Duke Divinity School

09/11/2026

For decades, the Rev. Dr. William C. Turner Jr. shaped Duke through his teaching, ministry, and commitment to racial justice.

A former Duke Divinity School professor, Turner was also a witness and participant in a pivotal era of Duke’s history, including the civil rights activism surrounding the 1969 Allen Building takeover.

His legacy lives on not only in the students he taught and the communities he served, but in the ongoing work of pursuing a more just church and society.

Read The Chronicle’s remembrance of Turner and his remarkable life at Duke: https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/duke-university-former-divinity-professor-william-clair-turner-jr-remembered-for-decades-at-duke-civil-rights-activism-allen-building-20260908

09/09/2026

Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” changed the landscape of American dance. Now, a new work asks us to look deeper at the spirituals and stories that shaped it.

Join Matthew Rushing and Du’Bois A’Keen for “Beauty, Suffering, and Belonging,” a panel discussion exploring the creation of their new interdisciplinary work, “Sacred Spaces,” coming to Duke Sept. 18!

Following the conversation, hear from Duke faculty Sherilynn Black, Jingqiu Guan, Ellen McLarney, and Sarah Wilbur in a panel discussion exploring the work’s broader themes and creative process.

Beauty, Suffering, and Belonging |
📅 Tue, Sep 15 | 1:15–2:30 PM
📍 Reynolds Industries Theater
🎟️ Free and open to all
✨ Light refreshments and a short reception to follow

See “Sacred Spaces” live on Friday, Sep 18!

Learn more at dukearts.org

09/09/2026

Conversations that happen in prison can change lives.

Through Duke Divinity School, inside and outside students sit in classes together to discuss theology, justice, scripture, and the life of Jesus.

Hear from faculty, staff, and students about how Duke Divinity's Prison Studies Program has been transformational in their relationship with God.

Watch the full video:

09/08/2026

One of the most meaningful ways to learn about a place is to listen to the people who know its story. The history of it, but also the stories of the people who call it home.

Current Duke Divinity student Molly Herman-Gallow experienced that firsthand through Project BRI(DDD)GE, a pre-orientation pilgrimage designed to help incoming students build relationships with Durham and one another.

Two years after participating as an incoming student, Molly continues to volunteer with the program while reflecting on how it has shaped her formation.

Her reflection offers a glimpse into how BRI(DDD)GE continues to impact students long after they first encounter the program. Read “Bearing Witness to the Stories Around Us” at the link in the comments.

09/05/2026

Wisdom often begins with humility 🪴

In a recent Duke conversation about mistakes and intellectual growth, Duke faculty including Divinity's Kavin Rowe shared candid reflections on being wrong, changing their minds and what those experiences can teach us about leadership, scholarship and human connection.

Read the full story from Duke Today: https://today.duke.edu/2026/09/duke-leaders-share-stories-things-they-got-wrong

09/04/2026

The blessing of new faculty and staff at Duke Divinity School is a special tradition 🙏

09/03/2026

The Prison Studies Program at Duke Divinity School is transformative. It shifts perspectives, deepens faith and, for many, changes lives.

It’s worth learning more. Watch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX231QOm4kU

09/03/2026

Wendell Berry believed one of our deepest problems is that we don't want to be creatures.

We want to escape limits, to be somewhere else, to solve problems from a distance. We want the benefits of community without the inconvenience of actually being responsible to other people and places.

Berry offered a different vision that Norman Wirzba explores in a new reflection for "The Christian Century," written following Berry’s death this week.

At the heart of Berry’s theology was a deceptively simple conviction: the world is sacred, and learning to see it that way changes how we live in it.

Says Wirzba, "Experience, reading, and the daily rounds of farm work taught Wendell that scripture is trustworthy in its teaching that every creature and every inch of earth is made and approved by God as good and beautiful."

Experience, reading, and the daily rounds of farm work taught Wendell that scripture is correct: Every creature and every inch of earth is made and approved by...

09/02/2026

Celebrating the start of its centennial year, Duke Divinity School welcomed 251 new students at the Opening Convocation service on Friday, Aug. 28, in Duke University Chapel.

During the service, Colón-Emeric reflected on Duke Divinity School’s 100-year history and its calling as it enters a second century.

Drawing from the centennial theme, “A Calling to Fulfill,” and the Book of Acts, Colón-Emeric described Duke Divinity’s calling as “broadly catholic, stubbornly ecclesial, and irreducibly supernatural.”

He challenged the Divinity School to continue its commitments to ecumenicism, UMC roots, Duke University, and the world, particularly amid polarization and rapid technological change.

“Duke University needs Duke Divinity School,” he said. “The Divinity School has a mission to the wider university" to help people embrace the mysteries of being human and discover their callings in God's world.

At the heart of that mission, he argued, is the church. The church remains “the people of God, the Body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit" called to pay attention to people on the margins.

https://divinity.duke.edu/news/duke-divinity-celebrates-centennial

09/02/2026