Chapel View Magazine Spring 2025

CHAPEL VIEW

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SPRING 2025 magazine

DUKE CHAPEL NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR Grace Lee, T ’79 VICE CHAIR Southgate Jones III EMERITUS MEMBER William E. King, T ’61, G ’63, G ’70 ADVISORY BOARD D. Benjamin Adams, T ’08 Lauren Allen, T ’25 D. Michael Bennett, T ’77 Charles Berardesco, T ’80 John A. Bussian III, T ’76 Carter Cribbs, T ’25 M. Keith Daniel, T ’90, D ’05, D ’16 Ellen Davis Thomas Felgner, T ’94, B ’95 Cathy S. Gilliard, D ’97 Elizabeth Grantland, T ’20 Zach Heater, T ’17 Sara Elizabeth H. Jones, T ’89 Carole Ann Klove, N ’80 Kenneth Lee, T ’74 Arthur Maxwell Powell II, D ’24 Hananiel Setiawan, G ’24 Sanyin Siang, E ’96, B ’02 Max Sirenko, T ’11 Valerie Henry Sirenko, T ’11 CHAPEL STAFF OFFICE OF THE DEAN The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery, Dean Ava West, Assistant to the Dean The Rev. Leah Torrey, Director of Special Initiatives MINISTRY The Rev. Bruce Puckett, Assistant Dean The Rev. Dr. P. Lynwood Pace, Jr., Assistant Dean of Religious Life The Rev. Racquel C. N. Gill, Minister for Intercultural Engagement Caleb Harris, Worship and Ministry Coordinator Nicholas Venable, Music Director for United in Praise MUSIC Dr. Zebulon Highben, Director of Chapel Music Dr. Philip Cave, Conductor-in-Residence Chad Fothergill, Chapel Organist David Faircloth, Program Coordinator for Chapel Music Dr. Robert Parkins, University Organist John Santoianni, Ethel Sieck Carrabina Curator of Organs and Harpsichords Katelyn MacDonald, Staff Specialist Mitchell Eithun, Chapel Carillonneur Aaron Colston, Chapel Carillonneur Katherine Johnson, Organ Scholar ADMINISTRATION Amanda Millay Hughes, Senior Director of Development and Strategy Joni Harris, Senior Director of Business and Facilities James Todd, Communications Manager The Rev. Jeff Compton-Nelson, Associate Director of Development Jimmy Paton, Development Marketing Specialist Beca Franca, Hospitality Manager Karen Huang, Communications Specialist Lisa Best, Business and Facilities Specialist Erica Thomas, Staff Assistant for Development Cristina van Werkhoven, Staff Assistant for Hospitality and Wedding Coordinator Tasha Braswell, Financial Management Analyst Leslie Ballew, Wedding Director and Visitor Relations Assistant Paquita Burnette-Thorpe, Wedding Director Ann Hall, Visitor Relations Assistant Ken Davenport, Visitor Relations Assistant Benny Edwards, Visitor Relations Assistant Larry Efird, Visitor Relations Assistant Stanley Giles, Visitor Relations Assistant Poppy Zhao, Visitor Relations Assistant Amanda Wu, Visitor Relations Assistant Mary Salvarezza, Visitor Relations Assistant Oscar Dantzler, University Housekeeper Beverly Jordan, University Housekeeper Duke Schools Abbreviation Key: D (Divinity School); E (Pratt School of Engineering) G (Graduate School); M (School of Medicine) T (Trinity College of Arts & Sciences); WC (Women’s College)

Sophomore Brandt Wang leads his Materiality of Religion class on a tour of the Chapel as part of an assignment. Cover: The Rev. Bruce Puckett, assistant dean of the Chapel, prays a blessing on students being commissioned as Chapel Scholars. Photo by Shankul Lohakare, Trinity ’27.

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The Landscape of Joy “Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.” —Howard Thurman Above: Chapel Dean Luke Powery and Divinity School Dean Edgardo Colón-Emeric offer a benediction during the Centennial Founders’ Sunday Service on September 29, 2024.

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A Message from Chapel Dean Luke A. Powery Dear Friends, Joy offers fullness to our lives: in the birth of a baby and the laughter of children, in the smiling faces of our students, and in the answer to our prayers. Every day, we are given new opportunities to map the landscape of our joy and, by doing so, celebrate the goodness of God. I am not suggesting that we ignore or deny the struggles we face—I know better than that. As Howard Thurman said: “Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day, there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy or unremembered peace.”1 In the depths of my heart, I hear joy calling to me and I want to be a person who heeds that call, gives it my attention, and shares it with a weary world. I am surrounded, inside and out, by a landscape of joy and so are you.

In this issue of the Chapel View magazine, you can find evidence of joy. See it in the face of our 2025 Student Preacher and in the eyes of our students. Hear it in the sound of the organs and the voices of our choirs. For 100 years, Duke has built programs of excellence and raised up people intent on responding to life’s great challenges with compassion, knowledge, faith, and yes, joy!

From the height of the Chapel tower to the depth of the crypt, in every corner of our mission and ministry, I find the joy of our Lord. And I know that this joy is my strength.

Remember with me what the Psalmist says (118:24): This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This is my hope for you, for our students, for our friends and families, for our communities. This is my hope for the world. May we be filled with joy and find it flourishing in the landscape of our lives.

Thank you for being a part of my joy. Today and every day.

Yours with grace and peace,

Remember with me what Paul says of joy in the book of Galatians (5:22): The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness…

The Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery Dean of Duke University Chapel

1. Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart, (Harper & Row, 1953), 211.

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A Message from the Duke University Chapel National Advisory Board Southgate Jones III, Vice Chair

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reetings from your Chapel Board! As we turn the page and look to the next 100 years at Duke, it was so important that we pause and remember the first 100. Wow, did we do that in 2024!

In our centennial year, a celebratory atmosphere was the theme culminating in a Founders Day worship service to remember with the Chapel full of leaders, students, and friends worshipping with thanks among spirit-filled music and word (see page 14).

Then, the Chapel concluded its centennial celebration with the “We Believe” summit furthering our goal of the Chapel being a magnet of hope for young people on our campus and beyond (see page 10). The iconic symbol of this great university shone brightly last year, and we are The Rev. Bruce Puckett, assistant dean of the Chapel, greets a student at an Orientation Week fair. grateful for that.

