CHAPEL VIEW magazine magazine
SPRING2016 2016 Spring
CHAPEL ADVISORY BOARD PRESIDENT Charlie Berardesco, T ’80 VICE PRESIDENT C.B. Richardson III, T ’92 PAST PRESIDENT Gina Harrison Zoila Airall, PhD Zach Heater, T ’17 Nancy L. Jirtle, PhD Anna R. Jones T. Walker Robinson, MD, T ’00, G ’01, M ’09 Max Sirenko, T ’11 Valerie Sirenko, T ’11 Amanda Wright Smoot, WC ’63 EMERITUS MEMBER William E. King, PhD, T ’61, G ’63, G ’70
CHAPEL STAFF OFFICE OF THE DEAN Luke A. Powery, Dean of Duke Chapel STUDENT MINISTRY Christy Lohr Sapp, Associate Dean for Religious Life Adam Hollowell, Director of Student Ministry Joshua Lazard, C. Eric Lincoln Minister for Student Engagement Gerly Ace, Staff Specialist for Student Ministry MUSIC Rodney Wynkoop, Director of Chapel Music Robert Parkins, University Organist Christopher Jacobson, Chapel Organist Brian Schmidt, Assistant Conductor and Administrative Coordinator of Chapel Music J. Samuel Hammond, University Carillonneur John Santoianni, Curator of Organs and Harpsichords Michael Lyle, Staff Assistant to Chapel Music WORSHIP & EVENTS Bruce Puckett, Director of Worship and Community Ministry Sara Blaine Clark, Event & Wedding Coordinator Blanche Williams, Wedding Director Jack Adams, Interim Worship Coordinator COMMUNICATIONS James Todd, Multimedia Manager DEVELOPMENT Amanda Hughes, Director of Development Ava West, Staff Assistant for Development ADMINISTRATION Joni Harris, Assistant to the Dean Lisa Moore, Accounting Specialist and Office Coordinator UNIVERSITY HOUSEKEEPING Oscar Dantzler, Chapel Services Duke Schools Abbreviation Key: D (Divinity School) E (Pratt School of Engineering) G (Graduate School) MD (School of Medicine) T (Trinity College of Arts & Sciences) WC (Women’s College) Chapel reopening events and first worship services photos by Duke Photography
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www.chapel.duke.edu
renewed | restored | inspired
#FINDSANCTUARY
A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN THE REV. DR. LUKE A. POWERY [@LukeAPowery] Dear Friends,
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he Chapel reopened on May 11, 2016 after 365 days of locked doors, construction workers, architects, scaffolding, and a plan to restore it to its original beauty. We are, of course, grateful to the university for this generous endorsement of our work. A $19.2 million dollar renovation is more than an investment, more than a gift, it is a statement of the primacy of the Chapel at Duke: the icon of the university, a center for worship, and yes, a sanctuary for all.
Dean Luke Powery and President Richard Brodhead joyfully cut the reopening ribbon.
I had the chance to enter the Chapel only a few times during the restoration, and often found myself looking at the locked doors from the inside. What does it mean to be a “Chapel without Walls,”
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a sanctuary for all when all the doors remain locked? Maya Angelou is quoted as saying: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I have thought deeply about how it feels to be in this Chapel. Inside, I can easily see what it stands for: James B. Duke and his visionary leadership; extraordinary sacred music; a legacy of inspired preaching; a place for prayer and contemplation. Inside, I know that the Chapel elevates our vision above the mundane to the sublime purposes of God: loving kindness and hospitality to all, compassion for the suffering, preparation for service, and of course, full redemption in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Chapel itself nurtures the presence of God in every aspect of our lives. But over the course of this year away, I have also seen and felt the presence of God in the people who have stood with us in Page Auditorium for Sunday worship, in special events in Goodson Chapel, in the gatherings of student ministries, listening sessions for the Task Force on Bias and Hate, and on the streets of Durham where our PathWays Fellows carry the Gospel into people’s daily lives. A chapel with or without walls must extend mercy and kindness every day. This is what I will remember from our year of restoration: our commitment to hope, our practice of compassion, our call to justice, and our love for God. I am thankful for this and for you and your steadfast support of our mission. With gratitude,
VOICES FROM THE CHAPEL The 2016 Annual Student Preacher: Yi Ying Teh
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uke University senior Yi Ying Teh was selected as this year’s Duke Chapel student preacher. She delivered her sermon, “Everybody’s Got the Blues,” during the Chapel’s worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 28, in Page Auditorium. Teh said her message, based on I Corinthians 10:1–13, addressed, “What it means not to claim to have life’s answers, as Christians, but to be able to embody Christ in flesh and blood to the people who are suffering around us.” Teh, from Singapore, is a double major in public policy and environmental science and policy. She is a PathWays Chapel Scholar, a member of Asian InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Duke and a co-president of the campus group Duke Voices for Interfaith Action. Last fall, she participated in the Campus Festival of Young Preachers at Duke. She also regularly attends worship at CityWell United Methodist Church in Durham.
