In-person
For Alumni
For Clergy
For Lay Leaders
For Students
General Audience
Schedule
11:45 a.m. – Panel Discussion Begins, 0015 Westbrook, Duke Divinity School
12:40 p.m. – Panel Discussion Concludes
12:45 p.m. – Midday Prayer, Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School
1:00 p.m. – End
Event Description
The Synod on Synodality was a historic initiative of the Roman Catholic Church aimed at fostering a more inclusive and participatory Church. Bringing together laypeople, clergy, and religious, the Synod invited deep reflection on how the Church can better listen, dialogue, and collaborate at all levels.
This in-person panel discussion will feature two non-Catholic participants in the Synod and a Catholic theologian, who will discuss the relationship between synodality and ecumenism, as well as the Synod’s impact on ecumenical dialogue since the close of the synod.
Lunch available for the first 25 attendees. No RSVP necessary.
Rev. J.C. Park, Ph.D.
Visiting Scholar, Duke Divinity School; Past President of the World Methodist Council
The Rev. Jong Chun (J. C.) Park is a Christian theologian working for United Methodist churches in Asia and ecumenical churches in Korea. J.C. earned his Ph.D. at Emory University in systematic theology. He has served for more than three decades as professor and president of the Methodist Theological University in Seoul, Korea. He has taught and written on the intercultural and interfaith interpretation of Asian and Wesleyan Christianity. He served as the president of the World Methodist Council from 2016 to 2024. He is committed to revitalizing churches through affirming the worldwide Methodist unity in fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples through vibrant evangelism and prophetic engagement. His ministry of peace and reconciliation has trilateral foci of evangelical ground, ecumenical connectivity, and interfaith solidarity.
Elizabeth Newman, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Theology, Baptist House of Studies, Duke Divinity School
Elizabeth Newman is adjunct professor of theology at Duke Divinity School and teaches in the Baptist House of Studies and at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Va. She began her teaching career at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Ind. (1990–2002) before joining the faculty of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (2002–2019), where she served as the Eula Mae and John Baugh Professor of Theology and Ethics. Her most recent book is Living the Liturgy, Enlarging the Baptist Vision (Baylor 2024). She currently serves as chair of the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity and is the BWA fraternal delegate to the Synod on Synodality.
Peter Casarella, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School
Peter Casarella is a professor of theology at Duke Divinity School; he is also executive director of the new Catholic initiative at Duke Divinity, Fons Vitae. Peter’s research focuses on systematic theology, as well as world religions and world church. He served as president of the American Cusanus Society, The Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians in the U.S., and the Academy of Catholic Theologians. In 2022, Professor Casarella received the Virgilio Elizondo Award from The Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. for his research and critical theological reflection on Hispanic/Latino presence in the U.S. Catholic Church.