"May you live in interesting times" is often misidentified as a Chinese curse. In truth it is neither Chinese nor a curse. It is a phrase which is Western and recent. It probably dates back to 1929 to the foreign secretary in the UK, Sir Austen Chamberlain, who used the expression in correspondence. However, the idea behind the expression still captures something of the moment. Life is much easier when it is uninteresting. Days that pass doing the normal things of life are a delight; days lived with the complexity of a pandemic, an economic recession, and a vicious election are hard.This issue of VTS Journal takes you into this moment. The Rev. Dr. Kathy Grieb is most insightful as she addresses the moment in all its complexity-from the reckoning with racism to the challenge of Advent in a pandemic. We have a Commencement address by Bishop Jennifer Baskerville Burrows, which had to be pre-recorded when we moved the face-to face Commencement to a virtual Commencement online. We have the Rev. Dr. Ruthanna Hooke as she reflects on the complexities of this moment in the midst of the feast of the Annunciation. One goal of the Journal is to ensure that these "state occasions" that shape the academic year are captured and shared. This year is especially poignant and, at the same time, important. We share our response to our moment as we live through history.

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