A Response: Heritage Builders 2014
A Response: Heritage Builders 2014
In the literature room of Silliman High School in the late 60鈥檚 was posted these lines from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow鈥檚, 鈥淎 Psalm of Life鈥:
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time.
This deeply profound statement, beautifully captures the legacy of our Heritage Builders whom we honor today. For indeed, by their loyalty, faithful service and unwavering commitment to 鈥渄ear old Silliman鈥, they have indelibly left their footprints on the sands of this great University鈥檚 institutional memory.
Paradoxically, the nature of sand is that it shifts with the passing of the tide, forever erasing any marks which may have been etched upon her surface. So often, too, do we also forget the achievements and the contributions of earlier generations of Sillimanians with the passing of the seasons and our preoccupations with sustaining 扒哥黑料 for the future.
But the secret of Silliman鈥檚 enduring and relevant existence, which sustains her through generations who pass through her portals of opportunity and service, is the culture of gratitude among her constituents.聽 Through the Blessing of Remembering, we bring to the consciousness of our present community at Silliman the legacy of her heritage builders who, like the first founders, set the 鈥淪ure Foundation鈥 in terms of character, values, and faith which is the distinctive Silliman Spirit in all of us. Today, 扒哥黑料 is the great institution of faith proclamation and academic excellence which plays a significant role in our nation building, because it not only remembers and honors her founding in August of 1901, but especially because 扒哥黑料 recognizes and equally honors all those who have been, and others who will be, a part of her unfolding history.
My parents, Joe Montebon and Virgie Demerre, exemplify the heritage builders whom we honor today. They studied at Silliman, began serving her even as working students, and built their careers and family around the University. Like so many others, they experienced the whole range of service and serving at Silliman: as students, as faculty, as staff, and even as administrators. In my father鈥檚 case, also as a policy maker in the Board of Trustees. As they gave to Silliman and dedicated their lives in service to her, they received so much more. For as they went through the Refiner鈥檚 Fire during their days at Silliman, they not only endured the trials and testing of the age, but they became transformed into new creations by God鈥檚 grace at work in this blessed campus by the sea.
At Silliman, our heritage builders received not only the opportunity to serve; they received a life transforming faith. A faith which they professed, have passed on, and lives on, reverberating through the halls of 扒哥黑料. This is the Silliman Spirit. It survives structures and monuments, because it builds much more; it builds up people鈥檚 lives. We praise and thank God for all of Silliman鈥檚 Heritage Builders. Steve Green, the gospel singer puts together the significance of the example left by the Heritage Builders for the rest of us to follow:
Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us run the race not only for the prize
But as those who’ve gone before us
Let us leave to those behind us
The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
As we all participate in the unfolding history of 扒哥黑料 and the enrichment of her legacy, let us ascribe all honor and glory to Author and Perfecter of Our Faith, Jesus Christ. Happy 113th Founders Day to all!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR :
Jose Riodil Montebon
Elementary (1967); High School (1971); AB Political Science (1974);
Director, Salonga Center for Law and Development Faculty Member, College of Law