Dean of Religious Life. Lyn has proven experience in this So, as we now chart the next 100 years, what does the future of faith at Duke look like? Dean Powery has been arena and will be a great addition to our mission. While all leading discussions on this throughout the university of this is such great news, we can do so much more to strengthen this reach for generations of young people to community, and it is exciting for your Board to be thinking about how to strengthen the reach of God’s all-inclusive come. Dean Powery and your Board are very engaged in love for a spirit-filled life. The Dean is quick to reinforce that exploring ways to do just that. we are a Chapel without walls and that faith is experienced In addition to student engagement, your Chapel and lived daily across our campus in a variety of settings continues its rich history of sacred music and arts, the beyond Sunday worship. This is Eruditio et Religio in importance of Christian worship at the Chapel, and robust action—“bridging faith and learning.” community engagement initiatives. It is such an exciting We want to engage and support students from all faiths time to be starting the next 100 years of faith at Duke. We and no faith to explore what transformation can occur from are grateful for so many of you who believe in the Chapel’s a life of faith. We want to help them build their houses on mission and have joined this effort. rock and not sand. You might be interested to know we For those who may not have had the opportunity to have twenty-two different Religious Life groups on campus explore the Chapel’s impact, 2025 is a historic moment to and over 100 Chapel scholars this year. The Chapel just join the future of faith journey at Duke. welcomed Rev. Dr. Lyn Pace to the position of Assistant Together, let’s suit up!

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A Student’s Faith Animates Her Service, Friendships, Education, and Heritage A Faith and Learning Profile of Caroline Hancock

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enior Caroline Hancock served as a torchbearer in the Chapel’s most recent All Hallows’ Eve service, which combines music and scripture readings with testimonies about the lives of saints. When she stepped forward carrying her candle to illuminate the reading of the service’s final saint narrative, she was surprised by what she heard.

“They talked about Homer Noley, who is a Choctaw Native American and a founder of the Native American United Methodist Church—and I’m also Choctaw,” says Hancock, who grew up in Fairfax, Virginia. “Choctaw is a tribe based in Oklahoma that doesn’t get mentioned that much, so when the recording of the service was posted, I sent it to my mom and my grandparents, and I was like, ‘Look, we’re mentioned. This is so cool!’”

Hancock was serving in a worship leadership role at the service as a Chapel Scholar. She joined the program as a sophomore based on the recommendation of a friend.

“I found a church home off campus but still wanted to stay involved with a religious community on campus that was more ecumenical,” she explains.

Through Chapel Scholars, she has also participated in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house and gone on the three-day Durham Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope, which explores the intersection of the histories of Durham, biblical narratives, and participants’ life experiences.

“Something that the Chapel Scholars Program tries to instill is we’re not just citizens of Duke, we’re citizens of Durham,” she says. “I did the Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope about a year and a half ago, and it opened my eyes to a lot that I’ve since been able to share with my friends.”

Caroline Hancock, Trinity ’25.

Throughout her time at Duke, Hancock has been active in the Cru campus ministry, leading a Bible study, mentoring other students, and now serving as an intern.

“I didn’t become a Christian until well into high school, so coming to college I was looking forward to connecting to people with similar beliefs and values,” she says. “I immediately felt welcomed in Cru.” “I’ve grown a lot in my faith, and I would not be the same person that I am today if not for the resources, mentorship, discipleship, and just companionship of people in Cru.” A double major in global health and environmental science and policy, Hancock explored how religion affects people’s understanding of climate change for an assignment in a documentary studies class. As part of a team of students, she produced a video that compared responses to questions about climate change by Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, and Christian people.

She has also sought to deepen her understanding of her own faith through short courses offered by the Center for Christianity and Scholarship, a Chapel affiliate group. The noncredit classes tackled questions such as, What’s the relationship between God and evil? How can faith and learning be combined?

“Being able to approach my faith and have hard discussions and answer difficult questions like, ‘How can God exist when there’s evil?’ has changed my faith in really cool ways,” Hancock says. “It has allowed me to think of my faith from a more logical perspective while still maintaining the same beliefs that I came to university with.”

“Being able to engage in conversations from an academic perspective about faith is something that I think is special and unique to Duke.”

Watch a video version of this profile at chapel.duke.edu/faithandlearning.

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Student Engagement

Growing Chapel Scholars Program Provides Ecumenical Christian Community

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uring a Sunday morning service in the fall, fifty students stepped forward to be commissioned as Chapel Scholars.

The Rev. Bruce Puckett, the Chapel’s assistant dean, addressed the students, inviting them on a journey as Chapel Scholars that “includes listening to God among peers and pastors at work, in Durham, and beyond.”

“Are you ready to meet God and discover more of who God has made you to be?” he asked them.

“We are,” they responded before receiving a blessing and returning to the pews.

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The fifty students new to the program bring the current total of Chapel Scholars to 120. That’s in addition to the more than 750 alumni of the program over the past twenty years. For all of these students, the Chapel Scholars program has been a way to live out, and delve deeper into, their Christian faith as part of an ecumenical group of students who commit to times of shared study, prayer, and service.

One example of that was an afternoon of construction work on a sunny Saturday in November. Nine Chapel Scholars helped in building a Habitat for Humanity house for a

family in need by cutting boards, hammering in plywood, mixing cement, and more.

Senior Olivia Lee was cutting twoby-fours with a table saw just outside of the partially built house. A senior mechanical engineering major who is active in the Duke Catholic Center, Lee said she joined Chapel Scholars as a way to meet other Christian students in an ecumenical setting.

“At every community event that I go to for the Chapel Scholars, everyone’s very open to meeting new people, very inviting, very welcoming, and there’s just a lot of joy for the Lord that is radiated from this community,” she said.

Top: Chapel Scholars pose for a group photograph in front of the Chapel. Above, left: Colin Abney (left), Divinity ’26, and Elsie Gothman, Pratt ’25, work together to saw a board with a Habitat for Humanity staff member looking on. Above, right: Nia Cross (left), Trinity ’25, and Sarah Fernandez, Trinity ’27, measure a board during a Habitat for Humanity build.

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Inside the house, sophomore Sara Fernandez and senior Nia Cross were drilling screws into the wooden framing of the second floor.

“My faith is embedded in everything I do, so it’s great to be around a community of students who also have a foundation in faith and try not to lean away from it in terms of adversity,” said Cross, who comes from a nondenominational Christian background and is majoring in journalism and African American studies.

A psychology and statistics major who sings in a Christian student a cappella group, Fernandez said she has also appreciated the Chapel Scholars community. “I already had several friends that were in Chapel Scholars, so it’s been good to dive deeper with them and get introduced

to the community and meet other Christians,” she said.

