Convocation & Pastors' School

In-person For Alumni For Church Staff For Clergy For Laity For UMC Clergy General Audience

The annual Convocation & Pastors’ School is an intensive multi-day conference that offers lectures, worship, alumni gatherings, and seminars for clergy and laity of all traditions. Led by scholars and practitioners from Duke University and beyond, this event is a cooperative endeavor with the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church, The Duke Endowment, The Parish Ministry Fund, and Duke Divinity School.

Dates and themes for 2026 will be available soon.

This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Church that met in 325 CE. At Nicaea, early Christians discerned essential Christian doctrine related to the Triune God, Christology, and the Holy Spirit. Join us for presentations and workshops exploring the significance of our Trinitarian doctrine for faithful Christian practice as we commemorate this important milestone.

Speakers

Kate Bowler

Associate Professor of American Religious History, Duke Divinity School

Anne Lamott

Bestselling Novelist and Essayist

Janet Martin Soskice

William K. Warren Distinguished Research Professor of Catholic Theology, Duke Divinity School

J. Warren Smith

Professor of Historical Theology, Duke Divinity School

Edgardo Colón-Emeric

Dean of Duke Divinity School

Jung Choi

Associate Dean for Global and Intercultural Formation

Lester Ruth

Research Professor of Christian Worship

Laceye Warner

Associate Dean for Wesleyan Engagement

Preachers

Bishop Michael B. Curry

27th presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church

Jerusha Matsen Neal

Associate Professor of Homiletics

Seminars

The seminars offered during Convocation & Pastors' School are a wonderful
opportunity to enjoy small group learning with Duke Divinity faculty, guest
lecturers, and other attendees. Participants who attend two seminars and all
plenary lectures will receive one Continuing Education Unit (CEU). When
registering, participants will have the opportunity to choose one seminar for
each day for a total of two different seminars.

Accompanied by the Spirit: Making our Way through Times of Uncertainty

Jan Holton
Associate Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Theology and Care
Duke Divinity School

Uncertainty can (and does) assail us from any direction. Even for the most faithful pastor and congregant alike, when we experience uncertainty, such as in the death of a beloved one, ill health, the loss of employment, forced displacement from our homes for any number of reasons, or numerous other events, it can leave us feeling unmoored, afraid, and searching for a way forward. There is no roadmap for times such as these. This workshop will explore how pastors can accompany others with pastoral (spiritual) caregiving that engages the radical love of God through the Holy Spirit to find the way forward and build touchstones of hope and meaning for journey.

Embracing the Spiritual Practices of Self-Leadership

Prince Rivers
Senior Pastor, Union Baptist Church
Director, Doctor of Ministry Program
Duke Divinity School

Before we can lead others, we need to lead ourselves. Through engaging conversations and reflective exercises, this workshop will explore the practices we need to lead with a sense of purpose, maintain healthy rhythms, cultivate a meaningful spiritual life, and flourish while navigating the challenges of ministry in congregations that face unique social, political, and economic realities. Together, we will explore the transformation that is possible when we learn to lead ourselves.

Learning Forgiveness with St. Joseph

Brent Strawn
D. Moody Smith Distinguished Professor of Old Testament
Duke Divinity School

Healing relationships often involves granting forgiveness but that is typically hard to do. This workshop will explore the Joseph cycle in Genesis 37-50 to see what resources may be found there for the crucial but oh-so-difficult task of forgiving.

Liberation, Promptings of the Spirit, and Participation in the Triune God

Peter Casarella
Professor of Theology
Duke Divinity School

At first glance it seems like the task of defending victims of systemic poverty, eco-disaster, and the usurping of democratic power and agency from vulnerable women and men on the margins might be opposed to the Biblical teaching regarding eschatological union with the Triune God. This paper will examine the Third Article of the Nicene Creed as well as liberationist pneumatology to demonstrate and strengthen the compatibility of the promotion of social justice with the Biblical and theological doctrine of “partaking of the divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4).

