diviDuke University Fall 2011 nity

also inside: Faithful Novelty Seeing God in Jazz Why Artists and Pastors Need Each Other The Power of the Christian Memoir Here at Duke Divinity School, as a member of the New Creation Arts Group, I am learning what it means to develop an incarnational imagination that envisions transformation and redemption. Thank you, annual fund donors, for believing in and investing in Duke Divinity School, the body of Christ, and me. Juli Kalbaugh D’13 The art shown here is a detail from her work, “Mercy,” an acrylic on canvas.

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For more information about being part of God’s work through Divinity Annual Fund, call 919-660-3456. To give online, see www.divinity.duke.edu/about/how-give Features divinity 4 Fall 2011 Faithful Novelty Volume 11, Number 1 Why artists and pastors need each other to enrich the life of

PUBLISHER the church Richard B. Hays By Jeremy Begbie Dean and George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament

Editor 10 Departments Heather Moffitt Telling Lives: Associate Director of Communications The Power of the 3 The Dean’s Perspective Christian Memoir Produced by the Office of Communications, Events and News: Duke Divinity School Reading and writing Christian 21 Audrey Ward, Executive Director Theology & the Arts memoirs helps us encounter at Duke Divinity School Proofreading by Derek Keefe our own life of faith By Richard Lischer Book Reviews Design by Regina Barnhill-Bordo 24 www.bdesign-studio.com 26 New Books from Copyright © 2011 Duke Divinity School 13 duke Divinity Faculty All rights reserved. Seeing God in Jazz Divinity magazine publishes a Fall and The music of jazz and the art 28 Gifts Spring issue each year. The magazine it inspires points to the represents the engagement of Duke Divinity 29 Faculty & Staff Notes School with important topics and invites incarnation of God friends, supporters, alumni, and others in By Willie James Jennings our community to participate in the story 32 Class Notes of what is happening here. 36 Faculty Reflections We’d like to hear from you! 16 For comments or feedback on Baptism, Speech, Craft Divinity magazine, please write: 37 Meditation A young minister finds her Editor, Divinity magazine work of preaching shaped Duke Divinity School by her experience with craft Box 90970 By Bonnie Scott Durham, NC 27708-0970 Or e-mail: [email protected] Please include a daytime phone number and 18 e-mail address. Letters to the editor may be The Church Musician as edited for clarity or length. (Overlooked) Theologian How the musicians of the church contribute theologically to worship By Mark Gorman

On the cover The cover image is Gospel of John Frontispiece and Incipit from The Saint John’s Bible. For more information on this image and the illuminated manuscript, see Events and News on page 21.

WWW.divinity.duke.edu/magazine Fall 2011 | 1 Contributors to This Issue

Jeremy Begbie Mark Gorman Paul Griffiths Richard Lischer Willie Jennings is the Thomas A. Langford completed his M.Div. degree is the Warren Professor of is trained in systematic is associate professor of Research Professor of Theology from Duke Divinity School in Catholic Theology at Duke theology and is an ordained theology and black church at Duke Divinity School. He 2011 and is beginning the Divinity School. His primary minister in the Evangelical studies at Duke Divinity School. studied philosophy and music Th.D. in systematic theology intellectual interests include Lutheran Church in America. He teaches in the areas of at Edinburgh University and there this fall. His research post-1950 Catholic philosophi- As the associate dean for systematic theology and black theology at Aberdeen and interests focus on the person cal theology; the philosophical faculty development and the church and cultural studies. Cambridge. A professionally and work of the Holy Spirit, and political questions arising James T. and Alice Mead He is also an ordained Baptist trained musician, he has especially in the context from religious diversity; fourth- Cleland Professor of Preaching minister who maintains an performed extensively as of doctrine and worship. and fifth-century African at Duke Divinity School, active preaching and teaching a pianist, oboist, and conduc- A certified candidate for Christian thought (especially he teaches in the areas of schedule in the church. His tor. He is an ordained minister ordination in the Baltimore- Augustine); and Gupta-period homiletics and ministry. His particular interests include of the Church of England Washington Conference of Indian Buddhist thought. particular interest is exploring liberation theologies and the and served as an assistant the United Methodist Church, how proclamation and preach- formation of cultural identities. pastor in London. His particular he currently serves as direc- ing are integrated theological research interests are in the tor of music for New Hope activities. Among his other interplay between music and Presbyterian Church in publications is his theological theology, and he directs the Chapel Hill, N.C. memoir, Open Secrets. Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts.

Lester Ruth Bonnie Scott Lauren Winner Luba Zakharov is research professor of graduated with her M.Div. is an assistant professor has an M.T.S. from Duke Christian worship at Duke degree from Duke Divinity of Christian spirituality at Divinity School. Until recently Divinity School. His areas School in 2011. While a stu- Duke Divinity School. Her she was the reference and of expertise include the dent she won the David H.C. books include Girl Meets serials librarian and an active history of Christian worship Read Preacher/Scholar Award, God, Mudhouse Sabbath, member of the New Creation (particularly early Methodism), a national award recognizing Real Sex, and A Cheerful Arts Group. She has worked creativity with the sacraments, excellence among graduating and Comfortable Faith. She at the Grunewald Guild, and contemporary worship. seminarians, and the Jameson writes and lectures widely on an art-faith community in Jones Preaching Award from Christian practice, the history Leavenworth, Wash., and Duke Divinity School. Her of Christianity in America, and served as library director at artwork was also recognized Jewish-Christian relations. St. Meinrad Archabbey and and awarded in the Student School of Theology. In addition Juried Arts Exhibit. She is to her other graduate degrees, now serving as a minister in a she has earned an M.F.A. in church in the Baltimore area creative writing. Her biblio- as she pursues ordination in graphic research areas include the United Methodist Church. theology and the arts, Eastern Christian spirituality, and sectarian Russian Christianity.

2 | DIVINITY The Dean’s Perspective

The Arts at Duke Divinity School by Richard B. Hays

Why has Duke Divinity School decided to focus its Finally, because we are made in the image of God the Convocation & Pastors’ School this year on arts in the Creator, we are destined to be creators of images and stories. life of the church? Indeed, even more fundamentally, why It’s in our flesh and bones. God is the great artist who con- should those who are engaged in the church’s ministry care ceived and constructed the intricate cosmos, the sculptor who about the arts? I propose four reasons why the arts matter shaped the human form out of the mud of the earth. God is for the church and why we support this endeavor at Duke the poet who imagined Israel’s improbable epic drama and Divinity School. then inspired psalmists and prophets to sing the story and to First, whether we recognize it or not, reimagine it for later generations living the arts surround us: we are immersed in If we are made in the image new chapters in the drama of exile and images, music, and stories. If theological return. If we are made in the image of education focuses only on ideas and fails of such an inventive God, such an inventive God, it follows that we to reflect critically on the artistic media it follows that we will be will be makers of shapes, symbols, songs, that shape our imaginations, we will and stories. be tone-deaf to the creative ways and makers of shapes, symbols, For all these reasons, during my term means the gospel may use to challenge songs, and stories. as dean I have sought to focus attention and transform us. As philosophical theo- on our new program, Duke Initiatives logian Nicholas Wolterstorff has observed, the arts can pro- in Theology and the Arts, under the direction of Professor vide “data” for theology. If we want to teach students about Jeremy Begbie. We now have several students in our Th.D. sacramental sensibility, we can assign a dogmatic essay, but program whose work engages the intersection of arts and it may be equally effective to have them look at van Gogh’s theology. Additionally, during the past year we have spon- paintings and read poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins. sored numerous public events to celebrate and investigate Second, acts of corporate worship embody some artistic the arts in the life of the church. These have included musi- form. The question is whether we will do it well or badly. Will cal performances, lectures by internationally recognized our hymns and proclamations beckon hearers to explore “the artists, and intentional focus on incorporating art into the beauty of the infinite” (David Bentley Hart), or will they space of the Divinity School. You can read more about these recycle sentimental clichés? For example, far more Christians events and initiatives in this magazine in our “Events and have imbibed theology through singing the Psalms or the News” section. Of course, I must also mention our annual hymns of Charles Wesley than through reading the tomes fall event, Convocation & Pastors’ School, at which novel- of Thomas Aquinas or Karl Barth. If worship inherently ist Marilynne Robinson will be a featured speaker, alongside includes artistic expression, then those who care about wor- Professor Begbie and jazz musician Anthony Kelley of Duke ship should care about the arts. University’s music department. Third, participation in the activity of the arts might teach When we sing with the psalmist, “Let everything that us crucial skills for the life of obedient discipleship. Consider: breathes praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6), we declare that all might participation in a choir shape in us disciplines of listen- creation breathes with the life of the logos. And so, through ing, self-restraint, and cooperation that would form us into our arts, we are rendering back to God the creative praise more wise and peaceful people? Recent Duke Divinity gradu- that is fitting. This matters for the life of the church, and so it ate Bonnie Scott D’11 notes how her experience in the crafts matters for Duke Divinity School. of sewing and woodworking informed the way she approaches preaching (see her essay in this issue of Divinity). It is no Richard Hays is the Dean and George Washington Ivey coincidence that she won a national award for best student Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School. For more of his preaching and won awards for her art in competitions spon- thoughts on the relationship between theology and the arts, see his sored by the New Creation Arts Group here in the school. essay at www.faithandleadership.com/hays

Fall 2011 | 3 Faithful novelty

4 | DIVINITY Faithful novelty by Jeremy Begbie | illustrations by Tom Lewis

artists are attracted to novelty. As legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel said, “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” That quest to generate something different and irreplaceable, the need to make something that stands out, and the drive to create something new seems built into the DNA of many artists. Of course, the cultural expectations for the arts have con- tributed to this. In the last two centuries, doing “the next new thing” seems to be implicitly required for artists. Many artists—particularly those who work outside the church, and especially those who need to make a living from their art— feel a subtle pressure to create something original, preferably something cutting-edge. In the twentieth century, the growth of various avant-garde movements instilled habits of thinking about novelty that are still with us. Art embodies the pursuit of the totally fresh start—think of all the artistic attempts in the last century to begin again and wipe the slate clean: Futurism, dodecaphonism, neoclassicism, dadaism, photorealism.

Fall 2011 | 5 We find an eagerness to break with the past, to clean away the detritus of tradition and outdated wisdom of yes- terday, and to dismantle the scaffold- ing of convention. Nothing must be allowed to become old: unless we are constantly creating the ever-new thing, we are heading for death. To be origi- nal demonstrates that you are alive. To repeat is to be captive to the law of sin and death. This fascination with novelty is one quality that makes artists awkward people to have around, especially for pastors who want a quiet life. Poets, painters, songwriters, fashion design- Order and Non-order options? What about laughter? The ers—professional creators are notori- We must first subvert our common sound of laughter is hardly ordered— ously difficult to work with. They’re assumption that only two basic shapes indeed, it is hard to predict and is constantly resisting the pressure to are possible for our lives—order and anything but regular. At the same time, please the largest number, always disorder. The other day a friend took me it’s anything but destructive; to the defending their artistic integrity, fre- into his kitchen, which was littered with contrary, it often releases all sorts of quently asserting their entitlement to letters, bills, unwashed dishes, bottles, possibilities. It’s a sign of goodness that do something that hasn’t been done and boxes. This instantly produced a is neither order nor disorder. In their before, and often reserving their right flood of apology: “I’m so sorry about the book, Living in Praise: Worshipping to rub our noses in subversive novelty. mess!” That’s because disorder is usually and Knowing God (Baker Academic), And for many peace-loving pastors seen as something to be ashamed of, an laughter is an example of what Daniel trying to hold together a fragile group unhealthy sign of being out of control. Hardy and David Ford describe as of eccentric Christians, artists are about Order, on the other hand, is something “non-order,” or the “jazz-factor.” the last kind of person they need. to be praised: “My, your house is tidy! I Recall Sarah being told at the For those of us who have been in wish I could get mine like this.” age of ninety she is to bear a child the church for some time, we can eas- We transpose this view into our (Genesis 18:9–15). What does she do? ily forget that newness is built into theology: order signifies that God is She laughs. This is the hilarity released the gospel. The aroma of novelty is on around. Regularity, predictability, reli- by the Holy Spirit in response to news of every page of the New Testament. It ability, and consistent patterns in the non-order—childbirth in advanced old pervades the fabric of the Christian world speak of God’s ordering rule and age. In the New Testament, non-order message. But what kind of newness is refusal to let things slide into anarchy. explodes into the world supremely on this? And how can artists and pastors Any opposition to order is seen as a Easter, subverting every expectation. together discover it? At the very least, I mark of the opposition, the evil one, More than that, it’s made available to suggest, it involves a remarkable inter- bringing confusion and destruction. us, accessible and enjoyable because of play between order and non-order. But are order and disorder the only what happened at Pentecost.