Darin Diep is a Divinity School student who is part of a nondenominational church. She said she benefits from grants for faith-related travel and study available to Chapel Scholars and also makes connections outside of her program. “As a grad student, I’m meeting up with undergrad students and other grad students in different departments— and finding community with people who have a shared interest,” she said.

On the porch of the house, senior Elsie Gothman and Divinity student Colin Abney, both Catholics, were screwing plywood into the ceiling. A mechanical engineering major, Gothman said Chapel Scholars has been part of her exploration of her faith in parallel with her studies.

“I see things in a very structured way because of mechanical engineering— that’s just how your brain works— it’s a very mathematical brain,” she said. “So for the philosophical part of the faith, I’ve been trying to attend more talks and to ask questions. It’s brought out the more curious and creative part of me.”

Abney says he spends plenty of time in theological reflection as a Divinity student, so he gravitates towards the fellowship and service aspects of Chapel Scholars—such as that afternoon’s Habitat for Humanity build.

“It’s always good to get out and get your hands dirty doing stuff like this,” he said, “and get to share a meal with people who come from different faith backgrounds but you can all find a common meeting space around the table.”

Assistant Dean Bruce Puckett prays a blessing on the new Chapel Scholars during the Sunday morning service on October 27, 2024.

Photo by Shankul Lohakare, Trinity ’27.

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Student Preacher Explores the Costs of Forgiveness

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uke senior Riley Hamp delivered the sermon in the Chapel’s Sunday morning worship service on February 23. Selected as this year’s Student Preacher, Hamp’s sermon titled Faith Over Fairness reflected on the example of forgiveness in the life of Joseph as described in the book of Genesis.

A biology major from Waynesboro, Va., Hamp regularly attends services at Duke Chapel and is part of the Chapel Scholars program for study, service, and prayer. A pre-med student, she works on pancreatic cancer research in the Blobe Lab and volunteers at Duke Hospital’s Pediatric Oncology and Hematology food pantry.

The seeds of Hamp’s sermon go back to the summer when she began reading through the entire Bible. In doing so, she said a story that resonated with her was Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers, coming to prominence in a foreign land, and later being reconciled with his brothers.

“He stood out as a leader who radically loved those around him, even when they weren’t doing that for him,” she says. “In every situation throughout the story, he thinks about where God has placed him and how God could be using this for a bigger purpose.”

The Rev. Bruce Puckett, assistant dean of Duke Chapel, was on the committee that selected Hamp from a pool of applicants.

Duke senior Riley Hamp is this year’s Student Preacher.

“Riley’s sermon is well written, timely, and captures her voice while also speaking a truth beyond herself,” he said. “I am certain our community will benefit from the encouragement and challenge her sermon offers.”

In her sermon, Hamp connected the account of Joseph with the Gospel reading for the service that included Jesus’s admonishment to “Love your enemies.” (Pop star Taylor Swift’s song “Karma” served as a counterexample.)

“You are going to face hardships and things are going be unfair, but in those moments, remember that God can use this for something much greater,” she said about her message.

“I hope that people see in these stories that God is using those people that are doing the wrong and treating you unfairly just as much as he’s using you.”

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Student Engagement

At Duke, We Believe

Right: Fr. Juan José Hernández, director of the Duke Catholic Center, talks with a student during a Chat with a Chaplain session on the Bryan Center Plaza.

Below: Students walk a Labyrinth in the Nasher Museum of Art. Photos by Elizabeth Kane, Pratt ’25.

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he “We Believe” Centennial celebration in the fall highlighted the vibrant religious diversity on campus with two days of programs that explored themes of Feasting and Fasting, Gathering and Departing, and Sound and Silence.

Invited speakers and campus Religious Life leaders combined to present dozens of opportunities to experience the faith traditions at Duke—from chatting with a chaplain on the Bryan Center Plaza to walking the Labyrinth in the Nasher Museum of Art to a keynote address by Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, executive director of the Religion & Society Program at the Aspen Institute.

Above: Keynote Dr. Simran Jeet Singh addresses a group of more than one hundred students and Religious Life leaders at a dinner at the Karsh Alumni and Visitor Center.

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Along the way, students collected stamps in We Believe passport booklets to chronicle their spiritual exploration.

Chapel Dean Luke Powery took the occasion last November to reflect in his biweekly (Duke) Chronicle column on Duke’s longstanding “generous pluralism” approach to faith on campus.

“No single religious or cultural tradition is identical, so particularity makes up the plurality,” he wrote. “To be plural does not mean uniform. It means differentiation but that doesn’t mean difference has to be demonized.

That isn’t the Duke way. Difference or diversity, even religiously or faith-wise, is embraced as a reality of the world of which Duke is a part.”

Above: Banners representing all twenty-two of Duke’s Religious Life groups fly in front of the Chapel during the week of the We Believe programs. Below: Musician Matt Goldstein leads students in improvised circle-singing in Page Auditorium.

Above: We Believe participants used passport booklets to chronicle their spiritual exploration.

Left: Hindu Chaplain Priya Amaresh leads a meditation session in the Duke Wellness Center.

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Student Artist’s Mixed Media Exhibition Imagines Hope

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elected as this year’s C. Eric Lincoln Fellow in Theology and Arts, Duke Divinity School student Jaden Dejesus Blango presented an exhibition of his mixed-media collage and figure drawings at Duke Chapel in January and February.

Titled Imagination and Promise: The Theological Aesthetics of Hope, the exhibition presented pencil drawings of people on cut paper layered on backgrounds textured by water marbling, gold ink, and ashes. In each of the pieces, Blango said the Christian theology of God as a Trinity provides a framework: the abstract background represents God the Father, the figure in the foreground represents God the Son, and the viewer seeing the relationship between the two plays the role of the Holy Spirit.

“What I want to invite people to imagine is God’s promises of a reality that is already-but-not-yet is present and can be lived into and encountered,” said Blango, who is pursuing a master of theological studies degree with 12 CHAPEL VIEW magazine

Jaden Dejesus Blango, Divinity ’25, presents his artwork during an opening reception at the Chapel.

Photos by Elizabeth Kane, Pratt ’25.

certificates in Latinx studies and theology in the arts.

“Nothing spectacular or super sentimental, I’d imagine, is going to be in the work, it’s more like how does the everyday bus ride bear witness to a reality that in Christian terms is ‘New Creation?’”

Blango was selected for the fellowship by a committee comprising former Lincoln Fellows, Chapel staff, and campus partners.