Reformation Conciliarism

Polly Ha
Associate Professor of the History of Christianity
Duke Divinity School

What was the role of Church Councils in the Protestant Reformation? How did ecclesiastical jurisprudence develop over the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? This workshop will explore the role of Church Council in the Protestant Reformations. It will consider the process of ecclesiastical decision-making ranging from theological debate to interpersonal disputes (especially in reformed church councils) from local courts to national synods in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Transforming the relationship between Food, Faith and Health: A Trinitarian Perspective

Wylin Wilson
Associate Professor of Theological Ethics
Duke Divinity School

Norbert Wilson
Professor of Food, Economics, and Community
Duke Divinity School

A Trinitarian perspective powerfully reorients the relationship between food, faith, and health. This workshop equips faith leaders to address challenges of food insecurity, social justice, and policy related to the connection between food and health disparities, within a congregational and its local context. The foundation of the workshop is the examination of the theological mandate of love that undergirds the Trinity and care for one’s neighbor, exploring the tension that scholars hold between the theological concept of caritas with justice as it relates to food and health. We will examine how efforts to address food insecurity and health disparities requires a strategy that includes interrogating practices and policies that promote human flourishing with caritas at its root.

Sing Many Names: Expansive Images for God in Hymnody

Zebulon Highben
Director of Chapel Music
Associate Professor of the Practice of Church Music
Duke Divinity School

Scripture is full of evocative imagery for God. Hymnwriters and poets throughout history have employed these images and metaphors, though the average worshiper is often unaware of their Biblical roots, or conscious of the ways in which such images are artfully woven into the songs we sing in worship. Through an exploration of hymns both beloved and new, this session will consider the use of imagery in hymnody, and how it can deepen both our imagination for God and our scriptural literacy.

Group	Early Bird Rate July 8 – August 31	Standard Rate September 1 – September 29	On-site Rate
Clergy	$130	$170	$230
Laity	$130	$170	$230
Reduced rate available for first time clergy or lay attendee	$70	$110	$230
Scholarship rate available for pastors of UMC churches eligible for grants from The Duke Endowment	$60	$80	$230
Current Duke students	$30	$60	$230
Duke Divinity staff and faculty	$30	$60	$230

Early bird registration is July 14 - August 31
General registration is September 1 - September 29

Date and Time	Activity	Location
Monday, October 13
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.	Registration	Pentecost Window
9:00 a.m. -10:00 a.m.	Opening Worship: Rev. Dr. Jerusha Neal, preaching	Duke Chapel
10:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.	Break	Duke Divinity School
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.	Plenary 1/Gray Lecture: Dr. Janet Soskice	Goodson
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.	Lunch and Gathering Time on your own	Duke Divinity School
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.	Plenary 2: Panel discussion moderated by Dean Colón-Emeric	Goodson
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.	Break	Duke Divinity School:
3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.	Seminars	Duke Divinity School
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.	Dinner on your own
7:00 p.m.	Kate Bowler and Anne Lamott Everything Happens Live podcast	Carolina Theatre
Tuesday, October 14
8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.	Coffee and Gathering Time	Duke Divinity School
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.	Seminars	Duke Divinity School
10:15 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.	Break	Duke Divinity School
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.	Plenary 3/Hickman Lecture: Dr. J. Warren Smith	Goodson Chapel
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.	Lunch and Gathering Time	Duke Divinity School
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.	Closing Worship: Bishop Michael Curry, preaching	Goodson Chapel

This year, Duke Divinity School's External Relations department is hosting a lounge for Duke alumni attending Convocation & Pastors' School. The lounge will be in 110 Gray on the first floor of the Divinity School.

Monday, October 13:
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
  12:00 p.m – 2:00 p.m.
  3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday October 14:
- 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
- 12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Lodging and Access

Lodging reservations should be made directly with hotels.