“The Chapel itself nurtures the presence of God in every aspect of our lives.” PHOTO COURTESY JONI HARRIS
“Yi Ying’s sermon displays her deep commitment to Christian faith, as well as her wisdom gained through meaningful interfaith engagement across traditions,” said Adam Hollowell, director of student ministry at Duke Chapel. “Her thoughtfulness and abiding commitment to friendship are evident in her words calling us to imitate Christ’s humility.” Upon graduating Teh plans to return to Singapore to serve as a civil servant as part of a scholarship she received. Watch it online here: http://tinyurl.com/2016StudentPreacher
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A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR DUKE CHAPEL NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
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What an exciting time it is for the entire Duke University community—students, faculty, alumni, worshipers and supporters—to be able to see the results of amazing work that has been undertaken as part of this remarkable and historic restoration.
t is in light of all that has occurred as part of the restoration that I want to publicly express, on behalf of the Chapel Advisory Board, our appreciation to University President Richard Brodhead, Board of Trustees Chair David Rubinstein, the entire University Board of Trustees and leadership team and so many others, for their support of this restoration of Duke Chapel. Duke Chapel is a unique institution, one that has led each member of the Advisory Board to support the mission and ministries of the Chapel through our time, talent, gifts and service. The Chapel is, in the words of its Strategic Plan, “home to an interdenominational Christian community formed by the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.” It is also, due in large part to its unique place at a major international university, called to be in rich and charitable dialogue with other religious communities, as well as with Duke students, members of the local Durham community, and friends across our nation and world. The Chapel holds a special place in the hearts of many Duke alumni and supporters as a place of worship, service, and fellowship, and serving as the vibrant symbol of Duke University itself. The support Duke University has provided to the Chapel, both for its ongoing operations and, in particular, for its restoration, is a clear sign of the importance of the Chapel to the life of the University. It is also an expression
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of its importance to the university’s leadership, reflecting what we believe is the position of students, faculty, alumni and the broader community when they consider the Chapel: a vibrant Christian presence in the very heart of the university. We also want to express our appreciation for everyone in the Facilities Management Department for all of their efforts during the restoration process. In particular, we are grateful for the background information and regular status reports provided to the Chapel Advisory Board by Mr. Ray Walker. Finally, we want to express our appreciation to the Duke Chapel staff. They have maintained their focus and good humor during a very disruptive time. They have continued to lead inspiring worship and music, implement programs and initiatives across the Duke landscape, and provide ministry to Duke students and staff and the broader community. Their efforts are truly impressive to each member of the Advisory Board. It is with real gratitude that we express our thanks to the university’s leadership, and to the broader Duke community, for all they do to support the Chapel and to position it as a vital presence at Duke University for years to come. Charlie Berardesco
A FEW FUN
Facts 200,000
Actual visitors each year
500,000
Virtual visitors each year through live feed to Duke Health complex, online video, and social media
30,000
Guided tours of the Chapel offered to tourists, public school children, and local community members and organizations
$3.1 million
Annual budget (does not include the cost of maintaining the building)
21
Full and part-time staff members
24
Campus-based Religious Life Groups are convened through the Chapel
Demographics Class of 2019 The whole world comes to Duke— the Chapel serves the entire student body at Duke University
49% White/Caucasian 11% African American 28% Asian, Asian American, and
Pacific Islander
11% Latino 1% Native American, American
Indian, Native Alaskan, or Native Hawaiian
Renovation cost
$19.2 million
Renovation cost
$19.2 million
completed in one year on time and within budget
completed in one year on time and within budget
Children celebrate the opening of Christian worship.