6 | DIVINITY Without non-order, there can be no newness. Without non-order, the world is condemned to futility, for in purely physical terms, everything is growing old and running down (as the physicists will remind us). In a world without newness the future is simply the unfolding of the past.

spoke of hilaritas while facing his lence. Many theologies of the atone- own execution. ment work like this, where apparently all God does is match X amount of sin Pastors and Artists with Y amount of punishment, in order Many pastors crave regular order to restore “order.” Behind this theology because they assume that the only lies a picture of God as impeccably bal- alternative is destructive disorder. anced, a God of absolute equilibrium, (Pastors like this tend not to laugh self-contained proportion. We forget much.) They rightly see the need for that evil can very easily masquerade as consistency, liturgy people can trust, aesthetically perfect order: think of the and well-planned calendars. The military rally in a totalitarian state or problem is that they can easily end the disciplined efficiency of the death up ordering all the non-order out of camps of the 1940s. life, like Harold Crick in Stranger than If pastors tend to disparage non-order Fiction. Worship becomes cleansed of (for fear of disorder), creative artists Without non-order, there can be anything remotely spontaneous; church tend to revel in it: the playful and exper- no newness. Without non-order, the meetings are impeccably prepared and imental, the untamed improvisation, world is condemned to futility, for in entirely devoid of surprise; agendas the off-the-cuff flourish. Award-winning purely physical terms, everything is are followed to the minutest details, architect Daniel Libeskind writes: “The growing old and running down (as the “any other business” kept to the barest tyranny of the grid! I fight against it physicists will remind us). In a world minimum. I once worked with a pastor all the time: buildings designed like without newness the future is simply who, on our first meeting, gave me a checkerboards, with repetitive units that the unfolding of the past. The best we firm shake with one hand and clutched march along the same track. A march- can hope for is to rearrange the exist- a clipboard with the other. With this ing grid is not what life is about. ... What ing order, to reshuffle our lives the way mindset, there must be no “other busi- good is a putative sense of order, if it’s we might shuffle furniture around a ness,” only the business we can manage. a false sense of order?” What good is room, knowing it will all need throw- Project this perspective onto God— order without non-order? ing out sooner or later. But in a world and the way we pastor a congregation And the question is hardly surpris- where Jesus has been raised from the will, of course, reflect what we really ing, coming from an artist. The arts by grave—death being the ultimate enemy believe about God—and we find God their very nature are not tied to tight of all newness—non-order is possible, becomes the embodiment of order ad structures of predictability. You bring and through the Spirit, available to infinitum, lifeless and dull (as many both into existence something that didn’t enjoy. We discover, as Gerard Manley in and out of the church sadly believe). exist before, something that couldn’t Hopkins had it: “There lives the dear- Redemption will be viewed as God have been predicted to exist in exactly est freshness, deep down things.” restoring things to the way they were, this form. That captures part of what We understand the clownlike remark as if our Christian journey were headed the arts are about. When Bonhoeffer of the painter Georges Rouault: for a rerun of Eden. It’s as if God were spoke about the arts as belonging to “He who has forgotten how to laugh basically in the business of restoring the sphere of “freedom,” he was say- is only waiting to die”; we grasp the balance to the world, matching good ing they are not bound to the past and defiance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who with evil in some kind of exact equiva- future by some chain of cause and

Fall 2011 | 7 effect: the past has not made them God’s grace and God’s out-of-the-blue you prepared to allow artists to make necessary, and we do not have to prac- refreshment. Theologically, this is the mistakes in the interests of something tice art to achieve a future goal. We interplay between the givenness of fruitful that can’t be predicted? Are certainly don’t need the arts for bio- creation’s order, rooted in Christ the you prepared to relearn from artists the logical survival—it is unlikely we will Creator, and the creativity of the Spirit non-order that belongs to the heart of ever read a death certificate that lists a as that order is developed towards its the Christian life? (Of course, plenty of cause of death as “a lack of music.” final end; between both God’s cov- pastors are adept at non-order already, Moreover, as Rowan Williams has enant faithfulness and God’s endlessly which is all to the good.) recently stressed in his book Grace invigorating and “excessive” surprises. The question for artists is this: are and Necessity: Reflections on Art and And the interplay is all the richer you prepared to allow pastors to remind Love, the arts work by generating an when—miracle of miracles—disorder you that fruitful novelty comes only excess of metaphorical allusion, which is taken into its momentum, when the through inhabiting order? Are you will- means we can’t spell out in advance all ugly and sordid is taken up into the ing to relearn form and composition, the their possible meanings. Although not Spirit’s re-creativity. Such is the unfore- grain of wood, the edge of a canvas, the necessarily vague, their meanings are seeable yet gloriously coherent logic harmony of strings, the innate rhythms uncontainable. Les Murray, in his poem of Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost. of physical movement? Are you able to “Poetry and Religion,” speaks of God Something of this came to light in a go on relearning the bass lines of artistic as “being in the world as poetry / is in sculpture from Mozambique called tradition, and, more fundamentally, the the poem, a law against its closure.” “The Tree of Life” that stood in the bass lines of theological wisdom that The problem here, though, is that atrium of the British Museum. In the God uses to anchor the church in the non-order can easily become an end in Genesis account, the tree of life grew faith? As T.S. Eliot so pointedly asked in itself, and (ironically) can flip back into in the Garden of Eden, but access was his essays, how can we be original until some form of inflexible order remark- forbidden. In Revelation 22, the tree we’ve lived inside a great tradition? ably quickly. As many of us have experi- reappears, standing on each side of the How can we even begin to improvise enced, nothing is quite as predictable as river of the water of life that flows from in a way that captivates our culture a weekly “spontaneous” church service. God’s throne, its leaves for the heal- until we have something profound ing of the nations. The “Tree of Life” to improvise with—until we have sat Interplay sculpture is constructed entirely from patiently with Dickinson and Milton, I am caricaturing drastically, of course. weapons reclaimed after Mozambique’s with Polanski and Tarkovsky, with But if there is any truth here, we can civil war. It calls to mind Isaiah’s vision Scarlatti and Stravinsky? And how can say this much at least: that one of the of peace: “They will beat their swords we hope to ensure we are improvising reasons artists and pastors need each into ploughshares, and their spears into “in the Spirit” unless, at those most soul- other is to learn and relearn together pruning hooks” (Isaiah 2:4). shaping levels, we are nourished by the that the novelty which enriches the The question for pastors, then, is Scriptures, and by Augustine and Basil life of the church comes not from this: are you prepared to allow artists the Great, Aquinas and Calvin, Barth escaping order, but from the interplay room to provoke the church to ven- and Bonhoeffer? As theatre improviser between order and non-order, between ture into risky arenas of novelty such Keith Johnstone put it, pursuing novelty the stable chords and the improvised as a fresh perspective on a parable, or for its own sake is like someone at the flourish, between the faithful bass of an unexplored zone of culture? Are North Pole trying to walk north.

The question for pastors, then, is this: are you prepared to allow artists room to provoke the church to venture into risky arenas of novelty such as a fresh perspective on a parable, or an unexplored zone of culture? Are you prepared to allow artists to make mis- takes in the interests of something fruitful that can’t be predicted?

8 | DIVINITY I end with a poem. It has been That any poem after Auschwitz is obscene? A conversation so rich it knows it never arrives suggested that making art after Covenants of silence so broken between us Or forecloses; in a buzz and cross-ruff of polity Auschwitz is a kind of obscenity, a Can we still promise or trust what we mean? The restless subversive ragtime of what thrives. denial of horror, a shameful attempt to beautify what can never be beauti- Even in the dark of the earth, seeds will swell. Endless dialogues. The criss-cross of flourishings. ful. The point needs to be felt head All the interweavings and fullness of being, Again and over again our complex yes. on. At the same time, it should be Nothing less may insure against our hell. A raucous glory and the whole jazz of things. part of our commitment to “never again” to find ways of living that A black sun only shines out of a vacuum. The sudden riffs of surprise beyond our ken; refuse to allow the forces of death to Cold narrowings and idols of blood and soil. Out of control, a music’s brimming let-go. take hold—which means finding ways And all the more now, we can’t sing dumb! to feast, exploring ways to revel, and We feast to keep our promise of never again. embracing ways to rediscover non- order. Micheal O’Siadhail writes: Micheal O’Siadhail, “Never,” in The Gossamer Wall (Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe, 2002), p. 120. Reprinted by kind permission of Bloodaxe Books.

All art by Tom Lewis D'12. Duke Divinity School hosted a special exhibition of his work, which uses the medium of Post-it® notes, in early 2011. He can be reached at [email protected]

Fall 2011 | 9 Telling Lives: The Power of the Christian Memoir by Richard Lischer

10 | DIVINITY ot long ago a cartoon appeared in The New Yorker depicting a radiologist and one of the genres key to memoir and life-writing. a rather worried-looking patient gazing at a picture of the man’s insides in A spiritual memoir may not issue a Nwhich a medium-sized rectangular object is clearly visible. The doctor says, direct appeal to the reader, but by vir- “Well, Smythe, you do have another novel in you.” Substitute “memoir” for “novel” and the tue of its content and narrative shape, it implicitly invites the reader to identify current preoccupation with autobiography, memoir, and life-writing is neatly summarized. with the story or its characters. It makes Traditionally, the memoir was the Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and a “narrative offer” to the reader, as province of the “great man” who Discovery. It too belongs to the category if to say, This path is available to you, embodied the achievements of his age of the “average,” in this case, the story too. There may be no better example and helped steer the course of historic of a young and inexperienced pastor of this than Dorothy Day’s The Long events, who now, with some leisure who is assigned to an ordinary coun- Loneliness in which she characterizes on his hands and in need of cash, has try church. A memoir offers a thick the art of writing a spiritual autobiogra- agreed to write about it. The chief pur- sampling of a life, written from a phy as an act of “giving yourself away.” pose of the memoir was to provide an single period or thematic perspective, Today’s resurgence of autobiogra- insider’s perspective on external events for example, a memoir about grief; phy and memoir can be boiled down such as wars, treaties, and scientific an autobiography purports to give to the availability and goodness of Telling Lives: explorations. Among our memoirist an account of a whole life “so far.” experience. The novelist Martin Amis Presidents, Ulysses S. Grant’s Personal Augustine wrote Confessions when writes in his own memoir, Experience, The Power of the Christian Memoir Memoirs epitomizes the category, he was 43 and Thomas Merton pub- “Nothing, for now, can compete with though we could add to the list many lished The Seven Storey Mountain experience—so unanswerably authen- by Richard Lischer other leaders from Julius Caesar to at the ripe old age of 33. tic, and so liberally and democratically George W. Bush. In a “religious” or “spiritual” per- dispensed.” One thinks of the pro- Many of today’s memoirs, however, sonal narrative, God may not be a liferation of blogs and websites and are cut from different cloth. A recent character in the story, as in the book other online cafeterias of experience New York Times article characterized of Job, but the decisions and actions of that feed our desire to share our own our generation as “the Age of Memoir,” the narrator are shaped by an aware- lives or to enter into the lives of others. pointing not to the “greats,” but to the ness of God’s presence in the warp Life-writing has fully emerged toward average and ordinary people among and woof of a life. Unlike most secular the end of the ages of Romanticism, us who are determined to share their reporting, spiritual life-writing recog- political individualism, and psycho- stories. Thus we have memoirs writ- nizes the claims of religious faith to be analysis, periods when the “I” ruled. It ten about depression, drug addiction, essential and not incidental to life in its dominates today because we have the obesity, abuse, migraines, grief, and that truest sense. It is unwilling to create a technology to make it all available. perennial favorite, boarding school. “world” from which God is absent. The On the other hand, contemporary Duke University professor Henry plot turns on a conversion, a spiritual memoirs may be viewed as a push-back Petroski wrote an excellent memoir insight, or a faithful encounter, occur- against that same technology and the of his days as a paper boy. And these ring most often in the ebb and flow of Centralization of Nearly Everything. are only the published stories. Life- an ordinary life. As Karl Barth said, I wrote about life in a small church writing clubs and seminars continue “God is so unassuming in the world.” because I wanted to preserve the tex- to incubate thousands of unpublished One thinks of the novel Gilead by ture of that experience in a culture in stories written for family members and Marilynne Robinson, whose painstak- which the small congregation, like the private circulation. ing evocation of small-town clerical life neighborhood hardware store, is having I began teaching courses on religious reads more like a memoir than a novel. a hard time staying in business. And memoir when I wrote one myself, It is even written in the form of a letter, words are disappearing too: 90 percent

Fall 2011 | 11 Christians have deep and abiding reasons for telling the stories of their lives. We understand our lives to be inextricably bound up with another’s life. The sacrament that brings us into the church, baptism, is plot-driven. It encapsu- lates the death and resurrection of Jesus and the believer’s new life in him. of text messages draw on a vocabulary of fewer than 400 words; Shakespeare The fact that the Christian plot turns on a death reminds us that, no matter used 24,000. how successful feel-good religion and the prosperity gospel may be, we fol- Christians have deep and abiding rea- sons for telling the stories of their lives. low the rhythm and curve of a different and more challenging narrative. We understand our lives to be inextri- cably bound up with another’s life. The did just that. In a searching account of reading for incoming students to Duke sacrament that brings us into the church, his interior life he examines his motives Divinity School. baptism, is plot-driven. It encapsulates for converting to Christianity. When he The encouraging thing about this the death and resurrection of Jesus and writes, “Before you Lord, I lie exposed, burst of spiritual memoirs is not that the believer’s new life in him. The fact exactly as I am,” he reminds us of the there are so many of them, but that they that the Christian plot turns on a death ancient psalmist or, more likely, the first are increasingly focused on the corpo- reminds us that, no matter how success- Modern Man. Unlike most autobiogra- rate life of the people of God. Among ful feel-good religion and the prosperity phies, Augustine addresses his exposed the new group of writers the life of faith gospel may be, we follow the rhythm life to God in the liturgical language means life in community, either in the and curve of a different and more chal- of confession and praise. By opening church or in devoted tension with it. Seeing God in lenging narrative. Christian narrative his story with the words, “God, you are Despite its intensely personal quality, does not indulge in the self-puffery of great,” he deftly deconstructs the values the Christian memoir avoids the self- the ego trip because, as the Apostle and pretensions of the heroic ideal in indulgence of the Me Era by grounding reminds us, the Christian has a radically Roman society. Thanks to Augustine, writer and reader alike in the commu- different view of the ego. “I am crucified it is possible to conceive a life not as a nity of our common story. with Christ. It is no longer I who live, showcase for achievement but as an act The Divinity School includes but Christ who lives in me.” of worship. Confessions and other memoirs and The characters and plots of both Today’s spiritual memoirists have autobiographies in several areas of the Jazz ancient and modern autobiographies shifted away from narratives of pub- curriculum because literary nonfiction emerge from the fountain of the Word: lic events to probing and more private evokes another, valuable kind of learn- Abraham’s journey, Hagar in the wil- accounts of the narrator’s spiritual ing: not a rule but a fleshly instance derness, Jacob and Esau, the tempta- development. The circumstances that of a rule. Not a definition of grace to tions of Christ, the Prodigal Son, Mary restricted the memoir to the “great man” be memorized, but the experience of Magdalene, Doubting Thomas. These of the 19th century have been shat- grace as perceived through the win- and many others are not hard to find in tered by a new breed of writer whose dow of another person’s life. Who is to the stories we tell about ourselves. subject matter is the discovery of the say which comes first: the Rule or the It might come as a surprise to con- self through faith. In this too, Augustine Life? We read the stories of others and temporary theorists that the autobiog- remains an overarching (and controver- temporarily cross over to meet them. raphy was invented by a Christian for sial) influence. In the past two decades, There we encounter another person’s Christian purposes. We are not sure why women writers, now freed from the old experience of faith in a world very dif- Augustine chose to write his autobiogra- model, have come to dominate the field: ferent from our own. Then we cross back phy, but Confessions stands as a monu- Anne Lamott, Kathleen Norris, Patricia into our own time and place of ministry, ment and an inspiration to the life of Hampl, Nora Gallagher, Lauren Winner, newly enriched by a deeper spiritual faith. Socrates said, “Know thyself,” and Sara Miles, Barbara Brown Taylor, and understanding and better prepared for a millennium later the bishop of a mid- the pastoral writer, Heidi Neumark, our own life of faith. dling North African city named Hippo whose Breathing Space is assigned