We offer the following list as a convenience:

The Hilton Garden Inn, near Duke's East Campus at 2102 West Main Street
The Washington Duke Inn, (919) 490-0999
The JB Duke Hotel, (919) 660-6400
The Homewood Suites by Hilton Durham-Chapel Hill, (919) 401-0610
The Hilton Durham near Duke University
The Courtyard Marriott Durham, (919) 309-1500

Additional hotel information may be found at the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Access

Duke University is committed to providing access to programs for persons with
disabilities. If you anticipate needing accommodations or have questions about
physical access, please contact 919-660-3400 in advance of the program.

2022: "Creativity and Courage: From Trauma to Tough Hope" Videos

Opening Worship with Bishop Leonard Fairley preaching
Plenary 1: Makoto Fujimura and Ellen Davis, Looking in Hope
Plenary 2: Ekklesia Contemporary Dance Company, Body and Land
Plenary 3: Peter Storey, Wanted for a Time Such as This: A Church the World Might Take Seriously
Plenary 4: Freddie Moore, Paiter Van Yperen, Luke Powery, Lament

2021: "Uncommon Ground: Living with Humility, Patience, and Tolerance in a Divided Age" Videos

The 2021 virtual CPS consisted of five separate sessions. The first two days featured Claude Alexander of The Park Church, musician Sara Groves John Inazu of Washington University in St. Louis, and Warren Kinghorn of Duke Divinity School.

Uncommon Ground, Day 1
Uncommon Ground, Day 2
Tru Pettigrew, Activating the Power of Inclusion
Jan Holton, Pastoral Care in Times of Division
Ellen Davis, The Beauty of Holiness

2020: "Christian Leadership in Turbulent Times" Videos

The 2020 virtual CPS consisted of five webinars:

Will Willimon, Leadership and Preaching
L. Gregory Jones, Navigating the Future in the Midst of Heavy Fog
Regina Graham and Warren Kinghorn, Mental Health, COVID, and Racial Divisions
Alma Ruiz, Leadership and Trauma
Stephen Chapman and Laceye Warner, Light to the Nations

2018: “Neighboring in a Post-Christendom World” Audio

Two sermons by Cynthia Hale, founder and senior pastor of the Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, G.A.
- Cynthia Hale: Monday Worship in Goodson Chapel and Tuesday Worship in Duke Chapel.
A lecture by David Goatley, research professor of theology and Black Church Studies and director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, titled "Aiming for the Ditch."
A lecture by Ian Douglas, missiologist and bishop diocesan of The Episcopal Church in Connecticut, on the topic of "Participating in God’s Mission: Ecclesial Lessons from the Post Christendom Frontier."
A conversation with L. Gregory Jones, former dean of the Divinity School and Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Distinguished Professor of Theology and Christian Ministry, and Christine Pohl, Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics at Asbury Theological Seminary, on the topic of "Reweaving the Social Fabric: Hospitality, Community, and Learning to be Good Neighbors."

Speakers

Preachers

Seminars

Accompanied by the Spirit: Making our Way through Times of Uncertainty

Embracing the Spiritual Practices of Self-Leadership

Learning Forgiveness with St. Joseph

Liberation, Promptings of the Spirit, and Participation in the Triune God

Reformation Conciliarism

Transforming the relationship between Food, Faith and Health: A Trinitarian Perspective

Sing Many Names: Expansive Images for God in Hymnody

Lodging and Access

Access

Questions?

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Directory

Convocation & Pastors' School

2025 Event Theme

Speakers

Speakers

Preachers

Preachers

Workshops

Seminars

Accompanied by the Spirit: Making our Way through Times of Uncertainty

Embracing the Spiritual Practices of Self-Leadership

Learning Forgiveness with St. Joseph

Liberation, Promptings of the Spirit, and Participation in the Triune God

Reformation Conciliarism

Transforming the relationship between Food, Faith and Health: A Trinitarian Perspective

Sing Many Names: Expansive Images for God in Hymnody

Registration Costs

Schedule

Alumni Gatherings

Lodging

Lodging and Access

Access

Sponsors

Past Events

Questions?