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Dean Luke Powery and Amanda Hughes share a moment with President Brodhead before the ribbon cutting ceremony. Left: Dr. Caroline Bruzelius offers the first lecture in the restored Chapel.
Open with Gratitude
For this sacred place of beauty and holiness offered to your honor and glory,
We give you thanks, O God Visitors enjoyed rare access to the organs in the sanctuary and Memorial Chapel with demonstrations by Kit Jacobson, Chapel Organist.
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Senior Tower Climb For those who had the wise vision to build the foundations of this institution in faith and hope, and for those who, generation after generation, have guided its progress and nurtured the heritage committed to their trust,
We give you thanks, O God
Seniors climb the Chapel tower for a chance to look out across the campus.
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Brandon Hudson T’06 D’13, Yi Ying Teh T’16, Dean Luke Powery (left to right above) and Valerie Gilespie, University Archivist, discuss the history, mission, and ministry of Duke Chapel with Frank Stasio.
“The State of Things” at the Chapel
Rodney Wynkoop conducts the Chapel Choir for radio broadcast.
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First Worship Service May 22
For the freedom of the Spirit in the knowledge of the truth, for the new commandment that we love one another, and for the experience of abundant life,
We give you thanks, O God Spring 2016 9
WORSH JOIN US IN
The Chapel is also used by different Religious Life groups for a variety of services outside the weekly offerings, such as Catho For a complete list of weekly services and special celebrations, visit the Chapel’s online calendar at duke.chapel.edu.
HIP
SUMMER SCHEDULE 2016
Morning Service
11am Sundays
Silent Time
8-8:30am Monday through Friday
olic Mass on Sundays at 9:00 p.m.
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Munich Regensburg Dresden Leipzig Halle Berlin Bethlehem Jerusalem Bergen Oslo Stockholm New York City
To work beyond chapel walls means carrying the inspiration of our Chapel into the world around us. This year, the Chapel continued to expand its reach through music, ministry, and the witness of faiths in community outreach and collaboration.
DEC 2015/ JAN 2016
Emma Wright (T ‘17) (Student Choir Member)
God be in my head, and in my understanding; God be in my eyes, and in my looking; God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at my end, and at my departing. Sarum Prayer
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he familiar words of “God Be in My Head” echoed throughout the sanctuary of the famous Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany. I sang those same words every Sunday for the past year in Duke Chapel, yet as the last notes lingered in the crisp January air, I noticed the many teary eyes around me and felt a surge of emotion myself. We were surrounded by so much history and musical talent.
PHOTOS COURTESY DUKE UNIVERSITY CHAPEL CHOIR
Duke University Chapel Choir celebrate the holiday season in churches in Germany.
Just days after Christmas, the Chapel Choir, with our fearless leader Rodney Wynkoop, gathered at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport to embark on a tour of Germany. Over the course of ten days we visited a variety of cities including Munich, Regensburg, Dresden, Leipzig, Halle, and Berlin. We sang in some of the most iconic churches in Germany such as Wieskirche, Nikolaikirche, and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. We learned about the rich and complex history of Germany through guided city tours, museums, memorials, and churches. I was particularly struck by how the Germans presented the darker aspects of their country’s past with solemn respect and understanding. It was powerful to stand in places that were once ashes and now have risen again with beauty and strength. For me, music has always had the
ability to express emotions too deep for words alone. Therefore, a choir tour was the perfect way for me to know Germany. Both the music and my knowledgeable choir friends revealed a far richer experience for me. Whether we were bursting into the Hallelujah Chorus at a beer hall in Regensburg on New Year’s Eve or singing along in full harmony to the audio tour in Handel’s home in Halle, nothing beats traveling as a choir! Our tour bus was regularly filled with energetic singing and laughter. The Duke Chapel Choir is more than just a team that works well together to produce beautiful music; they are my family at Duke. They are my diverse, quirky, and wonderful family members, and I cannot imagine Duke without them. Traveling through Germany with such an incredible group was truly unforgettable, and I am so grateful for this experience. Spring 2016 13
DEC 31, 2015 (written by a Christian undergraduate student)
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estivity in weariness, hope amidst anger. These states of being held in tension characterized our day today, which I suspect will be a consistent trope. We began our exploration with art in Palestine, through various renowned voices at Dar Al Kalima University. A Lutheran-affiliated university, DAK University seeks to provide education and art, to revitalize Palestinian culture and heritage so that they may have life, and have it abundantly (their motto, as adapted from Mark 10:10).
