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.
In-person
For Alumni
For Church Staff
For Clergy
For Laity
For UMC Clergy
General Audience
This year, Duke Divinity School commemorates 100 years of equipping those whom
God continues to call into ministry. Through collaboration with congregations,
pastors, and community leaders, we sow and water seeds to nurture cultures of
call. Join us for presentations and workshops as we cast a vision for a future
committed to our United Methodist roots, ecumenical fellowship, and mission of
reconciliation for the church, the academy, and the world.
This year, Everything Happens, Live will be at the Carolina Theatre on Monday, October 12. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and the show will start at 7:00 p.m.
Professor Kate Bowler will sit down with author, educator, and Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver for a special live taping of the Everything Happens podcast.
Tim has spent his life carrying forward the Kennedy family legacy of public service in his own way. As Chairman of Special Olympics—founded by his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver—he has dedicated decades to championing the dignity, gifts, and belonging of people with intellectual disabilities, helping build one of the world's largest movements for inclusion.
Together, Kate and Tim will explore what it means to truly see and be seen, to serve without losing yourself, and to keep choosing hope in a world that often pulls us apart.
Plenary Conversations
A Lifetime of Calling
Duke Divinity School's Calling in Its Second Century
Duke Divinity School's Calling in Its Second Century
Will Willimon
Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry
A bishop in the United Methodist Church, Professor Willimon served as the dean of Duke Chapel and professor of Christian ministry at Duke University for 20 years. He returned to Duke after serving as the bishop of the North Alabama Conference from 2004 to 2012. He is a trustee of Wofford College, Emory University, and serves on the Dean’s Committee of Yale Divinity School.
Willimon is the author of over 70 books. His Worship as Pastoral Care was selected as one of the 10 most useful books for pastors in 1979 by the Academy of Parish Clergy. His articles have appeared in many publications including Theology Today, Interpretation, Liturgy, and Christianity Today. His book Pastor: the Theology and Practice of Ordained Leadership is used in dozens of seminaries in the United States and Asia. His two most recent books are The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross (Abingdon Press, 2025) and The Church We Carry: Loss, Leadership, and the Future of Our Church (Abingdon Press, 2025).
Donna Claycomb Sokol
Pastor, Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church
Donna Claycomb Sokol is the pastor of Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in downtown Washington, DC, a position she has held since July 2005.
Claycomb Sokol holds an undergraduate degree from William Woods University, a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary. Following her graduation from Duke Divinity School, she served as Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Hendersonville, NC, before returning to Duke as Director of Admissions at Duke Divinity School.
Claycomb Sokol is the co-author of A New Day in the City (Abingdon, 2017) and has spoken widely on topics of congregational renewal and leading change. She has served as Vice-Chair of the Duke Divinity School Board of Visitors and is currently co-chairing the Divinity School’s capital campaign. In recognition of her exceptional service to the University, Donna was honored with a Forever Duke Award in 2024.
L. Gregory Jones
President, Belmont University
L. Gregory Jones is President of Belmont University. Prior to serving at Belmont Greg served in a variety of faculty and administrative leadership roles at Duke University and especially Duke Divinity School. Greg is known as a leader and strategist whose creative engagement has helped institutions across the world and in local communities to create transformational resource models. He is known for an entrepreneurial mindset as well as emphases on character and purpose in higher education, emphases in his leadership at Belmont.
He is the author or editor of 20 books, and has authored more than 200 essays/articles. He is known for books on forgiveness (Embodying Forgiveness and the co-authored Forgiving as We’ve Been Forgiven), Christian leadership (the co-authored Resurrecting Excellence) and social innovation (Christian Social Innovation). His most recent books are the co-authored Navigating the Future: Traditioned Innovation for Wilder Seas (2021) and The Belmont Way: Education with Soul (2026).
Edgardo Colón-Emeric
Dean, Duke Divinity School
Edgardo Colón-Emeric is dean of Duke Divinity School and the Ruth and A. Morris Williams, Jr. Professor of Theology and Christian Ministry. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Colón-Emeric earned a B.S. degree (Cornell University) and M.S. degree (University of Vermont) in mechanical engineering before earning his M.Div. and Ph.D. in theology at Duke University.