12 | DIVINITY Seeing God in

Jazzby Willie James Jennings

am a great lover of jazz. It entered my soul around the same time gospel music and sacred hymns began to give shape to the contours of my feelings and dreams. My parents, like most of the church folks who raised me, upheld a strict separation between sacred and secular sounds. I never really heard the difference the way they heard it. All the music of my youth, both in and out of church, was blues-drenched, jazz-laden, and jazz-gesturing—or should I say gospel- drenched, gospel-laden, and gospel-gesturing. ILike so many other theologians brought up in the church, I cannot imagine things theological apart from things artistic. It was not only listening to the music but also the visual experience of watching people

Fall 2011 | 13 playing, singing, and dancing that helped musicians, is what it means to give wit- women I grew up hearing and watching introduce me to God. If I listened care- ness to that complexity. as they contorted their faces reach- fully and looked intently I could catch Certainly jazz musicians are not the ing for the notes their minds could glimpses of something not definable, only musicians that might be singled hear and expressing the emotions their certainly not quantifiable, but nonethe- out. I could add a whole host of other hearts were determined to set free. less actually present. It might be called types of musicians from a wide vari- There is something so biblical, indeed the work of the Holy Spirit, the opera- ety of cultures and artistic traditions. godly, about the face of a woman sing- tions of grace on the human creature. But I think of jazz musicians because ing out of anguish, even if the anguish I prefer to think of it as being seen they have found their way to the front is a distant memory leaving only its more than seeing, that is, being in the of the camera and the canvas of so imprint in the expressive work of sing- presence of a God who sees us and many visual artists who have captured ing. I always see that imprint when I allows us to give voice through our bod- beautiful angles into their lives and art. look at this photo of Billie Holiday. ies to the depths of the human life that But what they have also done in ways Another favorite of mine is the clas- Billie HO liday and L oui s A r mst rong: W illia m G o tt lie b c olle ct ion ; j ohn ol t rane: or i God has created. The “gift of expres- quite astounding has been to capture sic photo of a young John Coltrane. sion” is probably too small a phrase to glimpses into the depths of human exis- This face-on photo of Coltrane as he capture what I see as musicians give tence in the presence of God. I espe- is in a meditative posture suggests flight to their art. The human creature cially appreciate both photographs and the powerful future that will unfold is a profound mystery, especially in its paintings of musicians in artistic flight. for this young black man. The pho- visibility. Christian theology has always I love this picture of Billie Holiday, tographer captured Coltrane at that been plagued with the danger of a ter- which is part of the legendary collec- particular place of translation when rible one-sidedness in which we place tions of photos done by William P. his thoughts were posed to extend mystery on the divine side of things Gottlieb. The expression on her face themselves through his instrument. and forget the mystery of creaturely life reminds me of so many other singers This posture seems to be implicit in all itself. The incarnate life of God shown I have watched sing and make pro- of his music: thoughtful, penetrating, to us in Jesus Christ challenges that ductive use of their anguish and pain. profound, reaching deep within him- one-sidedness. Holiday had the perfect voice for jazz, self, yet reaching out for more than he In Jesus, God did not remove the not overly powerful, not a pure sound, can quickly grasp. It echoes for me so complexity of the divine life but became but one that was deeply human. Her much of the process of serious theolog- a companion for us, inviting us to live life story was majestically complex, and ical reflection. This photo of Coltrane freely in the absolute unfathomable her music expresses the density of a with his horn is like unto a theologian depths of grace and divine love. The Son life composed of twists and turns. This at work or a preacher preparing to of God’s life introduced us to the awe- photo conveys an imperial mournful- preach: soon thought must be given some complexity of the human creature ness focused by the demands placed flight in voice, word, and action. The itself. We are much more than we can on a body to find the right note. Her small space between his mouth and his grasp, understand, or certainly control, extended neck, closed eyes, and wide- horn mirrors the tight space between each of us and all of us together. What I open mouth all reflect the hard work imagination and proclamation. have learned by listening to and watch- of singing something right. This photo Along this same line is the beautiful ing so many musicians, especially jazz always reminds me of the many church photo of Louis Armstrong. I love this

14 | DIVINITY photo because it shows us Armstrong section. They are the time keepers, the It is a moment of transfiguration. As at work. The visual instruction here foundation on which all others build. we watch them play it is as though an is breathtaking. This is an older They must be as one. Bearden’s work in-breaking has occurred and who we Armstrong, his age marked by both his here (and other pieces) invites us to thought they were and we were gives face and hands. Yet I cannot look at hear the music. way to a new revealing. My dear wife this photo without immediately seeing Churches could learn much from had an uncle, Stanley Patrick, who a host of preachers with white shirt and reflecting on a jazz band. Here are a was a school teacher and also a serious white handkerchief, royal sweat rolling group of people who work very hard jazz pianist. Uncle Stanley grew up down their faces as they preached long at listening, yet give up nothing of in the church at the time of the strict and hard, bringing a congregation to its themselves in that process, but in fact separation of music, gospel on the feet. Armstrong preaches through his only gain a true sense of themselves kingdom of light side and jazz belong- horn, his face alive and sure, seeing the in the common task of making music, ing to another less honorable realm. near but looking beyond the present to producing sound that makes a central Yet he defied that segregation and new possibilities for life. statement that exists only through became one of Montreal’s most well- I also appreciate the way some visual the constitutive performances of each known jazzmen. artists are able to capture sound in musician. The Bearden pieces I love all I keep this photo of him in my office sight through their renditions of jazz share this exquisite quality of showing because of the sheer serenity he exudes. musicians at play. Romare Bearden the many driving toward the one— As I look at it I can hear the piano was a master of the musical visual. the one sound, and the one ecstasy of playing, and then what often draws my R o m are Bearden: VAGA ; S t anely Pa ri ck : Cour e s y f W illie Jenning When I began teaching, the first piece playing well. I love the way he places eyes is his reflection hovering above of art I hung on the wall of my office musicians in very tight spaces reflect- him as he plays. It is another self born was the Bearden piece above on the ing the real world of most jazz club of the joining of musician and instru- left. Bearden’s genius begins with his stages with their small spaces fit for ment. Wherever he is at this moment of colors. When I look at the colors he big sounds. Musicians live and play playing I want to join him there, at this uses, I hear the music. Beyond color, in tight quarters, which is not only a place where peace abides and we are this master of collage perfectly depicts matter of the given but also a matter more than our histories suggest. Jazz musicians. The guitar player, centrally of choice. They need closeness to hear. musicians expose a messianic secret, positioned, is in musical flight as he Would that Christians could grasp this that deliverance from one-dimensional leans toward the band, pressing to basic truth of our witness: We don’t visions of life have come to us in the hear each player. He is no solo act. simply need each other, we need to be elegant act of performing. What is ines- The sax and piano players lean toward close together in order to truly hear capable to me is the ways in which such each other, also gesturing the impor- the words we should be saying to the photos and paintings of them gesture tant work of listening. Behind them is world and, equally important, to hear toward the true moment of deliverance, the trumpeter reaching over all to be more clearly the voice of the world, in the incarnation of God. heard. The drummer and bass player its pain, suffering, and longing. look as though they are joined to their Jazz musicians in the midst of play- instruments and each other. This is ing often gesture toward new possibili- indeed the truth of an effective rhythm ties, making visible the reality of hope.

Fall 2011 | 15 baptism, speech, craft by bonnie scott

before my fifth birthday, my life had already been shaped by three could change the blade on a coping saw. Mom also gave me a sewing kit, significant events—two of which I can’t even remember. The first was my taught me to handsew, and promised baptism. I was four months old when Pastor Wayne DeHart drew three wet that when I turned seven, I could use crosses on my forehead and passed me around the congregation. As I grew, those the sewing machine. To this day, my roommates enjoy the frequent hum hands through which I passed at my baptism would become my family. They of my sewing machine; they are less would teach me of Christ, telling me the most compelling story I have ever heard. taken with my jigsaw running in the living room. I am grateful my parents D e t ail f ro m “Tongue s , a o Fire” ex ile b y Bonnie S c tt At 11 months, I learned to talk. That But perhaps the most unique of taught me the patience and beauty of this is an event in nearly every child’s these events occurred when I was craft, that I grew up in a home where life does not temper its significance for four. My parents gave me a toolbox someone was always about the work me. My mom was a school librarian for Christmas. The tools were child- of creation. who read children’s books like a gifted sized but real—screwdrivers, two saws, Baptism. Speech. Craft. These are storyteller. I learned to speak while lis- and a hammer. The box said, “Stanley God’s gracious gifts to me. And at the tening to bedtime tales of Anansi the Junior” and the fine print read, “ages intersection of these gifts, I now find my Spider and Strega Nona. A high-school 10 and up.” I was only four, but my life’s vocation as a preacher. speech class led me to discover a natu- parents knew what they were doing. Anyone who has been strangely ral gift and love of public speaking. My dad was a woodworker and taught moved by a sermon—or any preacher As the lectern gave way to the pulpit, me the basics—how to hold a handsaw, who has wrestled with God in the writing many teachers and pastors nurtured how to pound a nail—and set me loose of one—knows that preaching is a rather my penchant for storytelling and the with his scrap-wood pile. I may have mysterious thing. If Bonhoeffer is cor- power of my spoken word. been the only little girl in town who rect, the proclaimed word is no less than

16 | DIVINITY “the incarnate Christ himself ... walking it. Likewise, preachers who are students questions, and so the artist slowly sets through his congregation as the word.” and servants of Scripture are most free to work, unsure of the result. But as the Good preaching is hard to define— to create beautiful sermons. text is run through the loom of people, note Webster’s unsatisfying defini- The creation part of preaching may life, and community, suddenly a pattern tion, “to give moral or religious advice, not be easy, but it is a gift. When I settle emerges, an image comes to mind, a especially in a tiresome manner.” And down each week to craft a word for my story is recalled. The seamstress weaves sermon writing is a difficult process to congregation, the process is uncertain, together text and context, heaven and explain: Well, I pray, read, think, wait, slow, often frustrating, but riddled with earth, until the sermon is formed. and then it just ... comes? Homileticians In an era of cheap furniture, the often best describe the work of preach- beauty I find in a hand-crafted, ing with metaphors. The preacher is var- mahogany dresser is often unappre- iously likened to storyteller, explorer, ciated by others. The tools and tech- midwife, or archivist. The sermon is a niques of my grandfather’s woodshop story, road map, living-breathing organ- were simply never passed down, and ism, or historical record. much has been lost. And I so often find But as much time as I spend with this true in the church. Few members by bonnie scott sawdust and thread, I inherently of my generation in North America approach the work of preaching as appreciate the beauty of the gospel, for craft. A sermon reflects the beauty and its riches were barely passed down or complexity of the Word within it, for poorly connected with our lives. Many the gospel is deep and wide. It does of my dear friends have no faith com- not exist in some other world than mitment, and I long to communicate this world, and it cannot be boiled the Christian story to them. I want down to three simple points. Neither to strip away our veneered ideas of should the sermon. Preaching is wholly Christianity, run our fingers again over creative and artistic; it takes beauty as Baptism. Speech. Craft. These the grain of Scripture, and invite young its medium and its message. are God’s gracious gifts to people into the apprenticeship that In my life and practice, a preacher makes real disciples. Preaching is an is a craftswoman. The Scripture her me. And at the intersection of opportunity to present the Christian medium, the Holy Spirit her guide, the these gifts, I now find my life’s gospel in all its complexity and beauty, sermon her craft. I do not mean to sug- to finish the board of wood until its gest that the preacher-crafter makes the vocation as a preacher. grain shines. sermon ex nihilo, as if the Word of God Artists are some of the most thought- is not beautiful in its own right. Before moments of joy. It is like waiting for ful, visionary, attentive people in our the preacher considers crafting a word, an idea for the next art project, com- communities. They probe the depths, the Word crafts the preacher. Artists bined with the tedious work of ripping ask hard questions, seek beauty, and immerse themselves in the subject out seams. People often ask, “How cultivate imagination. Craftspeople are matter and medium before anything long did it take you to make that?” I not afraid of mystery or messes, and else. My grandfather, a botanist and can’t help but think, “About ten times preachers have much to learn from woodworker, loves wood—particularly longer than you could ever have imag- their creative engagement with the its grain. He has a knack for spotting ined!” Crafting is time consuming. So world. So, the time the “sweet torture” intricacies and idiosyncrasies in an is preaching. The text begs a thousand of sermon writing besets you, try the unfinished board and crafting it into questions of us. What does this text say approach of the craftsperson. Use your beautiful furniture. He knows which to my community? What might that imagination, play with the text, expand wood to choose and how to sand with look like? And for the skeptic visit- your palate, paint a picture with words, the grain, all to reveal the wood’s natu- ing my church today, why does this ask hard questions, or just keep sanding. ral beauty. Grandpa is not a master of Scripture even matter at all? There is And if all else fails, try running a jigsaw

D onn Y oung the wood but a student and servant of rarely a straightforward answer to these in the living room.

