Tyndale Chapel Podcast

Dr. Beth Green

And let's continue to praise God and welcome Him amidst us. We praise You, God. We praise You for Your name is dear. People tell of Your wonderful deeds.

Today, we tell of Your wonderful deeds in the life of the Tyndale community and in the lives of our graduating students, especially. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, in You we lack nothing. Your Spirit refreshes us. You lead us beside green pastures and through the dark valleys.

May Your goodness and love follow us through the celebrations of this day and through all our days. In the Name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. You may be seated.
Dr. Beth Green

"For thousands of years, the Greater Toronto Area has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. It is part of the 'Dish With One Spoon Territory' a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that committed them together to share the territory and protect the land.

Other Indigenous peoples and Nations have subsequently entered this territory in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. It is on these lands and in this spirit that Tyndale seeks to engage in its work."

This land acknowledgement was developed specifically for Tyndale University in 2018 under the guidance of Elder Dr. Terry LeBlanc and in consultation with individuals from Six Nations and the urban indigenous community of the Greater Toronto Area. And we acknowledge that our campus is located on traditional indigenous land, and that those of us connected to this community gather, work, and study in the context of that history.

It is our privilege and responsibility to partner in the journey to reconciliation, sustaining a safe, welcoming, and informed place of learning for everyone.
Dr. Marjory Kerr

Good morning. Welcome students and staff, all the faculty that are with us, and friends who are here as well this morning. It is really wonderful to see each of you here for our 2026 Convocation Chapel.

We've just celebrated Easter. We've passed through the period of Lent, the joy of Palm Sunday, the solemnness of Good Friday, and again, the joy of Easter morning, when Christ rose from the dead as our resurrected Savior. And that was just two days ago, and now it's down to the last week of classes for this semester with exams to follow.

It's a very busy time for everyone, students, staff and faculty, and it can be challenging and somewhat stressful as we all push forward to the end of the semester. And perhaps this morning it makes it a bit challenging even to focus on chapel, in the middle of it all, with your minds going in multiple directions as you think about the due dates and the assignments and the things that need to be done in the next few weeks.

But even so, it's good to be here together, because it's good to take time to bring all of this to God who loves us, to be able to do that in community and to experience and be reminded of God's provision through all of these busy days as well.

There are a couple of people on the platform with us this morning who may not be known to all of you. So I'm just delighted to introduce to you and acknowledge with us. We have our Chancellor, Harriet Thornhill, just behind me, and on my left, Ross Clark, who is Chair of the Board of Governors and himself a Tyndale graduate. And we're glad to have both of them here.

Now for those of you who will be graduating in May, you probably arrived here somewhere around three to five years ago with one very clear goal: to earn your degree. It's a good goal, and that has been your focus, and rightly so. And now you're almost there, and you might think you're just about done, but instead, I want to encourage you to think a little bit differently about what learning and education looks like.

Having come to this point in your education, take a few moments to consider that now you're ready to learn in new ways no matter what you do or where your journey takes you next, because education, whether it's formal or informal, in classrooms or on the job or anywhere else, is ongoing. Learning never stops, and each milestone achieved creates new opportunities that weren't possible before, and perhaps opportunities that you had not even imagined for yourself.

So don't consider it an ending in and of itself. Think of it as the next step towards all that will come next. We are so very proud of each of you and all that you've accomplished during your time at Tyndale. We look forward to celebrating you during your convocations in May, and we continue to pray for you as you anticipate all that will come next in your lives, and as you finish up these next few very busy weeks before May comes.

And I want to share with you a couple of verses from Philippians, chapter one, verses nine to eleven, as a hope and prayer that we have for you. "And this is my prayer", is what Paul writes; this is our prayer as your community for you, "that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God."

Amen. Welcome.
Dr. Ken Michell

It is my privilege to introduce our Undergraduate Studies Convocation Chapel Speaker for 2026, Sandra Dam. Sandra came to Tyndale after working for a number of years. She traded in full time employment with a full time salary for full time studies with full time student fees. But Sandra came to Tyndale because she sensed God calling her to pursue Him and to pursue music here at Tyndale.

