A Look Back at Spring Commencement 2023
On Saturday May 6, 2023, Eastern Nazarene College celebrated the Class of 2023 at our 101st Commencement.
“Nothing in the life of an academic community quite compares to the feelings of joy that accompany Commencement Day,” said Dr. William McCoy, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. “There are numerous ENC employees already hard at work on the preparations for this day, and we are so excited to be able to welcome our graduates and their loved ones to our 101st Commencement exercises. We give thanks to God for the lives of these graduates, for the ways in which they will embody ENC’s mission in the world around us, and for the chance to be together in celebration of all their achievements.”
The College is proud to have Dr. Samuel Vassel, District Superintendent of the Metro New York District of the Church of the Nazarene, as the Commencement speaker. Originally from Jamaica, Dr. Vassel was previously Senior Pastor of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene, Senior Pastor of the Bethune Avenue Holiness Christian Church, and a Seminary Lecturer at the Jamaica Theological Seminary and Alliance Theological Seminary in New York. He has been a contributing writer for Preacher’s Magazine and serves on various boards within the Church of the Nazarene and the wider Christian and civic communities.
Watch the Baccalaureate Service that took place on May 5, 2023 at 7 P.M.
Watch ENC’s 101st Commencement that took place on May 6, 2023 at 2 P.M (scroll down).
Photos!
View Commencement Gallery on Flickr or browse through slides below.
Commencement Speaker
Dr. Samuel Vassel
Eastern Nazarene College was proud to have Dr. Samuel Carl W. Vassel, District Superintendent of the Metro New York District of the Church of the Nazarene, as the Commencement speaker.
Dr. Samuel Carl W. Vassel was elected on May 11, 2018 to be the District Superintendent of the Metro New York District of the Church of the Nazarene. Prior to assuming the office of Superintendent he was Senior Pastor of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene for 18 years.
Before migrating to the United States from his native Jamaica in 2000, Dr. Vassel was Senior Pastor of the Bethune Avenue Holiness Christian Church, where he served for ten years. He was elected Bishop of the Holiness Christian Church in Jamaica in 1997 and served for two years in that role before answering the call to the Bronx.
Dr. Vassel has worked extensively in student ministries in Jamaica as well as a Seminary Lecturer at the Jamaica Theological Seminary and Alliance Theological Seminary in New York. He has been a contributing writer for Preacher’s Magazine and serves on various boards within the Church of the Nazarene and the wider Christian and Civic communities.
Dr. Vassel holds a Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois; and a Bachelor of Science from the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica.
He has been married to Angela for 43 years and together they have two adult children, David and Kara-Beth, who are married to Deidre and Greg respectively. They are the doting grandparents of Dhiya, Kairos, Karis, Pax, Che, and Gabriella.
Commencement Video Replay