“We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.” —Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem
This year over winter break, a small group of Duke Students visited Bethlehem and Jerusalem. A direct outgrowth of a semester long class, Religion & Peace: Case Studies in Activism and Reconciliation, Christy Lohr Sapp, Associate Dean for Religious Life, offered students the opportunity to travel and to learn within an interfaith cohort. Too often, religion is cited as the root of conflict, yet the students and chaperones on this journey, meeting people from the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions, were welcomed with authentic hospitality. They encountered and grappled with fundamental differences in experience and outlook, applying the concepts and pedagogies for peacemaking covered during the fall semester. In an attempt to hold and share these Service-Learning experiences, the group maintained a blog for friends and family members to follow during the trip. Excerpts are presented here to demonstrate the thoughtfulness with which students approached this vast cultural landscape of activism and reconciliation. Learn more at chapel.duke.edu.
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As Mitri Raheb, the Lutheran pastor and theologian who founded Diyar, a civic engagement program says, “We have politics for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here, we have too much religion. But culture? Culture reaches the soul.” Dr. Khoury, the vice president for academic affairs at Dar Al- Kalima University, also suggests that the liberation of Palestine is not sufficient if Palestinian young people are not alive. Through the arts, DAK seeks to provide an avenue for self-expression that awake the young people and enable them to see life in the occupation in new eyes and to channel their voice through their art. One professor mentioned, compared to teaching in Canada where she has to challenge her students there to develop ideas, she has had to teach her students how to whittle down their ideas here in Palestine. There are just so many stories. We are thankful for … the pains that people go to to carry their stories with us and to trust us to listen to them, to acknowledge their pain, and to laugh with them.
JAN 1, 2016 (written by a Muslim undergraduate student)
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trangers … Even now, my parents warn me to not interact with strangers. As of today, I’m starting to lower my guard, and honestly, I’m glad that I’m doing it. The strangers … welcome me with open arms, feed me with no hesitation, and show me that they’re more than just shadows in the streets. Bethlehem has taught me that no one is a stranger. We sat down for a scriptural reasoning session (an interfaith text study). The selected texts focused on hospitality, and the verses described the time when Abraham invited three strangers over for rest and food. One comment got me thinking; [someone] stated that his friend believed that no one could be a stranger. I found his comment ironic—my day had been filled with numerous strangers, yet here I was learning that none of them were actually strangers. Admittedly, I spent the next fifteen minutes reflecting on my day filled with “strangers.”
JAN 8, 2016 (written by a secular undergraduate student)
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atching such a resilient community leader detail the repression and hardship of her community’s everyday life was, in a strange and melancholy way, the highlight of my trip so far. As someone with a deep admiration for fearless grassroots movers and shakers, Medina stood out as exceptionally knowledgeable, weather-worn, tough, and compassionate. It was powerful to witness earnest and honest conversation between both Palestinian and non-Palestinian Jerusalemites and to see a motley crew of activists discuss critical questions about the context, trajectory, severity, and legality of the abuses.
JAN 1, 2016 (written by a Jewish undergraduate student)
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s we walked down the street [in Bethlehem], we came to a broken-down building next to a field. The field was covered in fencing except for one spot when it was mangled beyond repair; the building was covered by fence, except for one spot where it was missing. There was a stone wall between the two that had two large holes – they looked like they could have been blasted open by some sort of grenade. The ground was littered with hundreds of tear gas canisters. I picked up a top, and could still smell the gas inside of it. Standing there, I could imagine how the fence became mangled and the holes blasted. The tear gas canisters must have accumulated over time, but just picturing the violence that site had seen was deeply upsetting. I used my Hebrew for the first time all trip – to read the label on a tear gas canister. Looking ahead, we saw the separation wall. Growing up in Zionist communities, I was taught to refer to it as a “security fence” – as adults informed us, it is only a wall in a few places. Walking along its edge, this language seemed laughable and cruel. This wall was a behemoth. It was cold, gray, thick slabs of prison walls. Escape, freedom, and coexistence seemed impossible when you looked up at the height of the wall, dotted with sniper towers that looked like the Panopticon. As we walked around the wall, reading the graffiti that colored it, we came to a graveyard in terrible disrepair. The wall came right to the edge of the graveyard, and tear gas canisters littered the ground in front of the graves.