“We were impressed by the depth of his process and the ways that he invites viewers to also participate in it,” said the Rev. Racquel Gill, the convener of the committee and the Chapel’s minister for intercultural engagement. “There is a real theological richness in his thinking about how art is doing the work of theology.”

Raised on New York’s Long Island, Blango comes to Duke from the University of Texas at San Antonio where he earned a bachelor of fine arts. An accomplished artist, he has had more than a dozen exhibitions of his work in New York and Texas. He said he was drawn to Duke because of

programs that integrate visual art and theology, such as the C. Eric Lincoln Fellowship and Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts.

“There’s this sense of openness in the coursework where the professors want you to apply the theory that you learn,” he said about his classes at Duke. “In my work, I wonder about what it means to think about Christ as the perfected image of God—and specifically using that word ‘image’ as a visual artist?”

Blango’s spiritual practices are integrated with his process for making art. For example, he burns incense while meditating and then uses the ashes from the burnt incense to make a colored paste that becomes part of his background palette. Also, to create the pieces he exhibited in the Chapel, he worked in the Chapel’s crypt, with its altar, cross, large Bible, and remains of former university leaders.

“The practice of drawing can be a contemplative one,” he said. “I don’t come close to God through drawing, but I do think that I release all the things that keep me from God as I draw.”

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Meet the New Assistant Dean of Religious Life, the Rev. Dr. P. Lynwood Pace, Jr. An experienced college chaplain and teacher, the Rev. Dr. P. Lynwood Pace, Jr. began serving on January 1 as Assistant Dean of Religious Life at Duke Chapel.

Rev. Dr. Pace comes to Duke from Oxford College of Emory University, where he has been the College Chaplain since 2009, overseeing ten religious student groups, convening interfaith discussions, and providing campus leadership in times of grief. In addition to his pastoral duties, he has taught courses at the college on “Understanding Community” and “The Contemplative Mind: Engaging the Big Questions.” An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, he is the author of The Sacred Year: A Contemplative Journey through the Liturgical Year.

“Lyn comes to Duke with deep wisdom about the spiritual and intellectual lives of college students,” says Duke Chapel Dean Luke Powery. “He sees the value of both the life of the mind and the life of the Spirit at a leading university and is ready to empower and guide our Religious Life leaders, students, and others to act on that perspective.”

In his role as Assistant Dean of Religious Life, Pace works closely with Dean Powery and the Chapel staff in guiding and supporting the leaders of Duke’s Religious Life groups. The twenty-two campus groups serve students in various faiths, including Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Latter-day Saints, Muslim, and Protestant. Working with these Religious Life groups and campus partners, Pace leads and nurtures co-curricular interfaith engagement and understanding across the university.

Pace graduated with his doctor of ministry degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University with a focus on community engagement, specifically the town-gown relationship between the college and local city of Oxford, Georgia. He earned a master of divinity degree from Candler School of Theology and a bachelor of arts in religion and history from Wofford College. A lover of many types of music, he especially appreciates the singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and is co-authoring a book on the spirituality of Buffett’s music. He is married with one child (and a family dog).

“I am thrilled to be joining the Duke Chapel team and being a member of the Duke community, especially on the heels of this centennial year,” Pace said. “I am honored to assume this new role, and I look forward to community collaboration and building that lives into Duke’s dedication to foster a lively relationship between knowledge and faith.”

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Christian Worship

Spirit-Filled Service Celebrates Faith & Learning

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eptember 29, 2024, was a great day for Duke University and the people gathered in Duke Chapel.

That’s the day the Chapel partnered with Duke Divinity School and The Duke Endowment to give thanks to God for the university’s one hundredth anniversary during a Sunday morning worship service that united strands of Duke history, musical genres, students, university leaders, Duke family members, and prayers of thanksgiving.

The service kicked off, following the organ prelude, with a rousing rendition by the Chapel Choir of the spiritual “Great Day.” The cry of “Great day, the righteous marching, marching up Zion’s wall,” set the tone for the lively time of worship.

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Top: Students lead the Prayers of the People in four languages. Above: Duke alumna and Methodist Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton leads a prayer.

In his sermon Et Spiritus, Chapel Dean Luke Powery took a cue from the university’s historic motto Eruditio et Religio.

“The importance and primacy of faith at Duke historically reveals that Duke has flourished and become a worldclass, Research-One university, not despite faith but because of faith,” he said. “Like the spires of this neo-gothic chapel, faith leads one to aspire beyond what we know or see, beyond ourselves, and even beyond our imagination.”

Above: Duke President Vincent Price (center) offers prayers of thanksgiving along with members of the Duke family (left to right) Angier Biddle Duke, Jr., Mary Duke Trent Jones, and Beth Hubbard. Left: Chapel Dean Luke Powery preaches his sermon Et Spiritus.

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Turning to the service’s reading from the Gospel of John about Jesus breathing the Holy Spirit on the disciples (John 20:19–23), Dean Powery encouraged the congregation not to forget, amidst the grand setting of the day, the source and animator of all life.

“The Spirit is the presence and power of God that propels the motto forward and without the Spirit, without breath, there is only death and no Duke University,” he said. “Embracing the Spirit, who is a wind that blows where it wills, means there will be surprises ahead that call Duke to be fluid and flexible and nimble, not locked in limestone or Duke stone.”

“The wisdom of President [William Preston] Few from many years ago can be a guide when he said, ‘Our goal must be to keep the good that has come to us out of the past and adjust it to the conditions and needs of the present.’”

Right: Divinity School alumna Patrice Turner plays and sings her setting of the spiritual “I Want Jesus to Walk with Me.” Below: The Durham Children’s Choir sings “Famba Naye,” a Zimbabwean folk song.

Above: The recession at the end of the service with the cross and candles.

Scan this QR code to read Dean Powery’s sermon and watch a recording of the service.

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A Theological and Artistic Treasure Comes to Duke This fall, Duke University received a Heritage Edition of The Saint John’s Bible. This handwritten, illuminated Bible comprises seven volumes and 160 stunning illuminations created by Donald Jackson and a team of calligraphers, visual artists, monks, and scholars.

Following a service of dedication at the Chapel for The Saint John’s Bible people had the opportunity to examine the volumes up close.

Duke is the first institution in the Southeast to own a complete set of this work of sacred text and art, joining such institutions as the Vatican, the Library of Congress, and Yale and Pepperdine universities, among others.

Word Made Flesh, Donald Jackson, © 2002 The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Used with permission. All rights reserved. This illumination was on display during the Chapel’s Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols Service, which included the reading from the Gospel of John associated with it.

