Duke Divinity School maintains partnerships with several international church and scholastic institutions. Through these arrangements, faculty and students from the divinity school and the partner institutions share expertise, experiences and prayer. The partnership programs afford the opportunity for Duke Divinity School faculty and staff to visit, teach, serve and learn from the partner institutions, and for students, faculty and staff from the partner schools to visit Duke University.

Methodist Church of Southern Africa and John Wesley College in South Africa

The Methodist Church of Southern Africa and John Wesley College in South Africa

Southern Africa ’s story of racial conflict and oppression, its struggle for liberation and search for reconciliation offer significant learning opportunities for Christians of all races. The South African context offers Duke Divinity School an opportunity to study Christian mission history, Christian witness under oppression and in the struggle for racial justice, contextual theology and inter-faith relations. A comprehensive partnership between the Methodist Church of Southern African and Duke Divinity School enriches the experience of John Wesley College and Duke Divinity School students, faculty and administration. Also as the MCSA and Duke Divinity pool their theological resources the hope is to make impact on the Church.

Duke Divinity School (DDS) and the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) aim to learn from one another and consequently make contributions to the church in South Africa, as well as in the United States. This relationship focuses itself on:

  • The ministry of reconciliation
  • Ongoing critique of our efforts to facilitate justice and peace throughout the world
  • Celebration of peoples in our respective countries who bear witness to the ministry of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit
  • Mutual friendship and dialogue whereby we bear one another’s burdens
  • Covenant to pray, study and service, especially through John Wesley College and Duke Divinity School.

We feel this is a necessary response to God’s call to faithful service and ministry throughout the world and in celebration of new life involved in the world the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Catholic Church in Uganda

The Catholic Church in Uganda

Dr. Emmanuel Katongole’s presence as a member of the faculty at DDS represents the first step of interaction between DDS and the Catholic Church in Uganda. Despite Uganda’s own challenges, it continues to be an oasis for its troubled siblings in other parts of the African Continent. As a result, the church has continuously been engaged in servicing refugee populations from the Congo, Rwanda and other countries as well as addressing the impact of the AIDS pandemic. Dr. Katongole’s research and courses reflect this history. Partnership possibilities in Uganda include:

  • Ongoing Ugandan faculty presence at DDS (Dr. Emmanuel Katongole)
  • DDS faculty presence at Uganda Martyrs University or one of the Catholic or Anglican Seminaries in Uganda.
  • Academic and or ministerial exchange possibilities for Ugandan students.
  • Field Education placements for DDS students in Kampala, Uganda or its surrounding areas. M.Div. student Jay Carney was the first to engage in this endeavor in 2004.
  • Pilgrimage of Pain & Hope to Uganda/Rwanda during the summers of 2005 and 2007. Such a pilgrimage allows for participants to learn about the history of Uganda and the work of the church in the midst of this history. The pilgrimage is also attached to a course taught by Dr. Katongole during the previous spring which allows Divinity students to extend their learning as a result of such an experience. At the end of the 2-week pilgrimage, students write a paper about their reflections on the work of the church in Uganda.