He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, with international ecumenical service as chair of the World Methodist Council’s Ecumenical and Inter-religious Committee, co-chair of the Methodist-Roman Catholic International Commission, and co-chair of the Anglican-Methodist International Coordinating Committee.
His scholarship explores the intersection of Methodist and Catholic theologies and Wesleyan and Latin American experiences. He is the author of The People Called Metodista: Renewing Doctrine, Worship, and Missions from the Margins (Abingdon Press) and the award-winning books Wesley, Aquinas, and Christian Perfection: An Ecumenical Dialogue (Baylor University Press) and Óscar Romero’s Theological Vision: Liberation and the Transfiguration of the Poor (University of Notre Dame Press).
Audrey Warren
Pastor, First Church, Miami, Florida
Rev. Dr. Audrey Warren, is the pastor of First United Methodist Church of Miami, Florida a reemerging church in the heart of Downtown Miami. She led redevelopment of the church through the sale of the property to developers and developing the new church within the 49-story tower at the same address.
Warren earned her Bachelor of Arts from Florida Southern College, a Masters of Divinity Degree from Duke Divinity School, and Doctorate of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C..
As a native Floridian, Warren has served in Central Florida, North Carolina, South Africa, and Miami. She has published two books with Bishop Kenneth Carter: Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church for People Not In Church, People Over Property; Scripture, Stories and Strategies to Help People of Faith Reimagine their Space. Warren has also published a number of professional articles that can be found in, “Faith and Leadership” and she recently preached on the Nationally Syndicated preaching platform, “Day 1.”
Plenary Panel: United Methodist Bishops
Cultivating a Culture of Call
Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton
Bishop of the New York and New England Annual Conferences
Thomas J. Bickerton was was elected to the episcopacy in 2004, and served the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference from 2004-2016 before being assigned to the New York Annual Conference (2016 – current) and the New England Annual Conference in 2024.
As a part of his episcopal responsibilities, Bishop Bickerton currently serves as a member of the Council of Bishops Executive Committee (Past President), the General Council on Finance & Administration, and the Standing Committee on Central Conference Matters.
Bishop Bickerton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College (1980), a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University Divinity School (1983), a Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary (1994).
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward
Bishop, retired
Hope Morgan Ward was elected to the episcopacy by the Southeastern Jurisdiction in July 2004. Bishop Ward served the Mississippi Conference from 2004–2012 and the North Carolina Conference from 2012–2021. She currently serves as Ecumenical Officer for the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, and as Bishop in Residence for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She graduated from Duke University and received her Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. Prior to her roles as bishop, she served as a local pastor, a district superintendent and as connectional ministries director for the North Carolina Conference. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Duke University and on the Board of Visitors for Duke Divinity School. Currently she is a Trustee of The Duke Endowment.
Bishop Gregory V. Palmer
Bishop, retired
Gregory V. Palmer is a Bishop (R) of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church. He is also a Senior Adviser with the Texas Methodist Foundation.
Bishop Palmer graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University and a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School. Baldwin-Wallace College, Iowa Wesleyan College, Simpson College, Ohio Northern University, Hood Theological Seminary and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary have awarded him honorary degrees.
Elected to the episcopacy by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in 2000, Palmer served the Iowa Area until assuming responsibilities in the Illinois Area in 2008. He served as president of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry from 2004 to 2008 and president of the Council of Bishops from April 2008 to May 2010.
Bishop Palmer is currently a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees.
Sandra L. Steiner Ball
Bishop of Western Pennsylvania Conference
Sandra L. Steiner Ball was elected to the episcopacy by the Northeastern Jurisdictional Conference in 2012 and was assigned to the West Virginia Area where she served for twelve years as the area’s episcopal leader. In 2024 Bishop Steiner Ball was reassigned to the Western Pennsylvania Conference area.
Bishop Steiner Ball was ordained Deacon and Elder in the Peninsula-Delaware Conference. She is a graduate of Dickinson College, (B.A. in Religion, 1984), Duke Divinity School (M.Div., 1987), and Wesley Theological Seminary (D.Min., 2003).
Bishop Steiner Ball currently serves as the President of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and chairs the design team for the annual U. S. DS/DCM training.