Fall 2011 | 17 The Church Musician as (Overlooked) Theologian

by Mark Gorman

o one goes to church and cially when many church musicians both clergy and musicians share a thinks, “I sure hope the wor- lack the formal theological education responsibility for the doxology of the Nship will be dull and uninspir- clergy receive through master’s of church, he speaks not only as someone ing!” People desire vibrant worship. divinity programs. who accompanies hundreds of services Whether it’s the communal practices Part of the problem may lie in how each year on campus but also as some- of Taizé or Iona, the anthems that we think about theology. If theology is one of deep and sincere Christian faith. resound in cathedrals, the gospel choir mostly dried ink for a dusty classroom, The shared responsibility means who brings the congregation to their then we may never learn to see musi- many of the unremarkable, mundane feet, or the strum of guitars with a cians as theologians. But if one of the activities of church musicians have praise song, it’s clear that music has a purposes—indeed, the chief purpose— real theological import. When I asked central role in establishing worship. of theology is doxology (the praise of Arcus about the factors he considered Unfortunately, discussions about the God), then it is easier to see how the in leading a hymn, only one stood out relationship between music and wor- church musician does function as a as explicitly theological: the liturgical ship have mostly been one-dimensional, practical theologian, complementing season. The others were straightforward focusing on the music itself, from style the theological role of the pastor. As musical considerations, ranging from (traditional or contemporary) to instru- David Arcus, adjunct associate profes- the size of the organ to dynamics to the mentation (guitar vs. organ). If churches sor of sacred music and Divinity School presence or absence of a choir. But as hope to sustain practices of vibrant wor- organist, told me recently, “Clearly, our musical considerations in the context ship, the scope of the conversation must tasks [of being musicians or pastors] are of and for the purpose of the worship include not only church music but also different. But we all share in the general of God, they were musical factors with church musicians. responsibility of facilitating the praise theological overtones. Playing the organ This conversation requires us to of God.” too softly during a hymn can deprive think about how the church musician Arcus, an excellent conversation the congregation of its confidence to is also a theologian. This might come partner for thinking about the role of participate in acts of worship. Playing as a surprise. If we associate “theolo- the musician in the life of the church, the organ too loudly can drown out the gian” with anyone in a congregation, it regrets “the loss of [understanding] congregation and imply that their par- is usually the pastor or other ordained the church musician as a professional ticipation is unimportant. This commu- staff. Applying that term to our church leader, teacher, and visionary among nicates the theologically impoverished musicians can seem like a stretch, espe- ministerial staffs.” When he notes that idea that worship is only for the leaders.

18 | DIVINITY their theological role. Arcus has sug- gested that “occasional, brief annota- tions can be useful tools” to “prime” a congregation eventually to hear these musical subtleties without explana- tion. Bulletin notes, newsletter articles, or brief spoken introductions during a service can make connections for the congregation between the words they are singing and the music that is being played—or even, in the case of music without congregational participation (e.g., solos, anthems, or instrumental selections), between the music and the sermon, Scripture lessons, or prayers of the day. The church musicians’ ability to guide and teach the congregation in this way reinforces the notion that they contribute theologically to a worship service and not just experientially. In most churches, the musicians are not world-class performers but volun- teers or part-time workers, often over- worked and underappreciated. In many cases, they are not even affiliated with the denomination of the church they are serving—or are not Christians at all. It would seem unreasonable or unre- Detail of Opus 16, the organ in Goodson Chapel at Duke Divinity School alistic to add “musical theologian” to their duties, or to ask that before each This is only one example, and we the words is celebratory or plaintive, service they consider how their musical could doubtless think of dozens of other penitent or joyful. Furthermore, the decisions contribute to the theological musical decisions made by organists, musician may also have considered how formation of the congregation. contemporary ensemble members, or some textual element could be commu- This line of thought misses the gospel choir directors, decisions that nicated in the music, perhaps by chang- point. Musicians, whether or not they form the worship life of churches, a dis- ing a chord to highlight a particular are aware of it, are shaping congrega- tinctly theological activity. But the theo- word or by playing louder or softer on tions theologically through their music. logical role of the church musician is not a stanza. In other words, the musician is Congregations, even if they don’t explic- limited to purely musical activities. trying to communicate the theology of itly know it, are formed theologically For instance, consider what happens the song through the music itself. It is a by the music of their worship services, when a musician accompanies a song. complicated endeavor, and it requires just as they are formed by the sermon, She or he is, on the one hand, concerned the musician to be sensitive to the com- the prayers, and the sacraments. Vibrant with musical factors: how loud to play, munication of theological ideas. worship, therefore, requires that both how fast to play, whether the congrega- Some might protest that this level of church musicians and the congregations tion needs extra help in order to sing subtlety is too obscure for the average they serve become more sensitive to the well, and so on. On the other hand, person to discern during worship, but theological work of music. she or he hopefully has noticed textual the subtlety is actually another oppor- This might mean that a congregation, D u k e p ho t ogra hy issues, such as whether the mood of tunity for musicians to demonstrate for example, would pay for its musicians

Fall 2011 | 19 to receive additional training in playing ministry. Instead, whenever possible, the church can learn from music as for worship services, or even in theol- pastors and musicians should work it wrestles with its theology and its ogy. While formal seminary study is together in planning worship services practices. If music can have theological one way to do this, many groups offer so that musical and nonmusical ele- implications, then certainly musicians such training. The American Guild ments of the service can be theologi- can play theological roles. By acknowl- of Organists has regular continuing cally integrated. In such a cooperative edging these roles, churches move education opportunities. Hampton relationship, the pastor might be able to toward sustainable practices of University offers a one-week work- draw on discussions from worship plan- vibrant worship. This also changes the shop each summer for organists and ning for sermon illustrations or might discussion about worship music from choir directors, as does Westminster even incorporate an anthem, hymn, or What do we want? and What do we Choir College. Arcus also recom- instrumental selection into the sermon, like? to conversations about Who, as a mends denominational groups, like the perhaps with some guidance from the people, are we? and What do we need Fellowship of United Methodists in church musicians. This acknowledges to do to be formed as the people God Music and Worship Arts, which offer a the musician’s theological contribu- is calling us to be right now? To their broad variety of materials. tions and demonstrates pastoral respect delight and surprise, such churches, by A cooperative relationship between for the musician’s expertise, setting an the grace of God, may even discover the pastor and musicians is also vital. example for the wider congregation. musical answers to their most searching Too often pastors and musicians see Duke Divinity School professor theological questions. each other as threats or competition in Jeremy Begbie has written about what

Drawn Into Scripture: Arts and the Life of the Church Convocation & Pastors’ School: October 10–11, 2011

Join us next year for the 2012 Convocation & Pastors’ School Form/Reform Featuring Richard J. Mouw • Andy Crouch • Sarah Coakley October 15–16, 2012 • http://divinity.duke.edu/cp-school

20 | DIVINITY EVENTS AND NEWS : Theology & the Arts

David Roberts’ Lithographs Rare Mendelssohn Music About the Cover: The Saint John’s Collection Given to the Performance Sponsored by Duke Bible to Visit Duke Divinity School Divinity School Initiatives in Theology and the Arts

The cover image is Gospel of John Frontispiece In March 2011, a collection of David Roberts’ In April 2011, Duke Initiatives in Theology and the and Incipit from The Saint John’s Bible. This prints, many from the “Royal Subscription Edition” Arts and Duke Chapel co-sponsored a performance vast, illuminated manuscript has been commis- of the British artist’s famous lithograph series of Mendelssohn’s St. Paul. This rarely heard choral sioned by Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Sketches in the Holy Land and Syria, was acquired work sets texts mainly from the Acts of the Apostles Minn. Contemporary scribe and illuminator Donald for the Faculty Conference Room in the Divinity to music, carrying the listener through the drama Jackson works in the Scriptorium in Wales, where School’s Langford Building. of the church’s story. The piece was performed by he handwrites the The acquisition was made possible by a gift from the Duke Chapel Choir and Orchestra conducted by Bible and creates Marion and Wensell Grabarek of Durham, N.C. Rodney Wynkoop, the director of chapel music and illuminations in a Many of the works were produced during the university choral music. unique collaboration 1840s based on sketches Roberts made during a The concert was preceded by a panel discussion with other artists lengthy tour through Egypt, Nubia, Sinai, the Holy on the theme, “St. Paul’s Conversion: From Word and scribes. Land, Jordan, and Lebanon. When he returned to to Music.” Presenters included Dean Richard Hays, Gospel of John Britain, Roberts worked with acclaimed lithographer an international authority on the writings of Paul; Frontispiece and Louis Haghe Roberts to produce the Sketches in the Larry Todd, Duke University professor of music and Incipit includes words Holy Land and Syria and the Egypt & Nubia series. a world-renowned authority on Mendelssohn; and from Colossians Among the prints from the “Royal Subscription Siegwart Reichwald, associate professor of musicol- 1:15–20, which tran- Edition” of the Holy Land folio are “Jerusalem from ogy at Converse College and author of “The Genesis scend the shadows the South” and “Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre.” of Felix Mendelssohn’s Paulus.” and provide the link These works were printed on India paper and between the Christ colored under the artist’s supervision to resemble figure and the text watercolor paintings. opposite: “And Lived The folio collections became extremely popular in Among Us.” The Living Word steps from the dark- the United States and England, where they provided ness that recalls the chaos and nothingness of the a first glimpse of biblical sites previously known to Creation story and moves toward light and order. the public only by name. The enterprise was funded The texture behind the head of Christ is inspired through direct subscriptions and included subscrib- from an image taken from the Hubble Space ers Queen Victoria (Subscriber 1, to whom the work Telescope and lends a breathtaking cosmic charac- is dedicated), Charles Dickens, John Ruskin, and ter to the whole action taking place. To the left, an Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. intriguing keyhole recalls the tradition of locked and In 1996, Duke University Press published hinged manuscripts securing, protecting, and hold- Jerusalem and the Holy Land Rediscovered: The ing the “key” to the Word of God. Prints of David Roberts (1796–1864). The book, Duke Divinity School will incorporate illumina- with a preface by Dennis Campbell, Divinity School tions from The Saint John’s Bible into both worship dean from 1982 to 1997, and commentary by services and Tuesday morning prayer service during the late W.D. Davies, the George Washington Ivey Convocation & Pastors’ School. Displays of the Professor Emeritus at the Divinity School, repro- Bible will also be available for prayer and reflection duces in full color all 123 of Roberts’s lithographs in Goodson Chapel. For more information on this along with the unabridged text from 1842 by the example of the artistic interpretation of Scripture, Rev. George Croly LL.D. The book was printed from visit www.saintjohnsbible.org a set of lithographs acquired by the Duke University Museum of Art from a private collection dating to the 1850s.

“Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre”

Fall 2011 | 21 EVENTS AND NEWS : Theology & the Arts

Arts and the Life of the Church Is Theme of Convocation & Makoto Fujimura Visits Duke Duke–Cambridge Collaboration Pastors’ School 2011

This past spring, Duke Divinity School and the Duke A team of scholars from Duke Divinity School and Convocation & Pastors’ School is the signa- University Department of Art, Art History & Visual University of Cambridge are working together with ture fall event at Duke Divinity School, and the Studies (DAAV) hosted internationally acclaimed composer James MacMillan on a new St. Luke theme for 2011 is “Drawn Into Scripture: Arts visual artist Makoto Fujimura for a two-day Passion. On October 2, 2011, the Duke Chapel and the Life of the Church.” Featured speakers residency from March 31 to April 1, 2011. Choir will perform several of MacMillan’s anthems include Divinity School professor Jeremy Begbie, Fujimura spent the first day of his residency during the Sunday morning worship service. The novelist Marilynne Robinson, and pastor Lillian visiting the DAAV. He spoke to Mark Olson’s class composer will be present, and the public is wel- Daniel. Anthony Kelley, a jazz musician from Duke about his experi- come to attend. University’s music department, and the BLAK ence as an artist in The Duke–Cambridge team will be meeting with Ensemble will also participate. Those who attend New York City and MacMillan again during Holy Week 2012 (April are also able to choose from a wide variety of how to resist the 2–8) in Cambridge. Events scheduled for that week seminars that explore the way the arts and the commodification include a Maundy Thursday concert for two pianos church shape each other. Convocation & Pastors’ of art for financial in the Great Hall of King’s College, given by Jeremy School will be held October 10–11, 2011. profit. He also Begbie and London-based concert pianist Cordelia provided a techni- Williams. They will play Bach and the Visions de cal demonstration l’Amen by Olivier Messiaen. Commentary and of his style of visual art will be provided by members of Duke and painting, Japanese Cambridge universities. Nihonga, and The first performance of MacMillan’s St. Luke Fujimura Daniel Kelley Robinson a workshop for Passion is scheduled for April 13, 2014. The work Professor Raquel Salvatella de Prada’s class. will be available for general church use as well as On the second day of his residency, Fujimura concert performance. spent the day at the Divinity School. He addressed Jeremy Begbie’s Theology and the Arts class on how rigorous artistic technique can be combined with and informed by the richness of Christian tradition. At a lunchtime session, he described his firsthand experience of 9/11 and the resulting artistic collaborations that sought to “plant a seed of restoration for the downtown community.” On his final evening at Duke, Fujimura gave a public lecture on his latest project, “The Four Holy Gospels,” an illuminated edition of the four New Testament Gospels published in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible of 1611. He also spoke about how his Christian faith informed this project, exploring the interplay of art and faith in a broader contemporary context. Learn more about Fujimura in an interview with Faith & Leadership at www.faithandleadership.com/ qa/makoto-fujimura-the-function-art

King’s College, Cambridge

22 | DIVINITY Thomas Langford Chair Inaugural Art Fills the Halls of Lecture and Performance New Creation Arts Group Duke Divinity School

Jeremy Begbie is the New Creation Arts Group (NCAG) is made up of all Jo Bailey Wells, associate professor of the practice inaugural holder of the kinds of artists, painters, singers, dancers, textile of Christian ministry and Bible and the director Thomas A. Langford artists, woodworkers, storytellers, poets, instrumen- of Anglican studies, is leading a group charged Research Professorship talists, art lovers, and more. During the 2010–2011 with enhancing the space of Duke Divinity School in Theology. He teaches academic year they presented a rotating exhibit of with displays and exhibits of various styles of systematic theology, and student art, a mural with the Black Seminarians art. Projects include a partnership with Duke he specializes in the inter- Union, a concert series, social events including University’s Nasher Museum of Art to install six face between theology “crafternoons,” and the third annual Juried Arts modern American paintings in the Westbrook and the arts. His particu- Exhibit titled, “Places of Redemption.” building hallway, a display of rural church photog- lar research interest is the Sarah Howell D’12, one of the student leaders raphy sponsored by The Duke Endowment, and interplay between music of NCAG, said, “Art is not optional but a necessary collaborations with Duke’s Department of Art, Art and theology. component of engaging in worship and theology. History & Visual Studies to host visiting artists and On the evening of That is not to say that someone must be artistic in their work. In the coming months, the group plans Begbie February 23, 2012, he order to be faithful; it simply means that art and to install a series of portraits in the Langford build- will give his inaugural lecture, which will include a beauty—precisely because they are excessive and ing hallways, as well as update the Kilgo entrance live performance. The event is open to the public. wasteful by utilitarian standards—are some of the to the Divinity School. Jeremy Begbie will also deliver the Gray Lectures most important expressions of the love and grace as the keynote speaker at Convocation & Pastors’ of God.” School, October 10–11, 2011. To see one of his performance-lectures, visit Faith & Leadership at www.faithandleadership. com/multimedia/jeremy-begbie-theology-through- the-arts

This is a snapshot of events related to theology and the arts at Duke Divinity School. To keep up with all the news, events, and happenings at Duke Divinity School, see our website: www.divinity.duke.edu

Art from students in the New Creation Arts Group (clock- wise from left): “Francsican Sandwich, Breaking Bread,” by Tyler Mahoney D’12; “Lines in the Sand,” by Eric Prenshaw D’11; “Healing,” by Katherine Hester D’13

Fall 2011 | 23 book reviews

Mashup Religion: McClure walks the reader through Pop Music and Theological Invention what’s involved in writing, record- By John S. McClure ing, mixing, and producing pop music, Baylor University Press, 2011 especially in the electronic aspects. 250 pages, Paperback, $24.95 He does this in order to argue that as creating music is a complex event, so should be the speaking of theology Reviewed by Lester Ruth, today. McClure wants to show theolo- Research Professor of Christian Worship at Duke Divinity School gians how they might “foster new ideas through creative juxtapositions across As in real estate, so in author- tral analogy. As McClure explains, “a religious traditions, cultures, and tradi- ing a book: location is everything. And mashup is a song consisting entirely of tional disciplinary lines.” the book Mashup Religion: Pop Music parts of other songs,” with these bits The author applies the analogy most and Theological Invention shows how being juxtaposed clearly when deal- critical an author’s location can be. Its in the process In what respects does listen- ing with preach- author, John S. McClure, is the Charles of producing a ing, which is not ing to popular music influence G. Finney Professor of Preaching and final music piece surprising given his Worship at Vanderbilt Divinity School. with bits of music how people listen to sermons, academic discipline. This fact—so easily skimmed over on a created by other associate with preachers, and But McClure’s goal back cover—is vital for understanding artists. McClure place what they are hearing in is broader than this book, for Vanderbilt is in Nashville, describes the pro- merely dealing with church into a broader mix to a mecca for the production of popular cess of producing a creative way of music. Mashup Religion arises from pop music—from form a religious worldview? writing sermons. this location, enabling McClure to initial songwrit- He captures this reflect on how popular music is created ing to reception by fans—to suggest a breadth in the terms “inventing theol- and received as an analogy for what it parallel to what it could mean today ogy” and “inventors of theology.” It might mean both to express theology to express theology in dynamic ways, appears that he was trying to find a today and to have theology heard by cognizant of how people actually put bridge between his analogy of inventing people shaped by popular culture. together a religious worldview. of a piece of pop music on the one hand The book emerges from the author’s The analogy is both descriptive and and the process involved in coming to a broad experiences and interests, too. prescriptive. Sometimes McClure uses specific expression of theology across a McClure has been active in songwrit- it to describe the way things are. That range of vocations (he mentions at one ing for popular audiences as well as approach comes across most helpfully point theologians who are “academic, interested in the technologies of sound when assessing the cultural impact of journalistic, ministerial, artistic, or activ- recording, editing, mixing, and master- pop music on people today. And so the ist”) on the other. But to place “invent” ing. Combine the author’s location and book raises useful questions, especially and “theology” side by side remained musical pursuits with his broad aca- for preachers: in what way does listen- disconcerting. And I kept wishing that demic interests, and the reader gets a ing to popular music—and becoming the book applied its insights to the pro- book that is an interesting conversation a fan of certain performers—influence cess of being dynamically theological in between professional musicians and how people listen to sermons, associate corporate prayer. music producers, ethnomusicologists, with preachers, and place what they are At several points the book steps theologians, homileticians, and commu- hearing in church into a broader mix to out of the analogy to note more literal nication theorists. form a religious worldview? insights for speaking theologically The book’s title, referring to a McClure’s prescriptive use of the today. For example, three things were “mashup,” is derived from the world mashup analogy takes up more space particularly helpful. First, he discusses of pop music and points to the cen- in the book. In the first four chapters, how theologians release original work

24 | DIVINITY to be used by others in remixing. dynamics involved in creating eccle- serve to remind the reader not to Second, the appendix describes how to sial speech. And increased awareness become too enamored with the novelty lay out notes for a sermon, based on of the process of creation is helpful of the main analogy, which is easy to do visualizing multiple tracks in a sound in reconfiguring one’s approach. The if one is desperate for a panacea and recording. And third, he analyzes book’s analogy allows the reader to then forgets that there are other things what is required in sound systems and become aware of processes in which to consider beyond culture in order electronic support for preaching that one might be engaged but not previ- to express theology in high fidelity. requires multiple sensory dimensions. ously conscious of. Indeed, the “mashing up” the author Who might benefit from reading The book does not reflect on the intends for readers would necessarily Mashup Religion? Anyone who feels Triune God as the object of theology require the careful reader to contem- stuck in a rut in preaching, praying, and ask how this God’s nature should plate God along with the history of and speaking theologically within a affect how we speak theologically. That theological expression. congregation would benefit especially. omission does not sink the book (no The book increases awareness of the book can do everything), but it should

Reading, Desire, and the Eucharist Eucharist. For example, in Herbert’s in Early Modern Religious Poetry poems, Netzley finds persistent inquiry By Ryan Netzley into what it means to “take” some- University of Toronto Press, 2011 thing—how properly to take a book and 304 pages, Hardcover, $70.00 read it, how faithfully to take eucharis- tic bread and eat it. Herbert’s poetry is “an exercise in how to ... respond Reviewed by Lauren F. Winner, correctly to a God to whom [devotees] Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality at Duke Divinity School already have access,” and the proper mode of reception, finally, is a taking Can you want something— Eucharist. And yet, we feel and indeed that “refuses to fall back into passive- desire something—that you have? cultivate desire at the altar. In the aggressive oscillations of humility and Modernity’s idioms, perhaps espe- Eucharist, we want something that self-abnegation.” In a provocative riff on cially the idiom of psychoanalysis, is precisely not absent. Indeed, the that theme, Netzley reads Donne to say push us to answer that question in the Eucharist trains “devotees to respond that desire points not to our not being negative: desire presupposes lack. If to an already existing divine presence” sated; rather, desire testifies to “divine you want something (a couch, a house, (and perhaps therefore to notice the overabundance or plentitude.” I want a child), you must not have it; once you divine in settings where God is less God not because God is absent; I want have the couch, you may like it, or cher- obviously but still present). God because God is so superabundant ish it, or even esteem it, but—almost by The Eucharist’s reordering of modern that I keep wanting God past the point definition—you don’t want it. notions of desire is the presupposition of my own satiation. In his insightful and thought- of Netzley’s study. Through the lens of The eucharistic reframing of desire provoking investigation of 17th-century eucharistic desire, Netzley reads the and Netzley’s subsequent reading of religious poetry, literary scholar Ryan spiritual poetry of George Herbert, religious poetry would be quite enough Netzley suggests that the Eucharist Richard Crashaw, John Donne, and reward for one monograph. But Netzley reconfigures our assumptions about John Milton. In different ways, each of offers yet more. He notes numerous desire and lack. If there is any moment these four writers play with the con- resonances between the Eucharist and in the Christian life when we can say cept of desiring what you have—that is, poetry. Narrowly, in the context of early God is present, God is here, it is the the concept of properly receiving the modern theological debates, thinking

Fall 2011 | 25 book reviews

about the Eucharist and reading a poem fill a lack, and devotional practices gen- life, they make us more Christlike. required the same kind of inquiry; the erally are “intrinsically valuable,” not What if we set aside these ends and problem of eucharistic theology, and “mere means to a more important end.” began to imagine devotional exercise the problem of any encounter with While Netzley’s primary audience not as instruments but as ends in a poem, was the proper interpreta- includes fellow scholars of 17th-century themselves, as divinely purposeless? tion of signs. More broadly, if God is literature, Reading, Desire, and the And then there is what Netzley has present through the Eucharist in Early to say about love. In his chapter on Eucharist, is God not “ Loving God, it turns out, Modern Religious Herbert, Netzley writes that the best also somehow made is hard precisely because Poetry has implica- kind of “taking” is “when one tastes, present by eucharistic it does not promise the tions that go far desires, and reads without treating verse? Is reading not, beyond any one any of these activities as a struggle, then, an exercise of reassuring logic of academic subfield. when, instead, one freely takes with- divine encounter, of accomplishment and failure For the church, one out presuming, or fearing, that one divine presence? that attends any and implication is this: takes away.” Making the same point In the context of Netzley’s model of more sharply in the book’s introduc- all accounts of desire and those resonances, devotional prac- tion, Netzley writes, “Loving God, it Netzley turns his reading that characterize tice is in tension turns out, is hard precisely because it attention to the topic them as work.” with the language does not promise the reassuring logic of devotional exercise: many 21st-century of accomplishment and failure that both devotional practices writ large, Protestants use to explain our recent attends any and all accounts of desire and also the specific practice of read- “recovery” of spiritual practices and and reading that characterize them as ing. Netzley argues for the holy point- devotional exercises (fasting, fixed- work.” That is not merely a statement lessness—the aimlessness—of both hour prayer, etc.). We speak of these about 17th-century poetry. It is also a the Eucharist and reading. Neither the practices as having many salutary statement about the character of life as Eucharist nor reading are things we ends and purposes: they connect us a disciple of Jesus Christ. undertake as instruments for some pur- with God, they prepare us for the pose. We do not receive the Eucharist to challenging moments of our spiritual

New Books from Duke Divinity Faculty

American Religion: Contemporary Trends By Mark Chaves, Professor of Sociology, Religion, and Divinity Princeton University Press, 2011 160 pages, Hardcover, $22.95

Most Americans say they believe in God, and more than a third say they attend religious services every week. Yet studies show that people do not really go to church as often as they claim, and it is not always clear what they mean when they tell pollsters they believe in God or pray. American Religion pres- ents the best and most up-to-date information about religious trends in the United States in a succinct and accessible manner. This sourcebook provides essential information about key developments in American religion since 1972, and is the first major resource of its kind to appear in more than two decades.

