Celebrating the Class of 2026

Columbia Theological Seminary is just over a month away from the pinnacle of the academic year, celebrating the Class of 2026 during Baccalaureate and Commencement weekend.

This year’s Baccalaureate service will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 22, at Decatur Presbyterian Church in downtown Decatur, Ga., with a reception to follow, serving as a sacred time of reflection, worship, and spiritual celebration for the graduating class.

The Seminary’s Commencement ceremony will follow at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 23, at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Atlanta. Fifty-five degrees/diplomas will be conferred on 51 graduates, with four being dual-degree graduates, pending successful completion of all academic and institutional graduation requirements. The Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, Jr., president of Columbia Theological Seminary, will give his charge to the new graduates. This will mark the conferral of degrees and the formal sending of graduates into their next chapter of ministry and leadership.

This year’s speaker of our Baccalaureate ceremony is Rev. Dr. Gina Marcia Stewart, an accomplished pastor, preacher, visionary leader, teacher, and community advocate. She made history as the first African American woman to lead an established African American Baptist congregation in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. With a ministry deeply rooted in faith and service, Rev. Dr. Stewart brings a powerful voice of leadership, justice, and spiritual conviction to this year’s celebrations.