Date: September 4, 2026
The Steering Committee of the African American Episcopal Historical Collection (AAEHC) is honored to invite you to the second annual Bishop John T. Walker Symposium and Commemoration, September 24, 2026. This event honors the life of the Rt. Rev. John Thomas Walker through worship and the exploration of various topics in the history of Black Episcopalians. Bishop Walker was the first African American to be enrolled here at VTS, as well as the first Black man to serve as the Episcopal Bishop of Washington.
This year’s symposium will lift up the life of lay theologian and teacher, Verna Dozier. She was the first African American woman to hold a teaching position at Virginia Theological Seminary. Her writings on the authority of the laity and her book The Dream of God continue to influence global Christianity to this day. The day will begin at 1pm. The Rev. Judy Fentress-Williams, the VTS Dodge Professor of Biblical Interpretation, will join the former Editorial Director of Cowley Publications, and Church Publishing, Dr. Cynthia Shattuck, in a discussion about the legacy of Verna Dozier. Then at 3pm we will enjoy a keynote address from Dozier’s friend – the 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry.
Then, at 5:15, we will gather in the Immanuel Chapel to honor Bishop Walker with a Commemorative Eucharist, where Bishop Curry will preside and Dr. Donyelle McCray, Associate Professor of Homiletics at the Yale Divinity School and a 2008 VTS graduate, will preach.
This event is sponsored by the AAEHC, which is a joint project of the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church and Virginia Theological Seminary. You are invited to join us for this special commemoration of Bishop John Walker and celebrate the life and legacy of Black ministry in the Church.
Please use this link to register, https://vts.edu/walkercommemoration, and plan to join us on September 24th, 2026, at Virginia Theological Seminary.
The Rev. Joseph Thompson, Ph.D. and The Rev. Alfred Moss, Ph.D.
Co-Chairs of the AAEHC Steering Committee