26 | DIVINITY Song of Songs: Brazos place of inspiration and orientation, the their faith in the God of the covenant Theological Commentary importance of saying grace, and whether and answering state terror with radical on the Bible or not there will be eating in heaven. visions of hope. By Paul Griffiths, Warren Professor of Food and Faith demonstrates that eat- Catholic Theology ing is of profound economic, moral, and Nature and Altering It Brazos Press, 2011 theological significance. By Allen Verhey, 240 pages, Hardcover, $32.99 Professor of Christian Ethics Paul Griffiths’ Ephesians: Eerdmans, 2011 theological exegesis of A Theological Commentary 160 pages, Paperback, $15.00 the Song of Songs is a By Allen Verhey, Professor of Christian This timely book welcome addition to the Ethics, and Joe Harvard examines some of the well-received Brazos Westminster John Knox Press, 2011 cultural myths that have Theological Commentary 312 pages, Hardcover, $35.00 shaped the ways in which on the Bible. This commentary, like This commentary Western culture perceives each in the series, is designed to serve on Ephesians, part of “nature,” and then pres- the church—providing a rich resource the WJK Belief Series, ents the biblical narrative as an alter- for preachers, teachers, students, and was written with Joe native story that can shape a different study groups—and demonstrate the Harvard, the pastor of ethos toward “nature and altering it.” continuing intellectual and practical First Presbyterian Church viability of theological interpretation of in Durham, N.C. Living Without Enemies: the Bible. Being Present in the Apocalypse Against Empire: Midst of Violence Food and Faith: Theologies of Resistance By Samuel Wells, Dean of Duke Chapel A Theology of Eating in Early Judaism and Research Professor of Christian By Norman Wirzba, Research Professor By Anathea Portier-Young, Ethics, and Marcia A. Owen of Theology, Ecology, and Rural Life Associate Professor of Old Testament InterVarsity Press, 2011 Cambridge University Press, 2011 Eerdmans, 2011 144 pages, Paperback, $12.00 264 pages, Paperback, $24.99 486 pages, Hardcover, $50.00 Living Without This book provides a In this fresh and Enemies tells the story comprehensive theologi- daring take on ancient of a community’s jour- cal framework for assess- apocalyptic books, ney through four differ- ing eating’s significance, Portier-Young reconstructs ent dimensions of social employing a Trinitarian the historical events and engagement in response theological lens to evaluate key players from the year to violence. After attempts to seek food production and consumption prac- 167 B.C.E., a period of intense per- legislative solutions led nowhere, a tices as they are being worked out in secution for the people of Judea as religious coalition began holding prayer today’s industrial food systems. Norman Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to vigils for local victims of gun violence. Wirzba combines the tools of ecological, eradicate traditional Jewish religious It was then that Owen discovered agrarian, cultural, biblical, and theologi- practices. Her sophisticated treatment the beauty of simply being present. cal analyses to draw a picture of eating of resistance in early Judaism builds on Through her friendships with both vic- that cares for creatures and that honors a solid contextual foundation, argu- tims and offenders, Owen learned that God. Unlike books that focus on veg- ing that the first Jewish apocalypses “being with” was precisely the opposite etarianism or food distribution as the key emerged as a literature of resistance of violence—it was love. And to truly theological matters, this book broadens to Hellenistic imperial rule. In particu- love others as God loves us meant liv- the scope to include discussions on the lar, Portier-Young contends, the book ing without enemies and taking small sacramental character of eating, eat- of Daniel, the Apocalypse of Weeks, steps toward reconciliation. Owen and ing’s ecological and social contexts, the and the Book of Dreams were written Wells offer deep insights into what it meaning of death and sacrifice as they to supply an oppressed people with takes to overcome powerlessness, relate to eating, the Eucharist as the a potent antidote to the destructive transcend fear, and engage in radical propaganda of the empire—renewing acceptance in our dangerous world.

Fall 2011 | 27 gifts

The Divinity Annual Fund reached a record level of support for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011. Some 2,072 donors contributed $610,306, which will be used entirely for student financial aid in the new academic year.

The Stewardship Foundation The Bonnie Jones Shinneman Thanks to a $35,000 contribution from of Tacoma,Wash., has awarded grants Fund has been established with a Marion and Wensell Grabarek to the Center for Reconciliation in the gift of $50,000 from Susan Pendleton of Durham, N.C., the Divinity School amount of $407,411 over three years Jones D’83 and L. Gregory Jones has purchased a collection of royal to fund an International Leadership D’85, G’88 of Chapel Hill, N.C., other subscription edition lithographs of Institute, to underwrite the African Jones family members, and friends to the Holy Land from the 1840s by the Great Lakes Initiative, and to sup- honor Mrs. Shinneman—wife of the renowned British artist, David Roberts. port the ongoing CFR programs in the late Divinity School Dean Jameson Their gift also enabled the renovation Divinity School. Part of the funding Jones, mother of four including former and lighting of the Divinity Faculty is a challenge-match opportunity to Dean L. Gregory Jones and United Conference Room where the Roberts build additional support. Methodist Bishop Scott J. Jones, materials are on permanent display. and grandmother of five including a A total of $234,082 in matching funds Divinity School graduate and a cur- Additional contributions of $20,000 from the Mary G. and Donald rent student—celebrating her lifelong or more to scholarship endowments H. Stange Financial Aid work with missions and music. Mrs. already established and fully funded Initiative Challenge Fund Shinneman resides in Westminster, in previous years continue to secured has been added recently to quali- Colo., with her husband, Dean. 1:2 matching funds through a grant fied scholarships. Those which have from the Arthur Vining Davis benefited include the William and Generous commitments of $45,000 Foundations of Jacksonville, Patsy Willimon Scholarship, the each from Sue and Neil Fla. The most recent are the Sally Reconciliation Scholarship, and the Williams T’58, L’61, of Atlanta, McWhorter Spears and Marshall York Family Scholarship. Ga., and from Jane and Charles Turner Scholarship, which benefited Royce of Greenwich, Conn., are from a generous bequest from Mrs. A grant in the amount of $163,800 providing vital scholarship assistance Spears, and the Jones-Pickens Family from an anonymous fund man- for Divinity Th.D. students working Scholarship given by Susan Pickens aged by the Houston Jewish in Theology and the Arts with Jeremy Jones WC’52 and L. Merritt Jones Community Foundation Begbie, the Thomas A. Langford T’52 of Raleigh, N.C . More matching will support the Wise Women and Research Professor of Theology. funds remain to be claimed. Community Health Project in South Sudan under the leadership of Peter J. Morris M.D. D’07. This is related “ These very thoughtful gifts are deeply appreciated,” noted Dean to several Divinity School programs Richard Hays,“as graduates and friends help to sustain our in partnership with the Episcopal Church of Sudan. mission of preparing outstanding leadership for the church. Duke Divinity School depends upon outright contributions, particularly for the Divinity Annual Fund for student scholarships, as well as expendable endowment income to undergird the highest quality students, faculty, staff, and programs.”

28 | DIVINITY Faculty & Staff NOtes

Imam Abdullah T. Antepli gave (Nashville, Tenn.), and Christ Church, Bishop’s Dashboard” appeared in the a series of lectures on Greenwich, Conn. He led “The Sound May 31 issue of Christian Century. Christian-Muslim rela- of Hope,” a study day organized by tions, Islam and Muslims the Anglican Episcopal House of Charles Campbell lectured in America, and religious Studies at Duke, and presented a paper on “Preaching Lent and Easter” at peacemaking and interfaith dialogue in entitled “The Future of Theology Wartburg Theological Seminary in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Turkey. Amidst the Arts: Why Reformed Dubuque, Iowa. He preached in a He was the keynote speaker for the Protestants Need to Get Over Their Lenten series at First UMC in Oak annual Hartford Prayer Breakfast Embarrassment” as part of the Faith Ridge, Tenn., and at Duke Divinity in Hartford, Conn., and a featured and Learning Lecture Series at School’s Closing Convocation, Kirk speaker at the Wild Goose Festival in Wheaton College, Ill. In May he gave a of Kildare Presbyterian Church in Shakori Hills, N.C. solo piano recital at Wolfson College, Cary, N.C., and Christ UMC in Chapel Cambridge, England, and was key- Hill, N.C. He traveled to Uppsala, Betsy Barton, Susan Dunlap, note speaker at a Music and Worship Sweden, to teach and preach at the and Jeanne Twohig (all from the Foundation residential weekend. Swedish Preaching Program and taught Institute on Care at the End of Life) a D.Min. course for the Association facilitated two workshops in April for Jason Byassee spoke on of Theological Schools in Chicago, pastors and lay members at the invita- Christology and allegory in Augustine Ill. He served as plenary speaker at tion of the Center for Congregations at a class on spirituality at Beeson the Preaching Pastors’ Retreat of the in Indiana. All participants received a Divinity School at Samford University Sacramento Presbytery in Zephir copy of ICEOL’s book, The Unbroken and on the renewal of the small church Cove, Nev., and taught a Sunday Circle: A Toolkit for Congregations at a conference in Perrysburg, Ohio, school class at Hudson Memorial Around Illness, End of Life and Grief. for the Detroit and Covenant synods Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, N.C. of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Jeremy Begbie published “The He preached at Garden City United Kenneth Carder was named Shape of Things to Come? Wright Methodist Church in Savannah, Ga., bishop in residence and Ruth W. and Amidst Emerging Ecclesiologies,” and at Center United Methodist A. Morris Williams Professor Emeritus. in Jesus, Paul and the People of God: A Church in Snow Camp, N.C. He was He delivered the baccalaureate sermon Theological Dialogue with N.T. Wright the diocesan speaker for the Episcopal at Emory and Henry College and (IVP Academic). His review article Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, and preached as part of the Great Preacher on John Butt’s Bach’s Dialogue with gave the address “Heaven on Earth?: Series at the Proctor Institute, which is Modernity: Perspectives on the Passions The Future of Spiritual Interpretation” sponsored by the Children’s Defense (entitled “Pressing at the Boundaries at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. Fund and held each year at the Alex of Modernity”) appeared in the Byassee published numerous articles: Haley Farm in Clinton, Tenn. He summer issue of Christian Scholar’s “Joining the Communion of Saints and preached at Munsey Memorial UMC Review (40.4, 2011). The June 19 issue Writing the Unwritable Word” (March in Johnson City, Tenn., as part of the of Living Church magazine featured 7), for The Other Journal; “Leighton Care for Creation celebration, and at “Minister of Music: An Interview with Ford: Leadership Like an Aspen Tree” Fairhaven UMC in Gaithersburg, Md., Jeremy Begbie.” During the spring, (April 11) and “An Argument in Stone” a racially diverse church formed by a Begbie lectured with live piano per- (May 24), at Faith & Leadership; merger when he was its student pastor formance at a variety of churches and “The Logic of Online Community” in the 1960s. He also lectured on restor- institutions across the United States, (June 16), a blog post on new media ative justice and prison ministry at the including Trinity School for Ministry for Sojourners; and “Lessons for Illinois Great Rivers Conference. (Ambridge, Penn.), Southeastern Large Churches” (June 16), in United Baptist Theological Seminary (Wake Methodist Reporter. In addition to Jackson Carroll recently pub- Forest, N.C.), Belmont University several book reviews, his article “The lished a revised edition of his book

Fall 2011 | 29 Faculty & Staff NOtes

As One with Authority: Reflective presented her research on “Imitation, of marriage—particularly the Church’s Leadership in Ministry (Cascade). Participation, and the Transformation of stance toward the marriage laws of sec- The book focuses on the meaning Identity in Paul’s Practical Theology” to ular states—sponsored by the Institute and exercise of pastoral authority and the Psychology and Religion Research on Religion and Public Life. On March leadership in today’s challenging envi- Group at the University of Cambridge. 19 he spoke at Baylor University in ronment, and it introduces new case In June she spoke on “Resurrection” Waco, Texas, as part of the Wilken studies from pastors, including several for the Duke Youth Academy. In July Colloquium, a project of the Center Duke Divinity graduates. Eastman assumed the responsibility of for Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue, on directing the Th.D. program of Duke “Augustine and the Saeculum,” and Stephen Chapman published “The Divinity School. later addressed Augustine’s signifi- Canon Debate: What It Is and Why It cance for contemporary legal thought Matters,” in the Journal of Theological James Efird was given a and practice at the sixth annual meet- Interpretation (4.2, Spring 2010). From Distinguished Alum Award from ing of the Catholic Legal Scholars April 30 to May 7 he traveled with a Louisville Presbyterian Theological Conference, convened May 18 at the group from Duke Divinity School to Seminary on May 3. University of Oklahoma’s College Ahuachapán, El Salvador, where he of Law in Norman, Okla. Griffiths taught a one-week introduction to the Mary McClintock Fulkerson also presented “How Do the Virtues Old Testament for Methodist pastors published “Forward,” in Shape Intellectual Life at Catholic from throughout Central America. On Ethnography as Christian Universities Today?” at a sympo- May 23 he spoke on “The Vocation of Theology and Ethics sium on intellect and virtue held at a Baptist Scholar” at Gardner-Webb (Continuum). She spoke the Catholic University of America University during the annual meet- on the Pauli Murray Project for in Washington, D.C., in April and ing of the National Association of the Public Allies Group at North participated in the Colossian Forum Baptist Professors of Religion. June Carolina Central University and on religion and science in Chicago, 4–5 he led the annual retreat for the participated in “Good News at the Ill., in June. He published “Tears and Congregation at Duke Chapel, with Grassroots: A New Conversation on Weeping: An Augustinian View,” remarks entitled “All Creatures Great Theology & Community Organizing” in Faith & Philosophy (28.1, 2011), and Small: Animals and God’s Good at the Center for Theological and “The Religious Alien,” in Oxford News for Us.” Inquiry in Princeton, N.J. She pre- Handbook to Religious Diversity sented “Ecclesiology and Exclusion: (Oxford University Press). In June his Mark Chaves gave the plenary Eucharist” at the Ecclesiological theological commentary on the Song of address, “Trends in American Religion,” Investigations Conference at the Songs was published by Brazos Press. at the Annual Convention of the University of Dayton and “On Places Episcopal Diocese of Maryland in of Redemption: Theology for a Worldly Emmanuel Katongole pub- Baltimore in May 2011. His book Church” at the Spring Institute for lished “Threatened with Resurrection: American Religion: Contemporary Lived Theology at the University of Martyrdom and Reconciliation in Trends was published in August by Virginia. She has been accepted for the World Church,” in Witness of the Princeton University Press. membership in the International Body: The Past, Present, and Future of Association of Practical Theology Christian Martyrdom (Eerdmans). He Susan Eastman presented a paper and as a participant in “The Moral presented “Africa Is Not Destined to on the Lord’s Prayer for the 11th Challenge of Poverty,” a faculty Die? The Raising of Lazarus and the Building Bridges Seminar for Muslim- project funded by the Kenan Institute Sites for Theological Exploration and Christian Dialogue, convened by the for Ethics at Duke University. Engagement” at St. Mary’s National Archbishop of Canterbury in Doha, Seminary in Kampala, Uganda, and Qatar, May 16–19. The topic of the Paul Griffiths presented in New served on the “Religion, Politics and seminar was “Prayer: Christian and York City in December at a colloquy Global Development” panel for the Muslim Perspectives.” In May she also on the state of the Catholic doctrine Duke Alumni Association conference,

