A SEASON FOR OUR REBIRTH The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery, Dean of Duke University Chapel [@LukeAPowery]

Dear Beloved Friends,

As I write this, I stand in the middle of Lent, a time of reflection, contemplation, and longing. Approaching the Easter season, the days are growing longer, and there is a sweetness in the air on Duke’s campus as the Gardens bloom and the students stretch on the grass in the first warm days of spring.

This year, we have experienced many days in which newness and possibility emerged around us. As we come out of the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, remaining vigilant about the health and wellbeing of our families, friends, and the campus community, we also feel a renaissance within and among us— a revival happening all around us. This is a season replete with both sorrow and celebration, remembrance and renewal, a season for the “rebirth of our humanness for the glory of God in the power of the Spirit.”*

In every aspect of our ministry at Duke Chapel, we remember the humanity of Jesus and the humanity of our students. We remember that we are made by God to be a part of an extraordinary, creative diversity worthy of celebration.

We preach the love and blessing of God in our lives. I hope that in this edition of Chapel View magazine, you will catch a glimpse of these blessings.

Look closely at the faces on the cover. Perched high above campus at the top of the Chapel Tower, there is joy. Look closely at the faces of the students who circle around the new piano in the sanctuary. There is hope. Let yourself feel the blessing when you read about Arsha Sharma, T ’23, and her “burgeoning interest in interreligious dialogue.” On every page, there is faith.

This place and this time are filled with blessings, and you, in all your particularity and beauty, are one among the many blessings I experience at Duke Chapel.

Thank you for blessing us with your faithful and generous support. May the Holy Spirit move in your life with the breath of new beginnings. In response, may you breathe deeply and join me in giving thanks to God.

Yours in peace,

Luke A. Powery

Dean of Duke University Chapel

*from: Becoming Human: The Holy Spirit and the Rhetoric of Race

© Luke A. Powery

Westminster John Knox Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 2022.

Dean Powery and Chapel Assistant Dean Bruce Puckett bag potatoes for people in need at the Crop Drop event on August 27, 2022.

Duke Chapel National Advisory Board