In Harmony with Creation
F r ie nd s N ew ien New ewss le lett t e r Third Quarter 2007
P r e s ide n t: Patricia Philipps iden
by Sam Wells, Dean of Duke Chapel
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Vic n t: Mary Best, WC ‘56 icee PPrr e s ide iden S e c r e t a r y: Karen Rhodes, T ‘92 n t: I m me d i ate Pa iden Pass t PPrr e s ide Janet Gwyer, PhD Ad o a r d: Advv i s o r y BBo Mel Baars, T ‘05, D ‘08 Lydia Califf, Parent ‘06 Andrew Crewson, T ‘09 Gina Harrison Amanda Lee, T‘08 Katie Owen, T ‘06 Anthony Seese, P ‘91 Ella Jean Shore, D ‘56 Eme r i t u s m mee mb e r: William E. King, PhD, T ‘61, G ‘63, G ‘70
IN INSS I DE A Profound Inf luence
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Questions About Worship
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Kakamega: One Student’s Journey
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Charitable Options for IRAs
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Organ Recital Series
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Æolian Organ Prog ress
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The Dialog ue Continues
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Come Out to Play
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Open Table Ministry’s New Location
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Special Services in October
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Faith Council Update
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Welcome Emily Wilson-Hauger
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75th Anniversary of Messiah
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One of the most significant moments for we worked so hard at and set so much store me in Duke Chapel’s worshiping life is by were ultimately for. the offertory procession at the celebration You are used to reading in this publication of the Eucharist. Let me explain why. theological reflection on one of these offerWe are accustomed to thinking of God’s tory elements, namely money; but it seems work in two aspects, creation and salvatimely to reflect on the other elements - the tion. The great discovery of the Old Tesfruit of the earth. For the nature of the tament, celebrated throughout the New, “earth” seems to be changing faster than our is that the God who saved imaginations can comIsrael in the exodus (and prehend. ...the nature of saved us all in the Jesus’ This is for a number of resurrection) is the same the “earth” seems to be reasons. There is the God who created the rapid depletion of speworld. Creation and sal- changing faster than cies diversity, currently vation are therefore two our imaginations can estimated at 10,000 anmovements of one symnually. This has causes phony. comprehend. such as deforestation, exIn the Eucharist we emtensive deep-sea fishing, body this discovery. We bring to the holy and the widespread use of pesticides and table the fruits of creation. We bring the herbicides. There is the rate of soil erosion ordinary substance of life, represented by and desertification, related to poor farmbread, the fruits of our labors, represented ing methods, overgrazing and the use of inby money, and the extraordinary moments appropriate land for crop production. There of joy and delight, represented by wine. is the damaging appearance of chemical pol(We have also taken to bringing up symlutants across the planet in air, land, oceans bols of the university and the town, to emand rivers. And there is the overwhelming phasize our commitment to these two sigevidence of climate change, with a host of nificant contexts.) And at the climax of ancillary causes, such as the burning of fosthe offertory procession we place these sil fuels, and effects, such as rising sea levels “fruits” on the holy table. The person preand the reduction in the Antarctic icecap. siding then prays over them (and us), reFor a long time many Christians in this calling that the creator God who gave us country saw the first three of these trends these things is also the savior God who as “nothing to do with me” and the final transforms them into matters of eternal one as “just a theory.” That is beginning to consequence. Thus at this moment in the change. My concern as a person who leads liturgy we discover what all those things worship goes back to the offertory proces-