Duke Chapel is partnering with Duke Divinity School, Duke Libraries, and other campus units to incorporate this educational and theological resource into research, teaching, sacred worship, and community engagement.

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Sacred Music and the Arts

Understanding the Chapel’s ‘Day of the Dead’ Altar I n the weeks leading up to All Saints’ Day, the Chapel partnered with Duke Arts and the Say the Thing initiative to display a Day of the Dead altar. Influenced by Aztec and Catholic beliefs, these altars, or ofrendas, are typically set up in homes or public spaces during celebrations of Día de los Muertos at the start of November. The ofrenda in Duke Chapel was commissioned by Duke Arts and featured calaveras (painted skulls) by artists with the InterLatin American Artist Collective.

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According to the tradition around ofrendas developed in Mexico, people place on them foods, photos, candles, and other objects that honor deceased loved ones. Indeed, hundreds of people added thousands of objects to the ofrenda in the Chapel during the month it was on display.

To better understand the traditions, history, and beliefs surrounding ofrendas, the Chapel and its partners convened a panel discussion, which was held in Spanish and English.

The panelists were Pepe Caudillo, an artist with the

Right: Visitors added thousands of personal objects to the ofrenda.

Inter-Latin American Artist Collective (ILAAC); Amber Santibañez, a visual arts teacher at Durham School of the Arts; Fr. Juan José Hernandez, director of the Duke Catholic Center; and Dr. Sandra Sotelo-Miller, a lecturing fellow in the Thompson Writing Program. The Rev. Leah Torrey, the Chapel’s director of special initiatives, moderated the event, and Duke senior Melissa Rodriguez assisted with translation.

Below are excerpts from the public conversation. Watch the full discussion on the Duke Chapel YouTube channel.

Fr. Juan José Hernandez: It’s great to remember [deceased loved ones on the Day of the Dead] by having the meal that they most enjoyed or just spending some time by their tomb.

It [is] a great reminder of that communion that in some way still prevails.

And obviously as a Catholic priest and in a Catholic perspective, we do believe in what we call “the communion of the saints,”

and that was something beautiful to learn as a child that that was there and that we still await that day once again when we see each other again.

Dr. Sandra Sotelo-Miller:

The Day of the Dead is a date that makes us remember, celebrate, and be with those who are not with us. It forces us to pause, talk, eat, listen to music with them. To be able

to share one of my dad’s favorite tequilas with him and tell him everything that has happened this year and how much I miss him is something that hurts me.

But I feel very lucky to be able to have this moment every year.

Pepe Caudillo:

My original family—my mom, dad, and my two brothers—all of them are dead. And so, I have been in

contact with these [Day of the Dead] celebrations in different ways, in shocking ways and happy ways.

[An ofrenda] could be a good option for almost anybody to just stay in contact [with deceased loved ones], to think about it, to digest that part of life.

It is always hard. I mean, no ofrenda is going to help you to feel less sad.

Amber Santibañez:

[The Day of the Dead] is such a beautiful testament of all the lives that have been lived to get to this moment…. The biggest thing that I would like someone to walk away [with] is that … there are so many types of altars. And just thinking about the body as an altar—every time I put on my family reunion shirt, it’s an altar, it’s an offering, it’s an ofrenda for everyone to know, all these people on my shirt, all these photos on my back. So just really thinking about all the ways that we carry our loved ones and making space to remember.

Above: A panel discussion about the altar with (left to right): Pepe Caudillo, Dr. Sandra Sotelo-Miller, Amber Santibañez, Fr. Juan José Hernandez, Melissa Rodriguez, and the Rev. Leah Torrey. Left: The ofrenda in the Chapel with calaveras (painted skulls) by artists with the Inter-Latin American Artist Collective.

Photo by Shankul Lohakare, Trinity ’27.

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Singers from Duke Chapel Receive National Recognition

The Duke Chapel Schola Cantorum performs during the “Our First Lady of Jazz” concert last spring. The group has been selected to perform this spring at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association.

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uke Chapel’s Schola Cantorum has been invited to perform at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) on March 22 in Dallas, Texas.

It is the first time a Duke choir has received the honor, which is the result of a national, competitive, peer-review process based on submissions of recordings from the last three years.

“An invitation to perform at the ACDA national conference is one of the highest recognitions a choral program can receive,” says Dr. Zebulon M. Highben, the conductor of the Schola Cantorum and Chapel Choir, and director of Chapel Music at Duke Chapel. “This invitation represents the sustained excellence of Duke and Duke Chapel as a vibrant center of sacred music performance and education.”

The invitation to perform at the ACDA national conference is the latest marker in a rise in the national and international reputation of Duke

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Chapel’s music program. In October, the Duke Chapel Choir received a third-place award in The American Prize for Choral Performance (Community Division). In December, the Chapel Choir’s performance of Handel’s Messiah garnered more than 140,000 online views when it was available during the Christmas season.

And, following the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapel ensembles have resumed international touring with the Chapel Choir traveling to Ireland and Scotland and the Chapel’s Evensong Singers headed to Oxford, United Kingdom, for a week-long residency this summer.

In addition to singing in concerts and services, Chapel Music is

advancing the living tradition of sacred choral music through workshops and clinics. Hundreds of singers have attended choral training programs at the Chapel over the past year, including a Sacred Choral Clinic with Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, the Chorworks Young Artists Program, and the Royal School of Church Music in America Carolina Summer Choral Residency. And, the Music from Duke Chapel Series has now published twenty-nine original choral compositions and arrangements from a diverse array of composers.

Online videos of select pieces from the series have been viewed more than 75,000 times.

Below left: Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, national president-elect of the American Choral Directors Association, leads a sacred choral clinic. Below right: Dr. Philip Cave, the Chapel’s conductor-in-residence, leads the Evensong Singers in an introit in Memorial Chapel. Photo by Elizabeth Kane, Pratt ’25.

Scan this QR code to watch videos of compositions from the Music from Duke Chapel Series.

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Sacred Music and the Arts

The Colorful History of the Chapel’s Aeolian Organ

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usic from Duke Chapel’s Aeolian organ has lifted countless hearts and voices since it was installed in 1932 as part of the original construction of the building.

The history of the instrument—nicknamed “Bertha” and later dedicated as the Kathleen Upton Byrns McClendon Organ—intersects with music trends, colorful personalities, and engineering challenges. That is what intrigued Bradley Bowen, a Duke junior and statistics major. Also a member of the Duke Chapel Choir, Bowen undertook a research project on the Aeolian—advised by University Organist Robert Parkins—which led him to visit forty organs in seven states and uncover thirty-three sources for his fifty-page report.