…. the room felt calm, invested, focused, passionate, and driven. The afternoon spoke: “Suffering is happening, but we are collectively documenting it. We are organizing, sharing, and caring. We will spread the word and we will not rest until the suffering is alleviated.”
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here is a poem by Mahmoud Darwish at the end of “The Life of the Pigeons” titled “Think of Others.” It begins: “As you prepare your breakfast, think of others. / Don’t forget to feed the pigeons. / As you conduct your wars, think of others. / Don’t forget those who want peace.” I don’t know to what degree we can really free ourselves from the experiences that have shaped our views. I don’t think there’s such thing as being purely “unbiased.” But I do hope that it becomes easier to think of others without it feeling like a concession to the other side of the political conflict. That we can stop for a moment before assigning blame and just lament the loss of a life that was precious.
PHOTOS COURTESY STUDENT PARTICIPANTS
JAN 5, 2016 (written by a Christian undergraduate student)
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AFTER THOUGHTS (written by a Christian Divinity School student)
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A RARE DISTINCTION After years of preparation and two days of intensive exams, Duke Chapel Organist Christopher Jacobson has received the highest honor from the United Kingdom’s Royal College of Organists.
We went into the tomb and it, too, felt like a holy site. I was able to not just cognitively know something, but to feel something, to feel an excitement from my friends who knew the joy of how significant this place is. That excitement was contagious and while I still can’t quite articulate why that place was holy, I remember the feeling.
Founded in 1864, the College received its Royal Charter during the reign of Queen Victoria in 1893. For more than 150 years, the organization has promoted the practice of organ playing and choral directing at the highest standards of competence and artistry. The College’s Fellowship Diploma, awarded to Jacobson on March 12 at the conferment and hooding ceremony at Southwark Cathedral in London, is among the most prestigious international recognitions for organists. According to current records, Jacobson is one of only a few Americans to have achieved distinction as a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists (FRCO). “It’s wonderful to have studied for two years and have that work come to fruition,” Jacobson said. At Duke, Jacobson conducts the Chapel’s Evensong Singers in addition to playing the organ at worship services, university ceremonies and concerts. He initiated and oversees Duke Chapel’s Organ Scholars program, which provides rigorous training for two organ students each year in the practical skills of keyboard musicianship and sacred music through regular accompaniment of Choral Evensong. In addition to his duties as Chapel Organist, Jacobson maintains an active solo concert schedule and has performed the entire organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach on several occasions across the United States. “Being awarded the RCO’s Fellowship Diploma is a major accomplishment in the world of organists, acknowledging
he word nostalgia literally means to “ache” for “homecoming.” Nostalgia comes from a wanting to return home, to something true and good. I admit that I feel an aching for home, but it is complex for me because I don’t have a very good sense of where that home is anymore. The relationships I have are dynamic and constantly changing. People are moving away. People who felt like home to me have died or changed. Maybe I’m the person who changed. Every time I try to describe what home is, it feels like sand just sifting through my fingers. Still, I expected to feel as though I had arrived at home in Bethlehem and in Jerusalem: a place where Jesus physically was present on Earth. I longed to feel at home, to feel like I belonged somewhere, like my whole life was leading up to this moment where Israel Palestine could fulfill my longing for home. Yet, I was confronted with other longings from strangers and my group and teachers and guides. I was confronted with longings that were beginning to seem intertwined. When we went to the Chapel of the Ascension of Jesus around the Mount of Olives, someone else in the group found that the tomb of an 8th century Sufi mystic was next door. After I saw the chapel celebrating a key event in my religious tradition, I was reminded that there is also something else holy going on here.
