Multicultural Ministries Contact
The Rev. Joseph Thompson, Ph.D.
Director of Multicultural Ministries
Virginia Theological Seminary
3737 Seminary Road,
Alexandria, VA 22304
Phone: (703) 461-1732
Email: jthompson@vts.edu
The Office of Multicultural Ministries celebrates the racial and ethnic diversity within the church and the world. There are 5 key dimensions of our work:
- Sharing the experiences of people of African, Asian, Indigenous, and Latina/o heritage;
- Supporting student activism and other efforts to resist racial domination;
- Recruiting students from under-represented backgrounds and finding candidates for Bishop Payne Scholarships;
- Promoting anti-racism through classes and events; and
- Partnering with others to be sure diversity is reflected in our worship, pedagogy, and community life.
An Exploration of Reparations at Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary recognizes that enslaved persons worked on the campus, and that even after slavery ended, VTS participated in segregation. VTS recognizes that we must start to repair the material consequences of our sin in the past.
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VTS Commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
In 2020, We commemorated the martyrdom of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with “An Exploration of Reparations at Virginia Theological Seminary.” Two special presenters explored how reparations might contribute to the just and equitable society that Dr. King envisioned: “Reparations Through the Lens of the Love Ethic,” Dr. Catherine Meeks, executive director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing, which is a joint project of the Diocese of Atlanta and the Episcopal Church. “No Turning Back: The Black Presence at Virginia Theological Seminary,” the Rev. Joseph Constant, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Beltsville, MD, and author of the book of the same name.