Above: Mildred Hendrix plays the Aeolian organ. Undated photo courtesy of Duke University Archives. Right: Junior Bradley Bowen plays the Aeolian organ.

In an interview for the Chapel’s Sounds of Faith podcast, Bowen told the story of the Aeolian with anecdotes, pivotal events, key facts, and archival recordings.

What drew you to this research project?

You first walk down the Chapel’s nave, and you see these grand pipes of the Aeolian on either side of the chancel, and then you turn around and see this magnificent Flentrop and the golden shiny pipes. It’s so intriguing. It’s something that certainly had research potential as someone who loves music.

massive. But it’s also important to note at this time, the Aeolian Company was actually bought out by the Skinner Company before the organ was installed. Now, they had the choice of putting “Aeolian-Skinner,” the new merged company, on the nameplate, or leaving it “Aeolian,” and they chose to leave it “Aeolian.” So, it’s a very rare instrument because not only do we have an Aeolian organ that’s not a residence organ but it was installed by Aeolian-Skinner.

It’s a really complex and interesting backstory of how the organ got into Duke Chapel.

How did the Aeolian organ get to Duke Chapel?

Mildred Hendrix, the Chapel organist from 1944 to 1967, is an important character in the story of the Aeolian.

What did you find out about her?

The Aeolian Company began building the organ right after the contract was signed in October of 1930. The organ was transported from a storage site in New Jersey to Durham via rail, and it weighed over fifty-eight tons, took five freight cars, and in total, had 7,791 pipes. It was

When Mildred arrived at Duke, she quickly named the instrument “Bertha.” With it being such a large instrument, and one of the largest in the Southeast at the time, the organ did encounter some problems. And so Mildred had to learn to work around that very quickly. Early on, when she

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began, she had to have choir members manually help pull the stops for her because some of the electrical systems had some issues. She loved the tonal qualities of the organ.

It has so many things, not only from the traditional churchy sounds that you might hear in an organ, but also to string sounds, and flutes, and tubas, trumpets. Everything that you would think of in a symphony orchestra, it has. And for Mildred, she used the entire organ, and she was known for doing that, pulling out all the stops and making the chapel stones rattle.

You can think of organs at Yale and Princeton; there’s just only a handful that still remain in original condition.

The Chapel’s Aeolian is so versatile. It can accompany silent films, which the Chapel recently did, as well as accompanying the choir on Sunday mornings, the congregation, and of course, playing transcription. So, pieces that may not have been designed for the organ originally, but they can be played on the Aeolian, because it just has such a wide variety of sounds.

Where did the Aeolian fit in the landscape organs in America?

Listen to the full interview—including archival recordings of the Aeolian being played and an interview with Mildred Hendrix—by scanning this QR code.

The Aeolian represents something that is very rare among organs today, as you have an intact representation of 1930s organ building, where the symphonic, the theaterstyle organs, were really in style. And you have so many different colors and sounds that you can draw off of on the instrument, and it’s not found today in large scale.

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Spring 2025 23

Irish Poet Offers Lessons in Language for Poetry, Prayer, and Peace

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he Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama presented poetry as at turns intimate, mystical, and political during a poetry reading and public conversation at Duke Chapel on Tuesday, November 19.

“I loved poetry from an early age and felt surrounded by it,” Ó Tuama told an audience that filled the pews of the Chapel. “Loads of the Irishlanguage poets we learned [in school] had written poems about Irish independence, and it had never occurred to me that poetry wasn’t political, or that the arts somehow were removed from everyday life, or that it was only people who had luxury could write poems.”

At the event titled “Poetry, Prayer, and Public Healing,” Ó Tuama read and discussed some of his poems with themes of religion, violence, and sexuality, including “The Butcher of Eden,” “The Exorcist,” and five poems with the title “Do You Believe in God?” “My own faith journey, I grew up a Catholic, and I tried very, very hard for a very long time to be very devout, and that caused all kinds of complications,” he said. “Before I was more public about being gay, I often heard people discussing what they thought of gay people, and it’s interesting to listen to what people say when they don’t think there’s anybody around to hear.”

“I stay with the questions of religion because I like the uncomfortable accountabilities that religion dreams for itself,” he said. “The dream of God, the dream of restitution, the dream of resurrection, the dream of a source and a direction for our prayer—these are really good dreams to keep.”

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The Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama delivered this year’s Few Lecture.

The author of eight books that range from memoir to poetry to devotional guide, Ó Tuama has gained notice especially through his podcast Poetry Unbound, which has been downloaded more than ten million times. He was at Duke for the Chapel’s 2024 William Preston Few Lecture, a series that takes its name from Duke’s first president, who articulated a vision of education promoting the courage to seek the truth and the conviction to live it.

In introducing Ó Tuama, Duke Chapel Dean Luke Powery said: “In this towering building that is a symbol of faith and a place for significant communal gatherings at the heart of this campus, you may notice that words echoed off the walls. There’s a kind of resonance to language in this place, which makes it especially fitting for our guest this evening, who is a

gifted craftsman and architect of language.”

In responding to a question from Dean Powery about what wisdom Irish people have gained from their peacemaking efforts in the 1990s, Ó Tuama said, “I’m a foreigner here, I would not disrespect people from here by thinking I have anything to give as a template, but what I can say is worthwhile trying is reading peace agreements from other parts of the world because they show what language can do.”

“When it comes to the small peace treaties that we have with our friends, with our neighbors, our family members, in our communities, and our places of work—the ways in which we look to address the past, tell the truth about the violence, and find some way to still stay together in the after of that—that is an act of communal making,” he said. “It is an act of art.” Ó Tuama concluded the conversation by reading his poem “How to Belong Be Alone,” which he introduced as “my prayer to my own death.” It began: “It all begins with knowing nothing lasts forever / So you might as well start packing now / In the meantime, practice being alive.”

Following an extended applause, dozens of people lined up to have their books signed by Ó Tuama.

One person waiting in line, Cindy Williams, a devoted listener of Ó Tuama’s podcast, had driven from South Carolina to attend the event.

“I write poetry, and that’s been its own joy,” Williams said. “I am usually resentful when people talk about poetry because I feel it’s condescending— like, let me decide what this is saying— but he totally changed my idea about that; he does it in such a generous and not condescending way.”

Duke senior Peggy Moore, who has studied abroad in Ireland, said she was listening for what he would say about the politics of that country.

