Church of Scotland leader and alumna Sally Foster-Fulton urges Class of 2026 to ask, “Who will you serve?”
Belk Auditorium fell quiet Friday evening as graduates of Presbyterian College gathered with family, friends, faculty, and staff for the college’s 2026 Baccalaureate Service — a worshipful part of commencement weekend centered on faith, vocation, and service.
At the heart of the service was a powerful address from the Very Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, a 1987 graduate of Presbyterian College, former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and current head of Christian Aid Scotland. Speaking to the graduating Class of 2026, Foster-Fulton challenged students to carry Presbyterian College’s motto — Dum Vivimus Servimus, “While We Live, We Serve” — beyond Clinton and into a fractured and uncertain world.
“I invite each of you to take a moment to absorb this moment,” Foster-Fulton said as she opened her sermon. “Never again will you approach this crossroads to stop and breathe again. Your life is a gift. Perhaps that’s why we call it the present.”
The annual service, held in Belk Auditorium, featured scripture readings, prayers, music, and reflections designed to prepare graduates spiritually before Saturday’s 143rd Commencement exercises.
‘I Am Because You Are’
Drawing from her year as moderator of the Church of Scotland, Foster-Fulton reflected on the African theological concept of Ubuntu, often translated as “I am because you are.”
The phrase, she said, rejects isolation and individualism in favor of shared humanity and mutual responsibility.
“In Ubuntu, there is no them and us,” she said. “Only us.”
Quoting the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Foster-Fulton urged graduates to recognize the dignity and divine worth of every person they encounter.
“When I look into the eyes of another human being and see the divine shining out, what do I do?” she asked. “When we meet ourselves vulnerable enough to ask those questions honestly, we walk on holy ground.”
Again and again, Foster-Fulton returned to Presbyterian College’s enduring motto and reframed it not simply as a slogan, but as a moral challenge.
“While you live, who will you serve?” she asked. “Because there is a choice. There is always a choice.”
When nobody is looking and no one else will ever know — remember who you are. When the crowd says, ‘Come on, who’s it gonna hurt?’ Remember who you are.”
The Very Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton ’87, Head of Christian Aid Scotland
Wrestling With Faith, Purpose, and Responsibility
Throughout the sermon, Foster-Fulton encouraged graduates not to fear difficult questions, uncertainty, or the lifelong work of spiritual and intellectual growth.
Referencing the Old Testament prophet Micah and Christ’s commandment to love God and neighbor, she described faith not as passive certainty but as active wrestling — something to be studied, challenged, questioned, and lived.
“The Bible is not meant to be bound in white leather, embossed beautifully, and set high on the shelf to be admired from afar,” she said. “Something we say guides our lives deserves to be worn and weathered, read and annotated and conferred with and wrestled with and argued with.”
Foster-Fulton repeatedly returned to a phrase she said she heard throughout childhood from her parents and grandparents: “Remember who you are.”
The words, she said, became both guidance and accountability in moments of temptation, fear, anger, and compromise.
“When nobody is looking and no one else will ever know — remember who you are,” she said. “When the crowd says, ‘Come on, who’s it gonna hurt?’ Remember who you are.”
Near the end of the address, Foster-Fulton reflected on a stained-glass image of Christ knocking at a door that she remembered from her childhood church. Over time, she said, she came to see deeper meaning in the image — particularly the idea that the door could only be opened from within.
That reflection led her to Christ’s teaching in the Gospel of Matthew that love of God and love of neighbor are the “hinges” upon which everything else rests.
“Love God and love each other opens so many doors,” she said. “Has a way of opening hearts and minds and spirits too.”
As graduates prepare to leave Presbyterian College and enter new seasons of life, Foster-Fulton reminded them that their identity and calling are rooted not in achievement alone, but in relationship, compassion, and service.
“You are part of the body of Christ,” she said. “You are a one-of-one-never-to-be-repeated-ever-again creation of the divine. You are unique — just like everybody else.”
Honoring a Life of Service
The evening also included the presentation of the 2026 Martha Anne Green Service to College and Church Award to Leni Patterson, executive director of strategic initiatives at Presbyterian College and a member of the Class of 1983.
The award, established jointly by Presbyterian College and First Presbyterian Church of Clinton, recognizes individuals who embody a lifetime of faithful service to both church and college in the spirit of the late Martha Anne Green, a beloved alumna and longtime member of the college staff.
Presenting the award, PC president Dr. Anita Gustafson praised Patterson’s decades of leadership and devotion to the college community.
“Martha Anne was in many ways the heart and soul of PC,” Gustafson said. “The same can be said of Leni Patterson.”
Over more than 30 years at Presbyterian College, Patterson has served in admissions, financial aid, student affairs, alumni relations, enrollment management, and strategic planning.
Gustafson described Patterson as someone who expands “the bandwidth of what the leadership team at PC can accomplish together.”
Beyond campus, Patterson has served extensively in church and public leadership roles, including as an ordained elder at First Presbyterian Church of Clinton, the former chair of the Laurens County School District 55 Board of Trustees, and former president of the South Carolina School Boards Association.
“She’s a leader, a server, a doer, a helper, a partner, a cheerleader, an organizer, and a friend,” Gustafson said.
In remarks shared from the Green family, Patterson was described as “a fixture of all things PC.”
“If it happens at PC, Leni is there,” the family wrote. “We can’t think of anyone more deserving.”
A Sacred Pause Before Commencement
The Baccalaureate Service also featured music from Presbyterian College students and faculty, including a performance of “O Love” by the PC Choir under the direction of Kipper Ackerman.
Scripture readings were delivered by seniors Jonah Pierce and Riley Taylor, while the Rev. Dr. Buz Wilcoxon, Lassiter Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life, and the Rev. Dr. British Hyrams, Jack and Jane Presseau Associate Chaplain, led worship and prayers.
As the service concluded and graduates prepared for commencement, Foster-Fulton left the Class of 2026 with one final reminder — one rooted in faith, identity, and shared humanity.
“I am because you are,” she said. “Remember who you are.”
