Daily Journal

Daily Journal

Day 3: Covenant

published on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 by fg37@duke.edu

At a Glance

Theme:

Covenant

Faculty Speaker:

Kate Bowler

Lectionary Texts:

Joshua 24:1-8.13-25; Ps 136; 1 Pet 2:1-10; Matt. 26:26-29

Reflections on the Lecture

Today we heard from Kate Bowler, a PhD candidate and future faculty member of Duke Divinity School.  In her lecture, Kate navigated the students through God’s three major Old Testament covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses.  Kate encouraged the students to reflect on how these three covenants — covenants made thousands of years ago with a strange people in a far away land — were connected to their own baptisms.  The students noted that baptism is a symbol of covenant, a symbol of our being bound (or "fettered," as the Hebrew word for Covenant, Berith, suggests) to Christ in his death and resurrection. Though we ended the lecture considering the tension between God and humanity’s covenantal responsibility within different Christian traditions, Kate explained how the baptismal covenant is an everlasting one, always anchored in God’s forgiveness and grace.

Quotes

“In covenant, it is as if we're tied to a 2,000 pound giant.  That giant can be a rock that anchors us when the winds and oceans howl.  Or that giant can be an anchor that drowns us in the depths of the deep.  The question is, Christian, who are you tied to?”
— Kate Bowler, lecturing on the implications of being bound in covenant

“It’s kinda like a life-time warranty on all covenants.”
— DYA student considering the concept of covenant in Psalm 40

“Perizzites... are those like parasites?”
— DYA student in mentor reflection group, after reading about the covenantal “river of blood” in Genesis 15

“In Christ, God decided to tie God’s self with you.  There is nowhere for you to fly so far that God cannot find you and hold you close.  Where you go, God goes."
— Kate Bowler, regarding the new covenant in Christ, as well as anticipating tomorrow’s theme of incarnation

Other Activities

Today was our first day of leaving campus to visit service sites around Durham.  Students traveled to the Durham Rescue Mission, the Crisis Response Center, Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers (TROSA), Croasdaile Village Retirement Community, and Anathoth Community Garden to assist with projects and hear the stories of members of our local community.  In worship we welcomed the Rev. Jenny Copeland, UMC chaplain at Duke University, as our preacher, and the Rev. Bill Lamar, a Managing Director of Leadership Education at Duke Divinity, as our presider at table.   The service included a ceremony of Covenant Renewal as we remembered God’s faithfulness to us despite the ways we’ve broken our covenant with God.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow morning we turn our eyes toward the topic of incarnation as we welcome Dr. J. Kameron Carter in plenary. Concepts of incarnation will become more visible to us as we enter into our second arts village session this afternoon and create art with our hands and bodies. In the evening, Rev. Andrew Rowell from St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, FL will lead worship.

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Day 2: Creation

published on Tuesday, July 14, 2009 by fg37@duke.edu

At a Glance

Theme:

Creation

Faculty Speaker:

Dr. Ellen Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology

Lectionary Texts:

Genesis 1:2-4a; Psalm 33; Romans 8:18-25; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

Reflections on the Lecture

Dr. Davis began her lecture by connecting today’s theme to yesterday’s, suggesting that Genesis 1 can be read through the lens of our baptisms. To that end, she proposed a working thesis for the class: since Genesis 1 is typically read like a piece of prose—an exact play-by-play of an event—we would instead read the first biblical account of creation as a liturgical poem. Students discussed the implications of this new way of reading a familiar passage, and then Dr. Davis transported us all to 6th century Babylon, where Israelites—most likely Israelites around the age of our students—were serving as slave labor after the fall of Jerusalem. When viewed through the lens of exiles, the text of Genesis 1 became not only political, but also very hopeful—a justification for rest in the midst of endless toil, and an assurance that the Christian God made humans not as puppets for the deities, but out of divine desire.

Quotes

“You know, Israelites invented the weekend. And for that we remain truly thankful.”
— Dr. Ellen Davis, regarding the Sabbath, as an aside to a story about the Israelites in Babylonian captivity

“You see, the law and everything it ordained and all our worship consist of what is made by hands, leading us through matter to the invisible God.”
— DYA Artist Carole Baker, quoting St. John of Damascus on the role of the arts in theology and worship

“The weather today was like a warm hug, rather than like being licked by an old dragon.”
— Kelly, an RA, on the delightful return of sunshine to DYA

“Now that we are God’s ‘new creation’…we have been given a new name: Christian. Make it count.”
— Rev. Shane Benjamin in worship

Other Activities

The sun was shining on us as we embarked on our first session with DYA’s artists, first experiencing an “artists’ showcase,” then interacting through small arts village workshops.  We enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by students from Urban Hope including African chicken and rice and Italian pastas.  The Rev. Shane Benjamin and the Asbury Temple United Methodist choir led worship – there was much singing and dancing!

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow Kate Bowler, a Ph.D. student at Duke and recent appointment to the Divinity School faculty, will teach us about covenant.  In the afternoon we’ll head off campus to service sites around Durham – a great chance to offer our hands and hearts in gratitude to God and for one another.  In the evening we’ll welcome the Rev. Jenny Copeland and the Rev. Bill Lamar in worship. 

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Day 1: Baptismal Theology & Life

published on Monday, July 13, 2009 by fg37@duke.edu

At a Glance

Theme:

Introduction to Baptismal Theology & Life

Faculty Speaker:

Rev. Dr. Fred Edie, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Christian Education and Director of the Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation

Lectionary Texts:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Psalm 119:1-8, 33-48,129-144; Romans 6:3-11; John 6:26-36

Reflections on the Lecture

Dr. Edie began this plenary session by explaining that theology is conversation about God and it is another form of worship. He reminded us that worship is our first, best and most natural response to who God is, and it includes components such as Book (Holy Scripture), Bath (Baptism), Table (Communion/Eucharist), and Time (the ordering of our lives).  We then focused on the symbolic importance of water, noting that meanings are multi-faceted with potentially contradictory layers.  Students moved from the scientific to the ecological and then to the biblical as we explored the pervasive presence of water.  Biblical stories (from the flood and the parting of the Red Sea in the Old Testament to Jesus offering living water in the New Testament) are remembered, and we are re-membered into these stories through baptism. Baptism also calls us into a vocation, a way to utilize our God-given gifts, and we must discover what form that ministry will take.

Quotes

“The faith of the early church is the result of symbols deeply lived.”
— Dr. Edie in plenary quoting Thomas Finn

 “I’m a little tea pot short and stout”
—sung by a student, with gusto, in order to reclaim his lost and found backpack

“Tater tot cakes are the new unleavened bread”
—a student speaking the praises of breakfast food in the Great Hall and its potential to replace manna

“We [adults] have built a ghetto and made you live in it.”
—Dr. Edie in worship, on how adults underestimate teenagers and prevent them from living lives of consequence here and now

Other Activities

Today brought lots of activity and time to get to know one another. A rain shower soaking us on the way into morning prayer was the perfect introduction to a day spent talking about baptism. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon playing games on the Duke Chapel quad, Frisbee on the dorm lawn, and walking through Duke Gardens.

Looking Ahead

Tomorrow we welcome Dr. Ellen Davis, a professor in Old Testament at the Divinity School, who will talk about creation.  It will also be our first Arts Village, first artists’ showcase, and first hospitality meal!  We’ll look forward to having the Rev. Shane Benjamin and the choir of Asbury Temple United Methodist Church join us for worship.

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