Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School has two special graduation traditions that also have special meaning: a Servant’s Towel and an Alumni Pin.
Servant’s Towel
Since 1933, servant leadership has been the culture of Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School. The mission of LBC | Capital is to educate Christian students to think and live a biblical worldview and to proclaim Christ by serving Him in the Church and society. Christ was the ultimate example of servanthood, as God Incarnate willingly humbled himself by taking the form of a man.
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus took not only the bread and the cup as lasting symbols of His self-giving love, but also a servant’s towel. He stepped down from the seat of honor, took off His outer clothing, put a towel around His waist and washed His disciples’ feet. In so doing, He offered them a profound and radically counter-culture demonstration of the very heart of God. The joy-filled life in which He invites His followers to participate involves taking up the towel with Him.
The servant’s towel is more than a symbol at LBC | Capital. It is a tangible expression of our mission, reminding graduates that everything they have accomplished and will accomplish comes by participating in the servant ministry of Jesus Christ.
The servant’s towel is reminiscent of the emphasis placed, throughout students’ LBC | Capital experience, on serving one another in love. Today, our graduates receive not only academic degrees, but also towels as they embark on a new phase of their servant ministry to the Church and society. The servant’s towel contains a printed reminder of Jesus’ ministry to His disciples. Our prayer is that our graduates will accept the challenge to follow Christ’s example of servant leadership.
Alumni Pin
The origin of a pinning ceremony dates to the 12th century. By 1916, pinning ceremonies were common in the U.S. and England. Initially, pinning ceremonies were intended for students who were becoming nurses. Since then, many colleges and universities have created their own pins and host pinning ceremonies for all graduates.
Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School’s alumni pin displays the cross pathways, which comes directly from the LBC | Capital logo and promise to students that “Your journey is our focus.” Our students are on a journey to make a difference. That journey, or path, is represented by an arc reaching toward a destination. The path of our institution, with the intent to guide students along their journeys, is also represented. Where the two paths join is a defining moment—one that conveys the journey and who the student is and will become. This moment is symbolized in the intersection point. LBC | Capital provides a unique college experience centered on the Bible. That experience prepares students for their journeys and their mission to “proclaim Christ in the Church and society.”
The alumni pin represents not only the path to graduation but also the journey that follows a momentous day when graduates join a family of more than 10,000 LBC | Capital alumni around the world who are serving the Church and society. The alumni pin is a celebration of the journey thus far and a reminder that another journey is just beginning.