“I thought the fact that he said

unification is in the next decade of Ireland’s future was really interesting,” Moore said. “I like listening to his poetry, like his ‘Northern of Ireland.’”

Chelsea Krieg teaches creative writing at North Carolina State University. “It’s always nice to be reminded that things that are often considered softer—like poetry and prayer, these introspective things—are incredibly valuable to creating peace,” Krieg said. “I spoke with someone afterwards who was saying how this was just so necessary and in such a beautiful space.”

The day before the public event, Ó Tuama led a workshop on campus for about thirty students. In it, he invited participants to recall the first line of a poem or novel and then practice writing the first line of the story of their life.

One of the workshop participants, junior Havish Shirumalla, said, “I was really blown away by what other people shared…. I had not really thought much about the first words,

the first sentences [of my life story], but there’s far more to it … that I didn’t know, I knew.”

Hannah Anderson, a hybrid master of divinity student pursuing a certificate in art and theology, also attended the workshop. “On a craft level, Pádraig gave us a lot to think about, about beginnings and how language is coded,” she said.

“On a personal level, I’m seeing a representation of the kind of work I want to do in my future.”

First-year student Sarah Campbell Brown said, “I showed up to this not for a class but just out of my own curiosity and not really knowing who the speaker was. It’s definitely been really fascinating to get in my head, and get in the headspace of others, and ponder the concept of origin as a whole.”

Top: This year’s Few Lecturer, Pádraig Ó Tuama read his own poetry and then held a public conversation with Dean Luke Powery.

Above: The Irish poet also led a storytelling workshop for students.

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Community Engagement

NCCU and Duke Students Bridge Divides Through Summer Internship

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ast summer three students took tangible steps in addressing social and cultural divides through the Bridge Internship Program, a joint initiative between Duke Chapel and the Wesley Campus Ministry at North Carolina Central University.

Living together in the Chapel’s PathWays House in Durham’s West End neighborhood, the students from NCCU and Duke learned to bridge differences in society through readings, workshops, and internships with community organizations.

One of the interns, Taylor Stewart, a junior at NCCU, served at Church World Service where she had the opportunity to advocate for refugees with members of the North Carolina General Assembly.

“It was really great being able to talk to legislators and to discuss bills that are important to the refugee and immigrant community,” Stewart said. “I met leaders who are truly passionate about these issues and want to see some change.”

In addition to working with community organizations, the interns read and discussed books from varying religious perspectives: Soul Boom by Rainn Wilson, Interfaith Leadership by Ebol Patel, Casting Indra’s Net by Pamela Ayo Yetunde, and This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley.

“This internship program has been a lens for learning about different religions and how to respect them,” said Shania Collins, one of the Bridge Interns and an NCCU sophomore.

The Chapel’s assistant dean, the Rev. Bruce Puckett, was one of the leaders of the program, along with the

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Above left: Duke student Zaria Williamson speaks at a closing ceremony for the Bridge Internship. Above: Surrounded by their internship supervisors, the Bridge Interns hold up their certificates (left to right): Taylor Stewart, NCCU; Shania Collins, NCCU; Zaria Williamson, Duke. Right: Dean Luke Powery offers a prayer.

Rev. Dr. Gloria Winston-Harris, pastor for the NCCU Wesley Campus Ministry.

“Through the summer we watched these students use the concepts they were learning with each other, in their workplaces, and at places like the Civil Rights Museum in Greensboro,” Rev. Puckett said. “It was a testimony to these women’s resolve to be bridge builders in the future.”

In summing up her experience as an intern, Duke sophomore Zaria Williamson said it was a summer of personal growth.

“I learned more about myself, my spirituality, my faith, other faith practices, and the community in which I’ll spend the next four or five years,” Williamson said. “Most importantly, this program taught me how to bridge divides in a world where so many people want to deepen them.”

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Grounded in Faith Through Life’s Storms

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or Southgate Jones III, attending the Centennial Founders’ Sunday Service at the Chapel this fall left him with vivid memories of the service’s music, preaching, and representation from the university leadership, Duke family, and Duke Endowment (see page 14).

“It was an exclamation point for the Duke University Centennial celebration, and, of course, it was at the Chapel,” says Jones, the vice chair of the Chapel’s National Advisory Board. “I remember walking out and giving [Chapel Dean] Luke [Powery] a hug and saying, “Wow, today is a milestone for the Chapel!”

In a way, the Chapel has always been part of Jones’s life, coming from a family with roots in Durham that stretch back to the nineteenth century.

He remembers the ministers at his childhood church, Trinity United Methodist, often had ties to Duke, and then as an adult, he and his wife would bring their young children to Christmas Eve services at Duke Chapel.

With the arrival of the Rev. Dr. Luke Powery to serve as dean of the Chapel, Jones became more part of the Chapel community.

“After Luke got in here, I came to hear him preach,” Jones says. “And, as with probably thousands of other people, he really touched my heart when he preaches, and so I wanted to continue coming to Duke Chapel and hear him on a fairly frequent basis.”

It was preaching that brought Jones to the Chapel, but it was tragedy that deepened his ties to the Chapel and forged his faith.

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Southgate Jones III

“We all take different journeys to the Chapel—everybody’s path is unique,” Jones says. “Tragically, in 2017, we lost our two oldest children: Elizabeth was twenty-four and Southgate was twenty-seven.”

“So, obviously our lives were completely shattered apart,” he says.

“The Chapel played such an integral role in trying to provide some healing for us. We held the kids’ funerals at the Chapel, one in the main sanctuary and one in Memorial Chapel.”

“At the time, we didn’t even have a minister for our family, but we were introduced to Rev. Debra Brazzel,” Jones says. (An ordained Methodist minister, Rev. Brazzel has served in numerous leadership roles at the Chapel over the years.) “She just was unbelievably loving and caring and nurturing and really strengthened our faith in God.”

Beyond the Chapel, Jones remembers an outpouring of compassion from staff at Duke Health, Duke Gardens, and other campus units. “You don’t often hear Duke being described as a huge place of love, right?” he says. “But in our case, it was.”

Over time, Jones’s deepened faith led him to embrace ways to serve others, especially young people.

“A couple of years later, Luke called and asked if I would be willing to serve on the board,” Jones says. “And, you know, I think God was nudging me to just start stepping out again.”

Now serving as the board’s vice chair, Jones is especially enthusiastic about how the Chapel’s student engagement efforts can support an “environment that welcomes people of all faiths and no faith to just explore what a relationship with God can do for their life.”

