ministry in the future,” Kagaruki said. “[The School of Theology and Missions faculty] have showed me what a true integration of faith and learning looks like.”

James Parker Lewis, a cell and molecular biology graduate from Jackson, received the 109th Tigrett Medal, which is awarded to an outstanding senior in each graduating class.

Union’s spring commencement included three services in order to comply with social distancing guidelines — a service for graduate students at 10 a.m., a service for non-traditional undergraduate students at 2 p.m. and a service for traditional undergraduate students at 6 p.m.