Sandra quickly embraced the fullness of life at Tyndale. She became a double major, English and Music, Worship Arts, for all of her eight semesters. She has been a vital contributor to our music program. She's performed with the Tyndale Community Choir in our end of semester concerts. She has led worship with both the Tyndale Singers and Tyndale Band ensembles for Tuesday community chapels. She has shared her musical gifts at The Gathering, Selah, Dorm Church, coffee houses.

She was one of nine music students, along with fellow graduands, Grace and Onesimus who were chosen to represent Tyndale on the 2025 Music Tour team. And she has traveled with our music teams over the last few years to Christian schools, churches, conferences and special events in and around the GTA. She has grown into leadership roles, not only in music, but also in areas of student life; notably as a Harris House Leader for these last two years.

As a student, Sandra has excelled academically here at Tyndale. She communicates with clarity and depth. She is willing to stand at different points around a topic to gain understanding and perspective. I routinely tell my students that I want them to improve their writing skills, in part for their own development, but also in part, quite selfishly, for my own sake. I enjoy reading good writing, and Sandra is a good writer.

As part of our music tour team, last year, Sandra shared her testimony. She spoke about responding to God's call to follow Him, to leave work, to go back to school to study music at Tyndale. But she also shared about facing challenges; wanting answers to questions about her health, her security, what's next; and how God meets us in those places, and how trusting Him means being at peace even when prayers seem to go unanswered.

Last year, Sandra composed a number of songs in our song writing class, where she brought her love for her two majors, English and music together. The last song she wrote and the one that we recorded on our last day of class was about a wild flower.

She wrote, "Oh, the wildflower blowing in the wind. She'll bend, but she won't break. She'll dance through every ache. Resilient, delicate flower found free below the great, vast sky. Vibrant, bursting with color, found at peace in the open field".

And then in the bridge of the song, she shifted the focus from the creation, from her, to the Creator. She wrote, "I know He dressed the flowers in beautiful array. I know He holds my future. I know He holds my days."

Sandra, and your fellow 2026 graduates, be assured that God holds your future and be assured that He indeed holds your days. Please join me in welcoming the Undergraduate Studies Convocation Chapel Speaker for 2026, Sandra Dam.
Sandra Dam

President Kerr, Mr. Clark and members of the Board of Governors, Provost Green, members of cabinet, faculty, honored guests, family, friends and fellow graduands. It is an honor to be standing here as your 2026 Undergraduate Convocation Chapel Speaker.

Four years ago, I walked through those front doors filled with fear following a call, and completely unaware that God would have such a work to do in me, and that He would fulfill dreams that I had never even had the courage to dream. My first year was a wild adventure, and as I watched the 2023 graduands walk into their convocation chapel, I remember thinking to myself, "How on earth am I going to make it to that moment?"

Yet here we are with much hard work and late nights, long hours over papers, we made it. With humor and many hours in the library, we have worked hard in our studies to make it to this moment. But I believe a big part of how we made it was the little moments of beauty that filled our time here; the coffee runs, or for some actually running; walking club, helping us to set time apart to be in God's creation.

It was having tea with a friend, or with Lizzy in the oasis that is her office. It was making music and worshiping together. It was reading poetry aloud for that week's English class, or marveling at the section of novel we just discussed. It was the late night noodle run, lunch in the cafe; Mario Kart races or Smash Bros in the nest; movie nights in the Commons; becoming fans of the Blue Jays just in time to have our hearts broken as one.

It was the community. It was doing this together.

I have heard so many stories about how God intentionally brought each of us here to Tyndale. God handcrafted our community, and it has been beautiful. God has a purpose for what we have learned academically. He placed us under the tutelage of some of the brightest minds and skilled practitioners of their crafts. They have been examples for us in knowledge and faith, and have mentored and cared for us.

All they have taught us of life and faith will be used in every aspect of our lives, no matter what our next steps will be. And God also has a purpose for what we have learned from each other. We are created for community, and the one we have had here has blessed me immensely.

These four years have been a tremendous lesson in trusting God. Many desperate prayers have been given into the hands of my Father, and He answered them. I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered, whether it was in a clear voice that simply said, "I am here", or it was a practical need filled, big and small.

By far, the majority were answered through you, my friends, and this community. It is astounding how many prayers were answered in a word spoken or a note written or a hug out of the blue. If we could count every moment one of us was used to answer the prayer of another, I believe that number would be staggering.