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Kit’s mastery of a wide range of musical knowledge and keyboard skills,” said Rodney Wynkoop, director of Chapel Music. “This is a professional endorsement of the qualities that led us to invite Kit to join the Duke Chapel staff in 2014, and we are all greatly pleased that he has been honored in this way.” To earn the FRCO diploma, Jacobson traveled last July to London to take the first of two exams, which included playing a recital and testing of keyboard skills. Before a panel of three judges, he was asked to read complex music at sight, transpose music written in one key into another, and sight-read music with Baroque-style figured bass notation, which requires an organist to improvise notes played with the right hand while playing specific notes with the left. He was also asked to demonstrate his ability to read open score – instantly translating music written in four concurrent clefs to the keyboard with the accuracy and expressiveness of a rehearsed performance. “It was nerve-racking and incredibly intense,” Jacobson said. “It’s designed that way to test your mettle; it measures your musical fortitude under pressure. Jacobson returned to London in January for a series of written academic exams. For these, he composed a fugue in Baroque-style in four-part invertible counterpoint. He transcribed an orchestral score into music for the organ. He wrote historical essays on the organ works of Felix Mendelsohn and organ music from seventeenth-century France, commonly known as French Classic music. He was also asked to demonstrate facility in advanced aural perception by listening to music and recreating it on paper without the aid of the original musical score. Immediately applicable to his daily
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“We can learn from the dedication of musicians. They practice their craft – daily, with rigor and discipline. This is akin to the practices of faith. When we pray, sing, listen, and serve, we celebrate and nurture God’s gifts with our daily practice.”
EDE & RAVENSCROFT PHOTOGRAPHY
— Dean Luke A. Powery
work at Duke, mastery of these skills is indispensable for a professional organist, Jacobson said. “There is no shortcut for these skills,” he said. “They are acquired and sustained only through regular practice over many years.” During worship services, he will, onthe-fly, transpose a hymn into a different key so that it flows more congruently with the liturgy. With the massive volume of music he encounters every week at Duke, fluent sight-reading is required
to get through it all. At a recent Baroque concert with the Vespers ensemble, he performed from complex figured bass notation, which is known as the art of continuo playing. With no higher-level certification to pursue, Jacobson said he is now focused on passing on what he has learned. “Really what’s next here at Duke and Duke Chapel is imparting these skills and knowledge to the students, Organ Scholars and other musicians who are drawn to this place.”
CHOIR TRAVELS IN 2017 Duke Chapel will continue its practice of expanding the reach of our Music Ministry. Brian Schmidt will conduct the Duke Vespers Ensemble on a 10-day tour of Norway and Sweden. In Bergen the singers will visit the home of Edvard Grieg, historic “Stave Churches.” In Oslo the choir will sing a collaborative concert with the Oslo Chamber Choir. Gothenburg will include another exchange concert with Ars Veritas, an early music ensemble based at the Oskar Fredriks Kyrka. In Jönkoping the choir will sing a concert at the grand Sofiakyrkan. The final stop on the tour will be in Stockholm, where the choir will sing two concerts at the majestic Storkyrkan Cathedral. The Chapel Choir singers are also invited to go to Carnegie Hall with members of other choirs (the Choral Society of Durham, the Duke Chorale, and the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Durham) for a performance under the direction of Rodney Wynkoop.
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In collaboration with University Archives, the Chapel presented An Iconic Identity in the Jerry and Bruce Chappell Family Gallery in the Rubenstein Library this spring. From the introduction: Over the past eight decades, Duke Chapel has celebrated thousands of services, welcomed millions of guests, and served as the preeminent icon for the university. Duke Chapel represents many things to many different people. Its varied roles, constituencies, and history allowed it to cultivate an atmosphere that welcomed world-renowned speakers and musicians while also providing space for students, faculty, staff, community members, and visitors to express their hopes, fears, joys, sorrows, and frustrations. The story of Duke Chapel is not just the story of a building. It represents the story of a community and of the richly diverse group of people who have helped to shape the Chapel’s legacy-and who will ultimately shape its future... The exhibition will have a permanent online presence and may be viewed at: exhibits2.library.duke.edu/ exhibits/show/chapel2016/intro The exhibit was co-curated by Andrew Klumpp D’14 and Sara Blaine Clark D’09, Assistant Manager, Special Events, Duke University Chapel.
