EDMOND—Senior dinner. It’s a rite of passage. Most events at Herbert W. Armstrong College are annual activities for the whole student body, but dinner with the chancellor happens only once.

At this point for us, the countdown to graduation numbers in days, not weeks or months. And in the midst of the busyness of studying for our final finals week and commencement beyond, senior dinner was a night for us as a class to dine with the man who approved our acceptances in 2010 and 2012 and who leads the institution that has been our life for almost four years. It’s a night that I will never forget.

Classical music played in the background, and purple flowers perched on the tables as we walked into the Armstrong Auditorium balcony lobby. A few seniors were already there when I walked in; Mr. Flurry arrived a few minutes later. As we nibbled on our appetizers and gazed at the campus greenery through the four-story glass walls, several of my classmates who worked at the Jerusalem excavations recounted their experiences to Mr. Flurry. There were plenty of stories to go around, since 13 of the 17 seniors have dug with Dr. Eilat Mazar in Jerusalem.

We sat down to the table with gold flatware and fine china. Then a handful of graduates and Imperial Academy high school students served a fine three-course meal.

One of my classmates, Daniel Arnfield, remarked that having senior dinner in Armstrong Auditorium was like coming full circle. That’s because our freshman year started less than a month before the auditorium opened. As freshmen, we had a Western Civilization class and several P.E. classes that turned into landscaping work parties, where we helped plant shrubs and flowers around the building before the auditorium opened its doors. Some of us sang in the dedication ceremony. I know I can speak for my class in saying how privileged we feel to have started our hwac career just as this special building was being completed. Then here we were, more than three and a half years later, dining in that house for God with the human leader of God’s Church.

The chancellor originally planned to host half of our class at his home on one night and half on another, due to the size of our class. But when Mr. Flurry’s schedule conflicted with the second night, he decided to move the event to the auditorium for the first time. As all of us dined together, he said, “This is the biggest senior class we have ever had. It’s inspiring.”

Despite the size of our class, the night consisted of one large, 18-person group conversation. We asked Mr. Flurry about his time as a married student at Ambassador College under Herbert W. Armstrong, the future of the headquarters campus, more details about his recent sermons, his thoughts on the future of the work in Britain and how the Philadelphia Church of God continues the work of the Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong. The chancellor’s dinner itself is a tradition continued from Ambassador College, when Mr. Armstrong hosted the senior students in his home.

Mr. Flurry also spoke about how many people in God’s Church lost their focus on God the Father after Mr. Armstrong died in 1986. He said they failed to use the knowledge God had given to them—through Ambassador College, for many of them—and they eventually lost it all. “It’s about God,” Mr. Flurry said. “This college is about God. Your lives are about God.”

Mr. Flurry also emphasized the importance of physical and spiritual family; “family is everything,” he said. He said that it would be “disgusting” to not go out and fight for God and His family.

My classmate and fellow Imperial Academy graduate Tabitha Burks told me the day after the dinner, “It made me realize more than ever that no matter what happens, I have been given an incredible gift with this education, and I have to make sure that I further that education and apply it daily. After four years of everyone sacrificing for me, it’s time I sacrifice for them.” I couldn’t agree more.

After all the education we have been given here, it was both inspiring and sobering when the chancellor said that he really valued our class, and that now is the time to go on and “be great successes—and we expect that of you.”

As the sun descended beyond the west windows, Mr. Flurry shared his experience studying for final exams while at college and asked about our preparations for finals. The chandeliers gleamed behind us as we shared some of our greatest lessons learned while at hwac of faith, dedication and appreciation.

One of my classmates and I discussed afterward that the evening reminded us of the Festival ’84 film, which features Mr. Armstrong’s dinner with the Young Ambassadors in his home. Referring to the seniors, Mr. Armstrong said, “They are all are future kings. They are going to be kings for a long, long time—forever.” One could not help feel like royalty while sitting at that table. As the sun set, the chandeliers shined and reflected off the auditorium’s marble columns. I couldn’t sum up the night better than the chancellor, who said, “We had dinner at the best place on Earth.”