God has been so faithful, so beautifully and unceasingly faithful. I came here with no idea how far my gifts could go with an untrained voice that I had placed in a box. Yes, with the training and the courage I found here, I have since auditioned for and got accepted in a choir. With that choir, I got to sing 'The Lord of the Rings' soundtrack for hundreds of people, music so dear to my heart, but a dream I didn't know I could dream.

Sitting in my English classes, I rediscovered my love of words. I am no longer afraid to write. I am dreaming of holding my own book in my hands some day soon. In this and many more stories, God has shown His faithfulness. And so we go forward into our next chapter, and we find ourselves once more, needing to trust God. We do so not out of some leap of faith. We do so on a history of His faithfulness.

He has proven Himself faithful in the lives of each one of us, and so we can go forth confidently stating, "I trust in God". I have been so honored to do life alongside you all. You have blessed me and have had a part in carrying me to this moment, and so I leave you with this: God loves you all fiercely. He is going to do a mighty work through our class, the class of 2026. He is going to grow His kingdom through you and I look forward to seeing the truth of His faithfulness continue to be evidenced in your lives.

The Lord bless you and keep you, my friends. Thank you.
Rev. Dr. James Pedlar

Dale Harris is something of a renaissance man. He is an experienced pastor with over 20 years serving as a lead pastor, most recently at the Whitby Free Methodist Church. That's how I know Dale as a fellow pastor in the same denomination.

He has many academic accomplishments. Before coming to Tyndale, he had multiple post secondary degrees, including a Doctor of Ministry from Northeastern Seminary. He's a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. You can find several of his albums online. He's a published poet; recently published a book of poetry on the lives of the saints and an award winning novelist.

To all of those, to that diverse portfolio, he's come to Tyndale to add a new set of skills and fulfill a new calling as a clinical counselor, and we're so glad that he came. He has performed here, not only at the top of the class academically, but he's been sought out by his classmates for his wisdom and insight, and he's been a leader amongst his peers.

Would you join me in welcoming Dale Harris.
Dale Harris

President Kerr, Mr. Clark and the members of the Board of Governors, Provost Green, members of cabinet, faculty, honored guests, family, friends and fellow graduands.

My son has a friend who never saw the final act of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. It's a true story. Her mother took her to see the movie when it came out back in 2005, she was only about six years old, and she sat mesmerized through the whole story right up to that crucial scene where the White Witch kills Aslan on the stone table.

Well, admittedly, it's pretty grim fair for a children's movie. She was so traumatized by it that she started sobbing right there in the theater. And it was so bad that her parents had to take her out, and nothing they could say would convince her to go back in. Well, years later, she was telling my son how much she hated that movie, because Aslan dies in it, and my son said, "Yeah, but he comes back to life again."

This was news to her. "He does? I didn't know that." She said, "I never saw the end of the movie." My son was so flabbergasted that he called me a few days later to tell me about it. "Imagine," he said, "Imagine going your whole life not knowing that Aslan comes back from the dead."

Well, I've actually been trying to imagine that as I was reflecting on the meaning of this moment today. Because whatever else was happening for that little girl who couldn't see how Aslan would ever rise again, for me, it is the perfect image for that moment in the Christian story that we have come to call Holy Saturday.

You all know about Holy Saturday, don't you? That sacred Sabbath day between the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday? It is the ultimate spiritual resting place between difficult endings and new beginnings, which is why I'm thinking about it this morning, because this is actually my third time graduating from a Christian seminary.

Yes, it has taken me that long to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. But when I think about every seminary experience I've ever had, what they all share in common, the most consistent theme, is that they have all been Holy Saturday seasons for me. Places where I've had to let go of some things, maybe even bury some things, and I was not yet sure what God's incredible new beginning was going to look like.

If your experience here at Tyndale has been anything at all like mine, I expect that this has been true for you too. I mean, we all arrived at seminary, didn't we with certain preconceived notions about the big questions? What is God really like? What is the Bible really about? What is God's purpose for my life?

The answers we were holding to those questions had been formed by the full range of all of our past spiritual experiences; the Sunday school lessons we barely remember, and the altar calls we will never forget; the pastors and the preachers and the spiritual parents who spoke into our lives.

