VDS Voices
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VDS Dean of Admissions shares family tie with legendary Asian American activist Helen Zia
Guest Story by Rev. Laura M. Cheifetz, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Vocation & Stewardship From Vincent Chin to #StopAAPIHate: Helen Zia and 40+ Years of Asian American Activism You are invited to hear Helen Zia, legendary author, activist and former journalist, speak here at Vanderbilt University on March 24. Read MoreMar. 11, 2022
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Divinity students bring unique experience with grief rituals during an era of extraordinary death
Meg Wade, a second-year MDiv student, brings her passion for helping those in mourning process their grief as a “grief doula,” while George Schmidt, a second-year PhD student in theological studies, brings his experience as an military chaplain that was present at hundreds of burial ceremonies to assist next of kin at the Arlington National Cemetery. Both highlight contrasts as well as similarities in the way society ritualizes grief. Read MoreFeb. 7, 2022
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Public theology fellow leaves legacy of community building and support
The Rev. Teresa L. Smallwood, who helped launch Vanderbilt’s Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative as associate director in 2017, is moving to Pennsylvania’s United Lutheran Seminary in January. Over Smallwood’s four years at Vanderbilt Divinity School, the Collaborative has hosted nearly 30 workshops and more than 20… Read MoreDec. 20, 2021
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North Nashville Community Garden brings together two congregations and cultivates space for healing and blessings
Artist rendering/Tricia Townes An idea borne out of the destruction from the 2020 tornado that hit middle Tennessee, the North Nashville Community Garden blossomed into a place for church congregants and gardening hobbyists alike to commune and heal. It will be featured on Nashville Public Television’s “Volunteer Gardener”… Read MoreSep. 8, 2021
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Preparing for divinity school: A reading list
Guest post by the Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Vocation, and Stewardship So you’re going to divinity school/seminary. Congratulations! I absolutely loved my experience, and now I get to be present with people who are figuring out if div school is the next right step, which div… Read MoreJul. 28, 2021
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Favorite Nashville Spots
Are you moving to Nashville for divinity school? Coming to visit to see if you’d like to join us at Vanderbilt Divinity? We put together a list of favorite Nashville spots recommended by VDS students and alumni. You want it? Nashville’s got it. This is not an exhaustive list – just… Read MoreJul. 28, 2021
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Charge to the Class of 2021
Delivered by Vanderbilt Divinity School dean, emilie m. townes on May 16, 2021 whether we are talking calendar year or academic year, this has been some year we have lived and it’s good to see so many of you in the flesh rather than in zoom boxes those boxes had… Read MoreMay. 17, 2021
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2020 Charge to the Graduates
Delivered by Emilie M. Towes on May 2, 2021 You are the only graduating class to get two charges from the dean. I’m not sure if this will help or hurt but here we are. In this unusual moment, let me begin by reminding you that last year I… Read MoreMay. 2, 2021
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This is the first step not the conclusion
A reflection from our dean, Emilie M. Townes Guilty on all three counts. These three counts can be—and hopefully will—be positive steps to not only police reform but to our very broken criminal justice system where the scales of justice are not blind but often tilted against the poor,… Read MoreApr. 20, 2021
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the power of words to harm and heal
Emilie M. Townes Spring Faculty Assembly Presentation Delivered 1 April 2021 download a PDF of this presentation with its original formatting. perhaps you are familiar with this childhood chant: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me i remember my… Read MoreApr. 2, 2021