Lisa Yebuah
Lead Pastor, Southeast Raleigh Table
Reverend Lisa Yebuah serves as Lead Pastor of the Southeast Raleigh Table, a United Methodist worshipping community near downtown Raleigh. A 1999 graduate of Wofford College and a 2004 graduate of Duke Divinity School, she has spent her ministry helping people become their whole selves and to believe with a holy imagination that the world can be marked by liberation.
That conviction shows up beyond the pulpit. Yebuah works alongside local organizations advocating for affordable housing, mental wellness resources, and equity in public education. She believes good theology and joy-full living aren't mutually exclusive.
Plenary Panel: Theological Education
The Calling of Theological Education
Heather Campain Hartung
Senior Director of Programs and Initiatives, The Association of Theological Schools
Heather Campain Hartung serves as the senior director of programs and initiatives at The Association of Theological Schools (ATS). She joined the ATS staff in 2023 as director of accreditation.
Prior to joining ATS, Hartung served as vice president and dean of Moravian and Lancaster Theological Seminaries. She began teaching at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2012, where she was appointed associate dean for academic affairs in 2015, and vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty in 2016. She held the position of associate professor of church history at both schools.
Ordained in the Moravian Church, Hartung served as a trustee of Moravian Theological Seminary for ten years. Among her publications, her book, Madness: American Protestant Responses to Mental Illness, explores reactions to mental illnesses from the colonial era through the 21st century. Her service in theological education follows a career in engineering and marketing in technology companies.
G. Sujin Pak
Dean, Boston University School of Theology
Dr. G. Sujin Pak is Dean of the Boston University School of Theology and Professor of the History of Christianity. Her scholarship and teaching focus on the early modern period, the Protestant Reformation, and the history of biblical interpretation.
Pak is the author of The Judaizing Calvin: Sixteenth-Century Debates on the Messianic Psalms (Oxford University Press, 2010) and The Reformation of Prophecy: Early Modern Interpretations of the Prophet and Old Testament Prophecy (Oxford University Press, 2018), as well as several articles appearing in journals such as Church History, Renaissance & Reformation Review, Religions, and Calvin Theological Journal. As a teacher, Pak encourages her students to engage a variety of perspectives with attention to their social contexts.
Pak serves as president of AUMTS and Wesley Works, as well as serving on the ATS Board of Directors, the University Senate of the UMC, and the executive board of the Calvin Studies Society.
Javier Vieara
President, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Javier A. Viera is President of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and Professor of Education, History, and Leadership. Since assuming the presidency in 2020, he has led the seminary through a period of institutional repositioning—strengthening enrollment, advancing a $100M capital campaign, reimagining the seminary’s physical and institutional presence through a transformative campus partnership with Northwestern University, and deepening global and ecclesial partnerships. Prior to Garrett, Viera served as Dean of the Theological School at Drew University and as Vice Provost of the university.
A scholar of education, interreligious engagement, and the history of Latin American and the Caribbean, Viera’s work explores questions of adult learning, religious identity, and pluralism, with particular attention to Latin American and Caribbean thought and decolonial epistemologies. Before entering academic leadership, Dr. Viera spent two decades in ministry, serving in campus and congregational settings across rural, suburban, and urban contexts.
President Viera is a graduate of Florida Southern College, Duke University, and Yale University, and holds doctoral degrees from Columbia University (Ed.D., Adult Learning and Leadership) and the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico (Ph.D., History of Latin America).
Bria Rochelle Stephens
Vice President for Strategic Academic Initiatives and Director of the Presidential Scholars Program, Huntingdon College
Bria Rochelle Stephens serves as the Vice President for Strategic Academic Initiatives, director of the Presidential Scholars program, and teaches in the Religion Department at Huntingdon College, her alma mater. Upon graduating from Huntingdon in 2018, she attended Duke Divinity School where she received her Master of Divinity Degree in the Spring of 2021. She is currently a Certified Candidate in the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Through her work at Huntingdon, Rochelle Stephens engages with and facilitates student-centered programming that emphasizes the importance of cultivating community and serving others. She also finds interest in exploring what it means to seek faith as it engages the work of justice.