And then suddenly, here we are at seminary, and we're taught how to read the Bible in its original languages, and we are exposed to the theological musings of Christians who have gone before, and we are challenged to consider how worldly endeavors, like philosophy or psychology, might inform our understanding of God; and today, we are celebrating all of the hard work that it took for us to do all of that.

But if you are like me, then at some point or other, you probably started to feel that the answers you had when you got here no longer work for the questions you most want to ask now. And at some point or other, whether you wanted to or not, you probably had to bury some of them. Maybe that old joke about how seminary is really a cemetery, maybe it was touching on something more true than any of us realized.

Mind you, it's not a funeral today. It's a Holy Saturday moment. A moment that all faithful followers of Jesus will face, at some point or other in their lives, where we have to put some things to rest, for good, so that God's new thing can burst over our horizons; the new ways of being that God was shaping for us through our studies.

And I do, I do want to thank Tyndale's faculty for letting God use them for this purpose. If this is a Holy Saturday moment for us, it is so in large part because you all have done your jobs so faithfully. But all of that shaping we received, if it's going to accomplish what God intended for it, it's probably going to require us to let go of some old things so that we can make space for His new.

How did Jesus himself say it? "The grain of wheat cannot produce an abundant harvest unless it first falls to the earth and dies."

And so friends, and fellow students, and graduands, can we take this moment and do the thing that Holy Saturday moments always ask us to do? Which is just to rest for a minute, just for a minute, and ask God to help us let go of what, what is no longer necessary? And then, ask Him to help us trust that His new thing, the resurrection purpose, I mean that He was using seminary to prepare us for, to trust that it will be unimaginably good as it unfolds in our lives?

Thank you.
Dr. Beth Green

The first scripture reading is taken from Deuteronomy, chapter 11, verses one and then 18 to 21.

"Love the Lord your God, and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."

Second reading is from Psalm 143 verses one to 12,

"Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.

I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do Your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

For your name's sake, Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant."

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Dr. Marjory Kerr

Good morning, again. Thank you, Dr. Green for reading the Scripture just now.

Through the Lent season, in the congregation that I'm part of, we focused on the theme of 'Journeying Through the Upper Room'. Our pastors prepared a set of Scripture readings and prayers for each day and Sunday worship focused on particular aspects of those readings, bridging the previous week and looking ahead to the week that was coming.

The scripture readings all came from John chapters 13 to 17, covering that time period when Jesus and His disciples gathered in the upper room to celebrate the Passover meal, and Jesus used that time as a final opportunity to prepare the disciples for all that would come next. It's one of the longer conversations recorded in Scripture, and it is packed with lessons on what it means to follow Christ; from the washing of the disciples' feet; identifying Judas as Jesus' betrayer; what relationships among the disciples look like and ought to look like; teaching on the Holy Spirit; and then finally, the meal was finished, and they went to the garden to pray before Jesus was arrested.

It's a long conversation, and many things were covered. Personally, I was reminded of several important lessons from the upper room as I participated in those Lent reflections, and I want to share some of the ones that impacted me with you today; focusing on just a few moments of that meal, and conversation in the upper room, and thinking about how they shape our lives, in our time and in our lived experience.

So loosely titled, 'Walking the Walk', or perhaps just, 'Lessons Learned from the Lessons of the Upper Room'. But I'm grateful for the readings that my pastor has prepared, and I raise my hand and say, I take responsibility for how I relay that to you this morning.

But let's begin with John, chapter 14, verses 15 to 21, listen to what Jesus said to His disciples. He says,

"If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them."

In these verses, Jesus promised, first of all that the Holy Spirit would come, and in the context of the moment when it was spoken, He's speaking primarily to His twelve disciples and giving them hope. In the context of time, we understand it to be a promise to us as well, in fact a promise to every follower of Jesus.

And then if we move ahead a few chapters to John, chapter 17, verses 20 to 24 these verses take us to a prayer time later in the meal, and it will be familiar to you. Jesus prayed, first of all for Himself, then He prayed for His disciples, and then He said this,

"My prayer is not for them [the disciples] alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one - I in them and you in me - so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world."

In these verses, Jesus prayed for every believer. In the context of the moment, these words follow from a prayer for Himself, for His disciples, and then for those who would come to Christ through the disciples, perhaps primarily in the context of the first century church is how they might have been understood.