30 | DIVINITY “A World Together,” in February. He historiography at the University of and the General Board of Higher gave the Capps Lecture, “Daring to North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lischer Education and Ministry (GBHEM) Invent the Future of Africa: Politics, preached at the ordination of Divinity May 15–18 in Los Angeles, Calif. She Modernity and the Madness of graduates Ann Sundberg, in Durham, presented the keynote address for the Christian Faith,” at the University of N.C., and Kimberly Carlson, in Kendall South Carolina Annual Conference Virginia. In April Katongole pre- Park, N.J. He preached the 50th anni- African American Clergywomen’s sented “Performing Catholicity: versary sermon at Prince of Peace Luncheon and the Southwest Texas Archbishop John Baptist Odama and Lutheran Church in Virginia Beach, a Annual Conference Methodist the Politics of Baptism in Northern congregation he served from 1974 to Renewal Movement Breakfast, and Uganda” as the opening address for 1979. This summer he taught a week- conducted a video seminar for the DePaul University’s Center for World long course, “Writing and the Pastoral West Michigan Annual Conference. Catholicism and gave “Justice and Life,” at the Center for Ecumenical She was the World Methodist Peace: Hopes That Are the Wrong Size and Cultural Research at Saint John’s Conference Bible Study Leader at for This World” as the John Woolman University, Collegeville, Minn. “For the Healing of the Nations,” Lecture at George Fox University. held in Durban, South Africa. Moore He also preached “Odd Bodies” at Randy Maddox published “The preached during chapel services at Capital Christian Fellowship Church in Rule of Christian Faith, Practice, and Asbury University (Wilmore, Ky.) Washington, D.C. Hope: John Wesley on the Bible,” in and Seattle Pacific University, and at Methodist Review (2011), online at Point Loma Community Presbyterian Andrew Keck was elected vice www.methodistreview.org. This is a Church in San Diego, Calif., First Free president of the American Theological longer version of the keynote lecture, Methodist Church in Seattle, Wash., Library Association’s board of direc- “John Wesley on the Bible,” that he and Duke University Chapel. She pub- tors. He also gave a paper at the ATLA delivered at the 2011 Wesley Center lished “Preaching: Telling the Story in Annual Conference in Chicago entitled Conference at Northwest Nazarene a Sound-Bite Culture,” in Generation “Second Harvest—Digitizing Church University in Nampa, Idaho, on Rising (Abingdon Press). and Denominational Materials.” Feb. 11. On March 28 he delivered a lecture, “‘Honoring Conference’: Chris Rice was the keynote speaker Richard Lischer was recently Wesleyan Reflection on the Dynamics at the Charlotte District Leadership named associate dean for faculty of Theological Reflection,” at a Conference of the United Methodist development in the Divinity School. conference in Atlanta, Ga., honor- Church, which addressed the theme He lectured at Emmanuel Lutheran ing Russell Richey’s retirement from “Richness of Reconciliation: The Joy Church in Naples, Fla., on the legacy of Candler School of Theology at of Life in God’s Kingdom.” In March Martin Luther King Jr. and preached Emory University. he led a Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope in Duke Chapel on the anniversary of in Baltimore, Md., in association with King’s birth. He appeared on Duke’s Joy Moore participated in New Song Community Church and interactive online program, “Office “Preparing Leaders Urban Ministries, and another in Hours,” with the president of the North for the Church in the Richmond, Va., with the Richmond Carolina chapter of the NAACP (and 21st Century,” the National Hill retreat center and the Hope in Divinity graduate), William Barber. He Hispanic/Latino(a) the Cities program. During the Duke gave two lectures on religious autobi- Leadership Development Consultation Summer Institute he hosted a gath- ography at Christ Episcopal Church, held April 11–13 at the Perkins School ering of Christian leaders from 11 Raleigh, N.C., and two on the pas- of Theology in Dallas, Texas, and countries to discuss forming a Global sion and resurrection of Christ—“The “Facing the Future: Cross-Racial/ Reconciliation Network. Rice also Art of Losing” and “The Priority of Cross-Cultural Appointments in a preached the closing sermon at the Hope”—at the Episcopal Retreat Global Church,” a conference jointly 2011 Reunion of Korea Missionaries, Center in Kanuga, N.C. He also taught convened by the General Commission Missionary Kids, and Friends at Lake a senior seminar class in religion and on Religion and Race (GCORR) Junalaska, N.C.

Fall 2011 | 31 Faculty & Staff NOtes

Lester Ruth has been appointed Biblical and Theological Roots” Ind., and spoke on “Life on research professor of Christian worship. with Willie Jennings at St. God’s Farm” at the Faith His areas of expertise include the his- Luke’s UMC, Gethsemane Campus, and Rural Life: Down to tory of Christian worship (particularly in Houston, Texas. Earth Ministry conference early Methodism), creativity with the at Mount Olive College, N.C. His book sacraments, and contemporary worship. Sam Wells published Living Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating Without Enemies: Being Present in (Cambridge University Press) was Allen Verhey has published two the Midst of Violence (InterVarsity released in June. books recently: Nature and Altering Press) with Marcia A. Owen. He lec- It (Eerdmans) and Ephesians: A tured at Tennessee Wesleyan College Luba Zakharov was a panelist Theological Commentary (Westminster and Greenville College and gave in the session “Where Any Two Are John Knox), co-authored with Joe the Cammack Lectures at Campbell Gathered: The Idea of Conferencing Harvard, pastor of First Presbyterian University. He led the Springtide in Theological Librarianship” and Church in Durham, N.C. Retreat for the Episcopal Diocese participated in the planning of the ses- of North Carolina and preached sion “Re-Envisioning the Theological Laceye Warner presented three sermons at the Virginia UMC Library: New Models of Service” for “Women, Witness, and Education in Conference. In England he preached the Public Services Interest Group the Wesleyan/Methodist at Ely Cathedral, lectured to the clergy at the American Theological Library Tradition” at Greensboro of Worcester Diocese, preached at the Association conference in Chicago, College, N.C., and partici- Chichester Cathedral at the launch Ill. She also contributed an inter- pated in the “UM Global of the Chichester Arts Festival, and view, “Lee Smith: A Lifetime of Theological Education Summit” at spoke at the Renewing Preaching Paying Attention” (Feb. 1), to Faith & Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. conference of the United Reformed Leadership and presented “How Art She gave the keynote, “Sustaining Church in Cambridge. Gives Theology a Voice” to the Adult Ministry through Nurturing Voca- Forum of St. Matthew’s Episcopal tion,” at a United Methodist District Norman Wirzba delivered Church in Hillsborough, N.C. Event in Lake Louise, Mich., and co- the Parry Lectures at Plymouth presented “The Beloved Community: Congregational Church in Fort Wayne,

class NOtes

s s Charles M. Smith T’62, D’65 has 50 60 been presented the Distinguished Service Award George C. Megill D’52 is in his 17th S T Kimbrough Jr. D’62 was guest by the North Carolina Council of Churches, cele- year of work with the Kairos Prison Ministry at lecturer for the theological forum at Christ brating his commitment to social justice and ecu- Central Prison in Raleigh, N.C. He was a long- Church Cathedral in Nashville, Tenn., on the menism. He is a retired pastor and administrator time United Methodist missionary in Brazil. theme of his new book, The Lyrical Theology with the North Carolina Conference of the United of Charles Wesley: A Reader (Cascade Books, Methodist Church and a Duke University trustee M. Jolee Fritz Robinson D’54 2011). He also presented his musical drama, emeritus now residing in Washington, N.C. has retired from her work as a social work “Sweet Singer,” on the life of Wesley; he was supervisor in foster care in Silver Spring, Md. accompanied by his son, Timothy E. Donald D. Davis D’69 of Ocracoke, She previously worked with the American Friends Kimbrough T’79, D’83, who is dean N.C., has published Tales from a Free-Range Service Committee. of the Cathedral. Childhood (J.F. Blair Publisher, 2011). He is a

32 | DIVINITY CLASS NOTES

professional storyteller with appearances over the James C. Howell D’79, G’84 is s years on National Public Radio, CNN, and Nightline. the author of The Beauty of the Word: The 90 Challenge and Wonder of Preaching (Westminster W. Mark Ralls D’91 is the new senior s John Knox Press, 2011). He is the senior minister at Centenary United Methodist Church 70 pastor at Myers Park United Methodist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. He was previously pas- Charles W. Brockwell G’71 in Charlotte, N.C. His and Lisa’s daughter, tor at Asbury First United Methodist Church in of Louisville, Ky., was a delegate to the World Sarah Stockton Howell T’08, a Rochester, N.Y. Methodist Conference in Durban, South Africa, singer and songwriter, is a current Divinity student. in August 2011. Marjorie B. “Muff” Carr D’92 s was recently elected to the vestry at Christ James G. Mentzer G’72, D’99 80 Episcopal Church in Raleigh, N.C. She is is the new president of the United Methodist J. David Dawson D’82 is the new a pediatrician. Foundation of New England based in Hampstead, president of Earlham College in Richmond, Ind. N.H. A professional financial planner, Jim was pre- He was a professor of religion and social respon- Beth N. Kreitzer G’94, G’00 writes viously the director of planned giving for the United sibility and provost at Haverford College (Penn.) an iPhone application titled “Faith & Action: Daily Methodist Foundation in Garner, N.C. He has been since 1987. Inspiration and Deeds” for Woman’s Day maga- a frequent writer for Divinity magazine. zine. She teaches theology and history at Belmont Gilbert W. Fonger D’82 has been Abbey College in Belmont, N.C. Daniel H. Ottaviano D’76, the pas- named president and chief executive officer of tor of Kelley Presbyterian Church in McDonough, Marklund, a nonprofit healthcare organization Karen Koons Hayden D’96 of Ga., and a certified U.S. Professional Tennis based in Geneva, Ill., providing quality care for Columbia, Mo., is the director of pastoral excel- Association instructor, has launched a community individuals who have severe and profound devel- lence for the Missouri Conference of the United outreach program that combines beginners’ ten- opmental disabilities. Methodist Church. nis clinics, Bible lessons, and youth activities. Priscilla Pope Levison D’83 Cathy Smith Gilliard D’97 is Richard A. “Dick” Daily D’78 and her husband, John R. Levison the new senior minister at Park Avenue United retired after 36 years in United Methodist parish G’85, were keynote speakers on “The Bible and Methodist Church, New York, N.Y. She is a ministry and now working as a project consul- Feminism” for the Engendered Lives Symposium member of the National Alumni Council for the tant with Lynchburg Stained Glass Studio and at Trinity Western University’s Gender Studies Divinity School. as president of the Haiti Mission Foundation. He Institute in late March 2010. They serve on the is also still coaching track. His wife, Alicia faculty at Seattle Pacific University. Michael C. Nation D’97, an White Daily T’78, is a professional artist/ Episcopal priest, has been appointed by the potter. They reside on a 54-acre horse farm in Michael D. Kurtz D’84 recently Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Goode, Va. authored his second book, Crossings: Memoirs of Jersey (SCI) as chaplain for the Lower Mississippi a Mountain Medical Doctor (iUniverse, 2010). The River and the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway. Ronald R. “Ron” Jones D’78 book chronicles his recently deceased father’s Founded in 1834, SCI ministers to personal, and his wife, Lois, have been re-elected as nearly 50 years of medical service among the professional, and spiritual needs of mariners co-presidents of ARMS, the Association of people of the Appalachian mountains. Michael is around the world. Retired Ministers and Spouses, in the Virginia a United Methodist pastor in Oak Ridge, N.C. Conference of the United Methodist Church. They Andrew M. Bell T’98, D’08 returned live in White Stone, Va. Mark L. Barden D’88 was named in mid-2009 from a deployment to Afghanistan Communicator of the Year by the United where he served as an intelligence officer with Thomas A. “Andy” Langford Methodist Association of Communicators at their the U.S. Special Forces. He is now a Ph.D. III D’78 and his wife, Sally Overby annual meeting in San Francisco in October student in political science at Duke. His wife, 2010. He directs communications for the Western Langford D’79, are the authors of Living Betsy Jordan-Bell T’99, is manag- North Carolina Conference based in Charlotte. as United Methodist Christians: Our Story, Our ing an international public health research project He also published a 16-page photo spread in Beliefs, Our Lives (Abingdon Press, 2011). He is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Catherine Ritch Guess’s book, Because He Lives a pastor in Concord, N.C., and she is superinten- They reside in Durham, N.C. (CRM Books, 2010), about a Cambodian couple dent of the Salisbury District. who fled the Khmer Rouge regime and returned years later as missionaries.

