Rev. Dr. LeSette M. Wright to speak at Berea College convocation

February 16, 2024

By Paula Keshderian

BEREA, Ky. – Chaplain, author, professor, public health advisor and mental health clinician Rev. Dr. LeSette M. Wright will present the Berea College Robbins Peace Lecture entitled “Peaceseekers: Lessons Learned from Spiritual Care with Survivors of Murder Victims” on Thursday, Feb. 22 during the college’s weekly convocation sponsored by the Campus Christian Center.

The convocation begins at 3 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Chapel.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Wright serves as the dean of the chapel at Berea College. She is the founder of Peaceseekers, an organization devoted to cultivating partnerships for preventing violence and promoting God’s peace.

Wright is the first African American woman to be ordained to ministry from the historic Tremont Temple Baptist Church in Boston. She founded of the Community Chaplaincy Collaborative that served in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

Wright will share insights from 20 years of spiritual care with survivors of murder victims. She has worked internationally to enhance the violence prevention and peace promotion efforts of cities by advising government, academic, community and faith-based stakeholders on effective and sustainable public health efforts, providing spiritual care and counseling with survivors of homicide victims and training clergy, educators, youth, families and communities in the significance of trauma-informed practice, spirituality and resiliency.

“Peace is possible,” Wright said of the overarching theme of her convocation.

This convocation is free and open to the public.

About Berea College

Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The College only admits academically promising students with limited financial resources, primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia, although students come from 45 states and 70 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition. Berea is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, where students work at least 10 hours a week to earn money for books, housing, and meals. The College’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character. www.berea.edu

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