But again, in the context of time, we understand it to be a prayer for us as well, for every generation, every person, each one of us here. For you, individually, as it is for me, individually. We believe through the message of the disciples after Christ returned to His Father, and through the message that subsequent generations have faithfully presented from the first century to now.

And we understand that those of us who follow Jesus now, are part of those through whom our generation and future generations will come to believe in Christ, to know God's love, so that the world, our world, will also be able to come to faith and believe that God sent Jesus for the salvation of the world.

And now jumping ahead to John, chapter 20, verse 30, we read this,

"Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

These two verses in John chapter 20 come after the resurrection, but before Jesus returned to the Father. He is once again with His disciples; once again teaching, restoring and preparing them for what comes next. These two verses in John, chapter 20, in essence, give us the why, not only the why of John's gospel as a whole, but it also is the why of that upper room conversation that John describes in such detail.

To put it simply, the why is so that we would know, and that in knowing we would believe, and in believing we would have life in Jesus' name. This is consistent with the knowing spoken of in the verses from Deuteronomy chapter 11 that Dr. Green just read, "Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

That little story of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and the little girl who didn't know how the story ended. Last summer, I went to the theater production of 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' at Niagara on the Lake at the Shaw festival. It was an afternoon matinee, so there were lots of excited children in the audience. And when Aslan died, you could have heard a pin drop in that theater, and then a little voice from somewhere in the back called out to the actors on stage, "You can help him!"

She knew the ending of the story. We have the ending of the story of Christ because of Easter. And so in Psalm chapter 143 as well, when Dr. Green read from verses five and eight, "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you, I entrust my life."

The question becomes then of how do we respond? We've just journeyed through Lent and Easter. We've celebrated Christ's resurrection and in the rhythm of the Church, in another few weeks, we will celebrate the coming of Holy Spirit at Pentecost. How we respond is important for us individually, and it is important for us as a Christian university.

Our mission statement says this, "Tyndale is dedicated to the pursuit of truth, to excellence in teaching, learning and research, for the enriching of mind, heart and character to serve the Church and the world for the glory of God".

In keeping with our mission and lessons from the upper room, let's be known as servants of Christ, as informed disciples of Jesus, using both scripture and theology well and in good ways. Let's be known as members of the marvelously diverse body of God, living in unity with God, experiencing unity among ourselves as believers, and demonstrating unity to those who do not yet know Jesus.

And covering it all, let's be known by our love for Jesus and for extending His love to others. This is when we are best able to live out our mission and to serve the church and the world for the glory of God. God bless you. Amen.
Dr. Beth Green

So I am not Dean Sweetman, and I'm going to do a very poor imitation, because unfortunately he couldn't be here to commission the graduating students in prayer. Please know how faithfully he prays for you, and please be assured of his continuing love and prayers for the whole student body.

I'm pretty sure that Dean Sweetman would pray that you be faithful in your vocation as students, whether you're still in the middle of your courses, like some of us here, whether you're graduating this year or whether you're returning next year. I'm going to commission you with some words from Psalm 96 so, would the graduating students please rise.

"Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary."

And that's the Creator who goes with you. May He love you and keep you and sustain you. Amen. You may be seated.
Ross Clark

I bring you greetings and congratulations from the Board of Governors of Tyndale University. We're delighted that you've reached this stage of your academic career, and we pray that God will bless you.

I am to give you a benediction, and so I'm going to do so now. I framed it in structure as a prayer, so let's pray.

Father, we're thankful for the love of Your Son, in whom we have been blessed with the inestimable gift of salvation. As Christians, You have called each of us into a relationship with You. You call us to know You, to love You, to serve You and to make You known and visible to all the ends of the earth.

Over the past years here at Tyndale, everyone at chapel today has been invited to deepen their relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ through their studies here. In the Great Commission, Your beloved Son instructed the faithful to go and make disciples of all nations.

So now I pray that You will bless each graduate here, Father with a deep and deepening relationship with the Lord. Will You please bless each graduate here with the courage and hope to carry the good news of Your Son to all with whom they interact. And will You please bless each graduate here with a life and a ministry that is fruitful and pleasing in Your sight.

We echo the words of Paul to the elders of the church at Ephesus, when he said, "I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

May this be the case for each of us here today, I ask through the name of our Savior, Lord Jesus, Christ, Amen.