Worship
Opening Worship will be held in Duke Chapel on Monday, October 12. Closing Worship will be held in Goodson Chapel on Tuesday, October 13.
Bishop Gregory V. Palmer
Bishop, retired
Gregory V. Palmer is a Bishop (R) of the United Methodist Church. He currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church. He is also a Senior Adviser with the Texas Methodist Foundation.
Bishop Palmer graduated from Central High School in Philadelphia, received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University and a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School. Baldwin-Wallace College, Iowa Wesleyan College, Simpson College, Ohio Northern University, Hood Theological Seminary and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary have awarded him honorary degrees.
Elected to the episcopacy by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference in 2000, Bishop Palmer served the Iowa Area until assuming responsibilities in the Illinois Area in 2008. He served as president of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry from 2004 to 2008 and president of the Council of Bishops from April 2008 to May 2010.
Bishop Palmer is currently a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees.
Bishop Connie Shelton
Bishop of the North Carolina Conference
Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton was elected to the episcopacy on November 2, 2022. Her assignment as Resident Bishop, Raleigh Episcopal Area, North Carolina Conference, commenced January 1, 2023.
Bishop Shelton encourages congregations to stay on mission! Making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world is the mission that tethers us to the way of Jesus. Discipleship begins and ends in relationship with the Triune God and one another. Connecting, inspiring, collaborating, and discerning are values Bishop Shelton upholds for the people called United Methodists in eastern North Carolina. Claiming Wesleyan theology and practice, Bishop Shelton envisions disciples joining God's transformational work of peace-building in every community.
Bishop Shelton's experience includes pastoral appointments in rural, urban, small, medium, and large membership churches in Mississippi, executive director of The United Methodist Hour radio and television ministry of the Mississippi Conference, director of Field Education at Duke Divinity School, director of Connectional Ministries of the Mississippi Conference, and as a District Superintendent.
Bishop Ken Carter
Bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference
Kenneth H. Carter, Jr. is the resident bishop of the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church. He served as bishop of the Florida Conference from 2012-2022.
Bishop Carter served as the president of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church from 2018-2020, and he was one of three moderators of The Commission on a Way Forward, from 2016 to 2018. In addition to his responsibilities with the Western North Carolina Conference, he is bishop-in-residence and a consulting faculty member at Duke University Divinity School.
Bishop Carter is the author of twenty books. His most recent book, which he co-authored with Michael Adam Beck, is "Gardens in the Desert: How the Adaptive Church Can Lead a Whole New Life" (Abingdon, 2024). Previous books include "Unrelenting Grace" (Abingdon, 2023) and a memoir, "God Will Make a Way" (Abingdon, 2021). He has also written two books on the Fresh Expressions movement with Audrey Warren: "Fresh Expressions: A New Kind of Methodist Church" (Abingdon, 2017), and "Fresh Expressions of People Over Property" (Abingdon, 2020).
Bishop Carter earned degrees from Columbus College, Duke Divinity School, the University of Virginia, and Princeton Theological Seminary. In addition, he is a graduate of Leadership Greensboro, Leadership Winston-Salem and the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation, and he has served on the Board of Visitors of Duke University Divinity School and the Institutional Review Board of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Rev. Susan Pendleton Jones
Senior Fellow for Christ-Centered Visioning and First Lady of Belmont University
Susan Pendleton Jones serves as Senior Fellow for Christ-Centered Visioning and First Lady of Belmont University, where her husband Greg Jones began serving as President on June 1, 2021. Prior to moving to Nashville, she served as an associate dean at Duke Divinity School where she directed the Field Education program and oversaw the design and creation of the Westbrook Building. Her teaching responsibilities in Duke’s Course of Study program included courses on pastoral leadership as well as forgiveness and reconciliation. At Belmont University, she and her husband team-teach a course each year entitled “What’s Your Why?” related to vocation and purpose. Rev. Jones is also a regular preacher and speaker at the university.
Rev. Jones is involved in leadership and board roles with a variety of community organizations and foundations in Nashville and more broadly, including The Next Door Recovery, The Store, and the India Gospel Mission. Susan has also served as the pastor of churches in North Carolina and Maryland and as the former United Methodist campus minister at Duke University.
