The Rev. Paul Medley, the pastor of First Baptist Church, encouraged the Bainbridge High School Class of 2013 to aspire to success in life, while remaining wary of what he called “the sin of procrastination.”

Medley began his sermon by quoting Theodore Roosevelt, who said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Medley also made reference to the Biblical Parable of the Ten Virgins, which is found in Matthew 25:1-13. In summary, it is one of Jesus’ parables, concerning 10 virgins who await the arrival of a bridegroom. The five virgins who are prepared for the bridegroom’s arrival are rewarded, while the five who are not prepared are excluded from his marriage feast.

Senior class president Eli Poché primarily dedicated the baccalaurate service to two individuals: Frank Conner, who had succumbed to a terminal illness when the Class of 2013 was in the eighth grade; and also to Jamarlin Bell, a classmate who passed away in January 2013. Bell was critically injured in May 2011 after being stabbed in an apparent random act of violence.

Poché said he was also inspired by the baccalaurate service of the Class of 2009, the last class to graduate from the old BHS campus on College Street. According to Poché, that class had dedicated their service to all of the BHS students who had come before them. Poché, who noted that his graduating class was the first to have attended the new campus on U.S. Highway 84 for all four years of high school, said he thought the service should also be dedicated to all of the BHS students who would graduate in the future.

Ramsay Chambers read a poem/essay by Robert Fulgum entitled, “All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” which suggests that one can still manuever through a complex adult society by following such basic maxims as “Share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, put things back where you found them, and clean up your own mess …”

Claire Culverson read Psalm 119, verses 33-37, from the Holy Bible, New International Version, which read:

“Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end. Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”

Kyle Horne, who plays the trumpet in the BHS concert band, performed “My Father’s World,” a piece which included the melody of the traditional spiritual, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”

The BHS combined chorus performed Christian inspirational songs “In This Very Room” and “Draw Me Close to You.”

Other seniors taking part in the service were Hannah Lambert, who gave the invocation, Meredith Conder, who welcomed those in attendance and Tanner Jackson, who gave a benediction. Austin Rowe introduced Medley as the speaker.