“If we can get young people grounded in faith, then the human race is going to be that much better,” he says. “We have this opportunity to literally touch thousands each year.”

In explaining his urgency to reach young people, Jones cites Jesus’s teaching to build a house on a firm foundation.

“When the storms of life come— and they will—having a faith, being grounded in faith enables a person to persevere,” he says. “Try to maintain hope and lean on God and not just count on the things of this world to get through.”

News & Notes Meet Our New Staff Members

Beca Franca Director of Hospitality and Building Management

Caleb Harris Worship and Ministry Coordinator

Karen Huang Communications Specialist

Mary Salvarezza Visitor Relations Assistant

Cristina van Werkhoven Staff Assistant for Hospitality and Wedding Coordinator

Amanda Wu Visitor Relations Assistant and Wedding Assistant

The Rev. Dr. P. Lywood Pace, Jr. Assistant Dean of Religious Life

PathWays Fellows Live in Community This year, three Duke graduate students are living, studying, and learning together in the PathWays House in Durham’s West End neighborhood.

These PathWays Fellows undertake vocational exploration, mentorship, service, and formation deeply rooted in the Durham community and their Christian traditions. They are pictured here (left to right): Juan Pablo Parra, dual-degree masters of public policy and MBA student; Emily Phenice, Divinity student; and Peter Hansum, Divinity student.

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Spring 2025 29

Singing the Psalms During an all-day prayer service on January 17 in Duke Divinity School’s Goodson Chapel, ministers and musicians from Duke Chapel joined students, faculty, and staff in chanting all 150 of the Bible’s Psalms. The service was notable not only for its length and monastic quality but also for the Psalm texts being used. All 150 of them were original translations by Dr. Ellen Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School.

Theology Underground Conversation on Black Literature The Rev. Racquel Gill, the Chapel’s minister for intercultural engagement, continues to lead monthly Theology Underground meetings. Featuring guest speakers, the conversations explore how culture, identity, and race affect the way students live out their faith and beliefs. In honor of the one hundredth birthday of the literary giant James A. Baldwin, the series is focusing this year on the intersections of theology and black literature.

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Jazz Vespers with Branford Marsalis

Robert Parkins’s Farewell Recital On Sunday, April 6, at 5:00 p.m., Robert Parkins’s farewell recital at Duke Chapel will feature repertoire he performed at dedicatory concerts of the Chapel’s Brombaugh, Flentrop, and Aeolian organs. The concert will include early Spanish and south German music as well as works by Scheidt, Buxtehude, Pierné, Franck, and Gigout. University Organist and a Professor of the Practice of Music, Dr. Parkins was first appointed Duke Chapel Organist in the fall of 1975.

There is no charge for admission and a livestream of the recital will be available on the Duke Chapel website.

Over the past ten years, Jazz Vespers has become a beloved tradition at Duke Chapel. The services combine the ancient Christian tradition of evening vespers prayers with the aural idioms of Black sacred music, including jazz, gospel, and the spirituals.

Adding to this tradition, the most recent Jazz Vespers service was to feature the music of guest artist and jazz icon Branford Marsalis. An instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, Marsalis has been recognized with, among many other honors, three GRAMMY Awards, a Tony nomination, an Emmy nomination, and a citation by the National Endowment for the Arts as Jazz Master.

In Memoriam Dr. James Gates Ferguson, Jr. November 22, 1941–January 28, 2025 On February 18, 2025, the Chapel celebrated a Service for the Worship of God and in Gratitude for the Life of Dr. James Gates Ferguson, Jr. Along with his wife Eleanor (Ellie), Jim steered and blessed Duke Chapel over many decades, from the installation of the Flentrop organ to the upgrading of the sound system, from the splendor of the Advent-Christmas decorations to welcoming visitors as the head usher. A husband, father, grandfather, teacher, mentor, and friend, Jim is being remembered as a “doorkeeper in God’s house.”

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The Goodness of God in Our Midst

Amanda M. Hughes Senior Director of Development and Strategy Dear Friends, In this spring semester, Duke Chapel continues to offer the campus and the community pathways to a joyful and hopeful future. We see the strains our students and our communities carry, and we acknowledge them in our prayers, work to meet their most immediate needs, and offer programs that help to set and reset all our lives within the context of God’s all-inclusive love.

Our visitors are as diverse as the campus community.

We know that each one enters the Chapel with their unique hopes and fears. We see these reflected in their requests for prayer and in their excitement at the astounding beauty of the sanctuary or in the rousing applause at the end of a choral concert. Our volunteer docents and our stalwart hospitality team members greet the public and share the story of this marvelous place to attentive listeners.

Our students also come from around the world. Some dream of working in medicine or law, in the sciences or the arts. Others plan to serve the world through their faith, pursuing ordination or work in faith-based organizations.

When I walk through the Chapel lounge, I see members of our staff and leaders of Religious Life groups sitting with students. Sometimes they are meeting one on one and sometimes they are seated in a circle of chairs studying a sacred text. Student workers are assisting with programs and projects in our offices, while up in the sanctuary, I often see a student sitting quietly in a pew, sometimes reading, sometimes praying, always in the presence of God.

One of my dearest friends is a former Jesuit, now an Episcopal priest. He often reminds me of a fundamental truth. “God is good,” he’ll say, “all the time.” It reminds me of another friend, a practicing Buddhist, who says, “The sky is always blue, Amanda, even when you cannot see it.”

I know these are true sayings and they are helpful.

God is always good, and the sky is always blue.

Every day, Duke Chapel brings people closer to the ever-present, gracious love of God. From the words of ordained preachers to the lyrics in our hymns, we are invited to see the abiding goodness of God. Today, as you read this edition of Chapel View magazine, it is my hope that you will see the blue sky above us and the goodness of God in our midst. I also hope you will continue to support Duke Chapel. If you would like to discuss how you might support our mission and ministry, I would welcome the chance to meet with you in person or by phone. You and your journey of faith and philanthropy matter to all of us.

With gratitude,

Amanda Millay Hughes

Your gift today is 100% tax deductible.

Please make your check payable to Duke Chapel and mail to: Alumni and Development Records Duke University Box 90581 Durham, NC 27708-0581 For information about credit card or stock gifts, please contact Erica Thomas for assistance at (919) 684-5955 or at chapeldevelopment@duke.edu or gifts.duke.edu/chapel.

Right: People attending a concert by the student gospel group United in Praise respond to the music.

Photo by Brianna Smith, Trinity ’24.

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