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An Iconic Identity Stories and Voices of Duke University Chapel
LEARN/SERVE WITH US
LOIS OLIVER DOCENT TRAINER
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have been a docent at Duke Chapel for a long time. I am a member of the Congregation at Duke Chapel, beginning when I was an associate dean at Duke University School of Medicine. I suppose since I come from a family of teachers, and I taught medical students, when the late Bob Dunham started the docent program I volunteered to join. At the start the tours were only on Sundays after the eleven o’clock service. Bob taught us the basics about the architecture, the windows, the woodwork and the sculptures, and encouraged us to continue to learn from other resources, especially Duke Chapel Illustrated. This book with the beautiful photographs of almost every inch of the Chapel, accompanied by Minnie Glyphs’ narrative was our guide book. I have continued to learn more ever since from various sources, often triggered by questions from visitors. Soon after I retired, I became head docent following in Bob Dunham’s footprints. This mainly involves scheduling docents for tours, and occasional in-service updates. In 2006, Dean Sam Wells, Lucy Worth, and Mollie Keel approached me about having docents in the Chapel during the week. They all observed that most casual visitors walk into the narthex and immediately are faced with the Great Chancel Window. They come up the steps to the nave and take a picture. Then they wander down the aisle about halfway, turn around and take a picture of the Flentrop organ, and then leave. Dean Wells thought it important that visitors get a bit more out of their visit, if not a spiritual uplift, then an artistic one.
We started with a number of volunteers from the Congregation and Friends of the Chapel and for the first year a docent was present each weekday for a couple of hours morning and afternoon. We had a clicker counter, and kept a record of how many visitors came in and how many had tours. The first year, we were there about eighty hours a month and we counted 30,000 visitors. Now the Visitor Relations Specialist at the desk and the others who staff the desk do the counting all day. It never ceases to surprise me how many people find their way to the Chapel, and also find a place to park to do it. They come from everywhere, many family members come over from the hospital, school groups, retirement community members, church groups, visiting basketball teams or their fans, and on and on. We do know the two commonest questions, which are “Where is the bathroom?” and “Where is Cameron Indoor Stadium?” Over the years, some docents only come in for scheduled tour groups, and a few have regular hours. Visitors welcome learning about the Chapel and we love teaching them about the architecture, the stained glass, and the woodwork, and something of the history of the university and the Duke family. Durham school children always want to see “the bodies” in the Memorial Chapel, and find the two church mice. To have a grand example of medieval Gothic architecture in North Carolina is a privilege and a pleasure, and the Chapel docents love showing it off.
From An Iconic Identity at the Rubenstein Library: Architectural Blueprint, Reproduction Rolled Items Collection, circa 1924-ongoing, Duke University Archives
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GIVING MATTERS
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o stand in the Chapel again is to know a blessing. Our Chapel, located on the campus of Duke University, holds a special place in the hearts and minds of everyone who encounters it. We (who gather here, learn here, work here, and pray here) know this. It is a center of gracious hospitality, welcoming people from all walks and every stage of life to enter and reflect on the challenges and gifts of their lives. We see the windows, glistening with the lives of the known and unknown saints of God. We see the students, entering this icon of the university as they enter their adult lives, filled with energy, skills, and hopes for the future. We see ourselves, here, in this place, as we stop and stand for a moment in our busy lives. When we gather here, we glimpse the rich history of the Christian tradi-
tion and the diversity of the university’s broad community. I invite you to celebrate this re-opening with a generous heart. This will mean different things for different people. Some may attend worship services. Some may make a donation in support of our work: PathWays, Music, Community Outreach, and so many other strategic initiatives. Some may consider a new bequest to leave
Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed. Mary Oliver, Evidence: Poems
a lasting legacy at the Chapel, while others request prayers for a loved one in a time of difficulty. You might bring family or friends to walk the long center aisle to look up with awe. In every case, I hope you will come to the Chapel and, as poet Mary Oliver suggests, stand and see the blessing. The Chapel is open and filled again with the believing spirit of its community. We are blessed, indeed. Like the university itself, the Chapel, relies on the generosity of its friends and alumni for the resources to fulfill its mission. I invite you, now, to take a moment and support the Chapel. A gift in any amount will be deeply appreciated. With gratitude, Amanda M. Hughes
Your gift today is 100% tax deductible. Please make your check payable to Duke Chapel and send to: Director of Development & Major Gifts | Duke University Chapel | 401 Chapel Drive, Box 90974 | Durham, North Carolina 27708 For information about credit card or stock gifts, please contact Amanda Hughes for assistance. (919) 684-5351 | amanda.hughes1@duke.edu | chapel.duke.edu
20 CHAPEL VIEW magazine
For the future set before us and the hope instilled with us, We give you thanks, O God
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