Fall 2011 | 33 class NOtes

Albert D. Mosley D’98 is the new Carmen T. Skaggs D’00 of tenure-track faculty position in philosophy and president and dean of Gammon Theological Columbus, Ga., has published Overtones of religion at Clemson University in South Carolina. Seminary, a United Methodist institutional partner Opera in American Literature from Whitman of the Interdenominational Theological Center in to Wharton (Louisiana State University Press, Richard B. McKinley D’05 of Atlanta, Ga. He was previously the university chap- 2010), a review of a transformational time on Scituate, Mass., has been named the new lain at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. the literary landscape. She teaches English at director of congregational development for Columbus State University. the New England Conference of the United James Davison “Jason” Methodist Church. Byassee D’99, G’05 is the new senior Donna Claycomb Sokol D’00 minister at Boone United Methodist Church in has been appointed to the board of trustees of Chad Pullins D’07 and his wife, Boone, N.C. His wife, Jaylynn Warren the Fund for Theological Education, an organiza- Amanda, are the parents of Charles Grayson Byassee D’01, is the pastor of the nearby tion dedicated to supporting a new generation Pullins who was born April 8, 2011. The Pullins Bethelview and Valle Crucis United Methodist of Christian leaders. She is the senior pastor of reside in Fayetteville, N.C., where Chad is a Church parishes. Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in United Methodist pastor. Washington, D.C., and former director of admis- John S. “Jack” Mewborne D’99 sions at Duke Divinity School. Sarah F. Arthur D’09 has published and his wife, Rebecca Cottingham, announce the At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer in Feb. 23, 2011, birth of John Everett Mewborne. Teressa McConnell Sivers Ordinary Time (Paraclete Press, 2011). She is the Jack is vice president for operations at Sports D’01, pastor of First United Methodist Church, author of six other books. She and her husband, Source Orthopedics in Apex, N.C. Oneonta, N.Y., was featured in The Daily Star Thomas R. Arthur D’08, are the newspaper for organizing a new ministry to parents of Micah John. Tom is the pastor of 00s the homeless. Sycamore Creek Church in Lansing, Mich. D. Stephen Lewis Jr. D’00 is the Ken Walden D’02, pastor of First United Ann E. Sundberg D’09 was ordained president-elect of the Fund for Theological Methodist Church, Lakewood, Calif., has earned in February 2011 as a pastor in the Evangelical Education, a national, ecumenical organization the Ph.D. in practical theology with an empha- Lutheran Church in America and called to serve dedicated to identifying and supporting a new sis on pastoral care and counseling from the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Chadron, Neb. generation of talented, diverse Christian leaders Claremont School of Theology. He is an Air Force who renew the church and change the world chaplain reservist. Jessica W. Wong D’09 has been through vocations in pastoral ministry, theologi- selected to receive a 2011 Fund for Theological cal scholarship, and community service. A former Lanecia A. Rouse D’03 is manager Education (FTE) North American Doctoral banker and Baptist pastor, Stephen has served of the Art Project, Houston, which is an art thera- Fellowship, a competitive national award support- as a program officer with FTE since 2003. A peutic venture that works with homeless and ing scholars from underrepresented racial/ethnic member of the Divinity School Board of Visitors, transitional persons empowering them to become groups who plan to teach in theological schools. Stephen and his wife, Tamu, and their two daugh- hope-filled painters and artisans. She is also the She is currently enrolled in the religion Ph.D. ters reside in Alpharetta, Ga. missions pastor of St. John’s United Methodist program at Duke, concentrating in theology. Church working with The Bread of Life, Inc. She Thomas P. Perkins D’00, his wife, was formerly at Belmont United Methodist Church Got News? STAY IN TOUCH! Caroline, and their daughter, Veronica Jane, are in Nashville, Tenn. You can e-mail [email protected], celebrating the arrival of Delia Shannon Perkins or go online at www.divinity.duke.edu/ Tracey Walston D’04 married on April 7, 2011. The Perkins reside in Macon, update to submit class notes or update Dan Daniel on Dec. 26, 2010. Tracey Walston Ga., where Tommy is an associate minister at your information. Mulberry Street United Methodist Church. Proud Daniel is the director of congregational uncle and aunt are Glenn Kinken D’95 ministries at White Memorial Presbyterian and Mary Perkins Kinken D’95, Church in Raleigh, N.C. also United Methodist clergy. Benjamin L. White D’04 has earned the Ph.D. in religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and accepted a

34 | DIVINITY

deaths

Henry A. Bizzell Jr. T’49, D’52 H. Randolph Kidd Jr. D’63 died He served as a parish priest in North Carolina, died Feb. 21, 2011, in Newton Grove, N.C. July 5, 2010, in Huntington, W.Va. He served Tanzania, and Australia before his episcopal He was a faithful pastor for more than 40 churches across the West Virginia United tenure. He is survived by two daughters. years, serving churches of the North Carolina Methodist Conference over several decades. He Conference of the United Methodist Church, is survived by his wife, Mary “Katie” Kidd, two George F. Blanchard D’77 died and a longtime lover and singer of Sacred Harp sons, and a grandson. March 16, 2011, in Fayetteville, N.C. A U.S. music. He is survived by a daughter and other Army paratrooper veteran, he served from Korea family members. Thomas Joon Hwa Ahn D’66 to Vietnam, and then over 36 years as a United died Jan. 24, 2011, in Brookeville, Md. He was Methodist minister in rural parishes. His wife of James R. “Jimmie” Crook Jr. a United Methodist pastor who served Korean 59 years, Lillian Davis Blanchard, three sons, T’50, D’54 died June 11, 2011, in Asheville, churches across the Baltimore-Washington one daughter, six grandchildren, and two great- N.C. He served United Methodist parishes across Conference. His wife, Young “Sally” Ahn, two grandchildren survive him. the Florida Conference for 43 years before retiring children, and four grandchildren survive him. to Waynesville, N.C., where for the next nine years Susan P. Felder Osterberg he was resident staff minister for the Foundation Sylvester L. Shannon D’66, D’95 died May 30, 2011, in Yadkinville, N.C. for Evangelism. Jimmie was a past president D’93 died June 7, 2011, in Alexandria, Va. She was a Christian educator and a loving wife of the Divinity School Alumni Association. He is He served with the U.S. Army Chaplain Service and parent. Surviving Susan are her husband, survived by his wife, Jean Crook, two sons, three from 1966 to 1981, retiring with the rank of Scott A. Osterberg D’96, three daughters, and 10 grandchildren. colonel. As the first African-American chaplain to children, and other family, including her father, graduate from the Command and General Staff Charles B. “Bert” Felder D’66. Harold F. Leatherman D’52 died College and the first to serve as senior pastor March 1, 2011, in Lincolnton, N.C. A Navy vet- of the Pentagon pulpit, he conducted preach- Cynthia Ann Burris D’01 died Feb. eran of World War II, he served in parish ministry ing missions all over the world and received the 27, 2011, in Indio, Calif. She was a professor of for 60 years, beginning in the North Carolina U.S. Army Legion of Merit Award for service in theology at Anderson University in Anderson, Ind. Conference of the United Methodist Church. He South Vietnam. After retiring from the army, Syl She is survived by her parents and siblings. was a dedicated Rotarian. Two daughters, a son, served Presbyterian Church (USA) pastorates six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren in North Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, New York, Reta Dover Steck D’05 died Dec. 7, survive him. and Washington, D.C. A former president of the 2010, in Concord, N.C. Her first career was in Divinity School Alumni Association, Syl was also human resources, and she served as the human the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Joseph M.G. Warner D’52 died resources director for MedCath Corporation in Award. His wife, Doris, two sons, a daughter, and Oct. 7, 2010, in Irmo, S.C. He served United Charlotte, N.C., over 10 years starting in 1995 five grandchildren survive him. Methodist churches across the Western North as the company grew from 90 employees to Carolina Conference for 40 years. His wife, more than 3,000. Following Divinity School she Carolyn Pope Warner, a son, a daughter, and Benjamin F. Davis D’69 died April was ordained as an elder, and she served as seven grandchildren survive him. 27, 2011, in Lawndale, N.C. He had a long career associate pastor at Central United Methodist in teaching and counseling and retired as director Church in Concord. She is survived by her hus- of counseling services and adjunct professor from Samuel J. Womack D’57, G’61 died band, Todd Steck, and other family members. Gardner-Webb University. An Air Force veteran Feb. 2, 2011, in Fayetteville, N.C. A decorated U.S. and a Mason, Ben was also an avid Appalachian Army veteran from World War II and the Korean Trail hiker. His wife, Patsy Bridges Davis, and conflict, he was ordained in the North Carolina other family members survive him. Conference of the United Methodist Church and served in many key faculty and administrative roles at Methodist College from its opening in John W. Wilson G’76 died Jan. 22, 1960 until his retirement in 1984. He is survived 2011, in Berwick, Australia. He was a retired by a daughter, a son, and two granddaughters. bishop of the southern region of the Anglican diocese of Melbourne, a vice president of the Christian Missionary Society, author, and a founder in 1979 of Acorn Press Ltd. Australia.

Fall 2011 | 35 faculty reflections

A Defense of Christian Kitsch by Paul Griffiths

The term kitsch is usually intended as unsubtle, and supposed to be. It’s an insult. To call a painting or a musical there to conform you to the love composition or a piece of decorative art of Christ. “kitschy” suggests that it’s crude, cheap, The connoisseur is the unsophisticated, unoriginal, mass-produced, kitsch-lover’s opposite number. and above all sentimental. It’s Norman Connoisseurs cultivate a hushed, Rockwell’s urchins, Soviet-era statues detached, analytic gaze; they’re of heroic workers, angels and kittens acolytes of the aesthetic and the (especially together), velvet Elvises, sublime, and they find kitsch flesh-colored Christs that glow in the either revolting or pathetic. Their dark, and Kylie Minogue. And, it’s the Above: “Coat gaze values subtlety, complexity, crucified coat hanger and the Sacred Hanger (Jesus ambiguity, irony and (above all) Heart you can see on this page. Welcomes You),” novelty, and it is self-satisfied: by Oscar Perez, Such things lack, above all else, nuance. connoisseurs are pleased to be www.pinkbubblebath.com They leave no doubt about how you should Left: “Sacred people who like the rare and respond to them, and they don’t invite Heart,” from beautiful thing, and they tend varied interpretations. You sigh with warm www.restoredtraditions.com toward contempt for those too sadness at the sight of Jesus’ Sacred Heart, crude, too uneducated, or too or a tear comes to your eye at the thought simple to be able do so. These of hanging your coat on his crucified hands (you’ll prob- attitudes are very far from being acceptable to Christians. ably need to be Catholic for the first and Protestant for the But hasn’t Christianity also been the home of and stimulus second). You’ll also likely feel, at least for a moment, pleased for great, non-kitschy art? Haven’t Christians made beautiful that you’re the kind of person able to respond in that way. as well as kitschy things? Aren’t there connoisseurs among Kitsch is, by this account, trash; and you, to the extent that Christians? Yes. And that can be celebrated, too, if you’re you like it, are trashy. You ought to be ashamed of yourself among the tiny minority of Christians to have a care for it. and go to some art appreciation classes at once. But let’s be clear that it’s not the main event. The main event So runs the anti-kitsch argument. It’s usually a finely in Christian art is kitsch, which is exactly as it should be. tuned instrument of class hatred. Those who offer it are Among Christians, connoisseurs have much more to learn typically people who know what kitsch is, don’t like it, and from kitsch-lovers than the other way around. want to educate others out of liking it. They’re rarely far Can we then not make distinctions between the beautiful from contempt for kitsch-lovers. and the kitschy, between the Sacred Heart reproduced here Christians ought to pause before accepting this view of and Rublev’s icons? Can we not say that Christian high art is kitsch. Christianity—Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox— more beautiful than what you’ll find in the souvenir stores of has been and remains among the great generators of kitsch, Lourdes or in the Precious Moments™ catalog? We can say and that’s because Christianity is and always has been a this, and even argue for it; but it’s not easy (it raises some of religion of peasants and proles. Most Christian art is and the most difficult questions in the philosophy and theology always has been kitsch: that’s what most Christians like. of art), and attempting it is a hobby for the leisured few. The “Fire f ly” b y L u a Z k harov They—we—like it exactly because it’s nuance-free. The connoisseur is at the margins of the sacred page, if there at Stations of the Cross, present on the walls of every Catholic all; what kitsch-producers and kitsch-lovers do is, by contrast, church, aren’t subtle and aren’t supposed to be. They’re at the center. there to conform you to the bloody sufferings of Christ. The This is a fallen world. Kitsch-love and connoisseurship American Protestant praise song (“Jesus is your boyfriend,” both have their deformities. But the former is much closer to it seems usually to be saying, over and over again) is likewise Jesus’ beating heart than the latter.

36 | DIVINITY meditation

“Carving Into Time: Firefly” By Luba Zakharov

Making art is not just about practicing the skill of the here while muttering the Psalms at daybreak and noon, with imagination and the mind. It is about carving out the time, Vespers and Compline close behind. It is a sacred space full despite all that gets in the way, to go to that place where I can of remembering and forgetting, of listening and then obey- create. Even more, it’s also about carving into time the mem- ing by literally taking the paintbrush in hand and following ory of the sacred place where I am tethered to God. its lead as it (and I) sort through chaos in hopes of adding

“Fire f ly” b y L u a Z k harov This carving into time precedes the necessary stillness of beauty to the cosmos. This purposeful choosing to be obedi- listening to the whisper of God’s breath. This involves brav- ent to whatever work comes—a story, a painting, a song—is ery and the kind of faith that believes that remembering who I where the painting “Firefly” was born. The painting is more belong to and listening for the voice who calls me is as much a than a Firefly; it’s also an act of light living in a dark place that prayerful act as is saying words. Centering into this prayerful threatens to overcome it. space reminds me of the generations of monks who entered Divinity Magazine Nonprofit Org U.S. Postage Duke Divinity School PAID Box 90966 Durham, NC Durham, North Carolina 27708-0966 Permit No. 60 www.divinity.duke.edu

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