RELIGIOUS LIFE AT DUKE Religious Life at Duke, overseen by the Chapel, comprises staff members from twenty-three campus Religious Life groups. The various campus ministers, chaplains, imam, and rabbi meet every-other week at the Chapel for updates and fellowship. Through their various campus groups, they aim to support students in their faiths and in their learning. Here are a couple of scenes from Religious Life this past semester.
Interfaith Roundtable
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his year a new Interfaith Roundtable, funded by the Faith Council at Duke Chapel, met four times with the goals of building fellowship within the group and better understanding each other’s faith traditions. The theme of the discussions was disagreements within various faiths. The group, chaired by Rabbi Elana Friedman, comprises sixteen Religious Life staff members.
Members of the Interfaith Roundtable (back row, left to right): Francesca Morfesis, Buddhist Meditation Community; Libby Sapp, Presbyterian Campus Ministry; Catherine Preston, Duke Catholic Center; Rabbi Elana Friedman, Jewish Life at Duke. Front row (left to right): Jeff Nelson, Housing and Residence Life; Sister Mary Peter Ryan, Duke Catholic Center; Ali Tranvik, Duke Lutherans; the Rev. Dr. Carol Gregg, Congregation at Duke Chapel. Roundtable members not pictured are: Angelo Cho, Asian InterVarsity Christian Fellowship; Charlie Densmore, Cru; Chuck and Ilace Greenyer, Acts2; Lawrence Powers, Cooperative Baptist Student Fellowship; Ken Rogerson, Latter-day Saint Student Association; Imam Joshua Salaam, Muslim Life at Duke; and Madhu Sharma, Hindu Life at Duke. Photo by James Todd, Chapel communications manager.
Living Learning Community
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his year eight students sought to better understand one another’s faiths as they lived, studied, and learned together through the Eruditio et Religio livinglearning community. The students lived together in the Blue Ridge House residence hall in Keohane Quad. They studied together in a Duke “house course” on Religious Traditions and Interfaith Dialogue: Engaging Difference in the Community. And, they learned together about different faiths by visiting services of worship in the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh traditions. The group was advised this year by Dr. Laura Lieber, a professor of religious studies, and Jeff Nelson, a Residence Life coordinator and Chapel National Advisory Board member. Eruditio et Religio received financial support from the Chapel, Student Affairs, and the Interfaith Youth Corp. 6 CHAPEL VIEW magazine
Eruditio et Religio students attend a Hindu Diwali celebration (left to right): Alexandra Fisher, T ’19; Callie Keen, T ’20; Devri Adams, T ’19; Aidan Workman, T ’19; and Mahnoor Nazeer, T ’19. Students in Eruditio et Religio who are not pictured are Nicholas Chrapliwy, T ’21; Heather Zhou, T ’19; and Lily el Naccash, T ’20. Photo by Alexandra Fisher, T ’19.