A resent article in
Presbyterians Today listed the
top ten Presbyterian news stories of the year. What do you think about the list. What was left out? What should have not been included? Share the thoughts and comments. What do you think will be the top stories of 2006?
The story about Mary Holmes College closing is a sad thing, but it was time. I attended a conference at Mary Holmes College several summers ago (The PYC Region 3/Montreat Middle School Conference). The campus was in a state of disrepair. Before the conferees arrived on campus, we spent days doing plumbing work, hanging mirrors, fixing windows, cleaning bathrooms, and fixing electrical problems. I couldn't believe that anyone attended college and had to live in such poverty. However, the reason we were at Mary Holmes that summer was because Stillman College had screwed up scheduling and told us at the last minute that we couldn't hold our conference there. Stillman is a very nice campus that is exactly what you think of when you think of a nice college campus.
ReplyDeleteSo, this sounds like I am saying that Stillman is a better college than Mary Holmes was and that Mary Holmes didn't deserve to be open. Well, not exactly. Yes, Stillman's physical campus is a hundred times nicer than Mary Holmes campus ever was, but the people at Mary Holmes were a million times nicer than the people at Stillman ever were. Although Mary Holmes didn't have much to offer with regards to physical buildings and supplies, they made up for it by being the most gracious hosts and by being some of the nicest people I have ever meet. They exemplified true southern hospitality and true Christian love. Despite the nightmare of a campus, their attitudes and smiles helped make that conference a succes.
So, the closure of the college was definitely something that was needed for the safety of the people in those buildings, but it is truly a sad day for the wonderful employees and students of that school.