In a collaborative effort with the Evangelical School of Theology in Bratslav, Poland, Duke Divinity School Professors Edgardo Colón-Emeric and David Emmanuel Goatley participated in an online conversation June 16 as part of a video series titled Christianity in the Age of Anxiety.

The conversation focused on fundamental matters of meaning in Christianity in the contemporary world, particularly in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic people are facing today. It was produced by the Polish seminary and facilitated by Dr. Wojciech Szczerba, its director and president.

Colón-Emeric is the Irene and William McCutchen Associate Professor of Reconciliation and Theology at Duke Divinity, director of the Center for Reconciliation (CFR), and senior strategist for the Hispanic House of Studies. Goatley is a research professor of Theology and Black Church Studies, and the director of Office of Black Church Studies.

Szczerba attended the CFR’s Summer Institute for Reconciliation several years ago and again visited the CFR early this spring to explore collaborative partnerships between the two seminaries. Other mutual visits were planned later this year but have been delayed due to the pandemic. Instead, Szczerba invited Colón-Emeric and Goatley to participate in this video conversation so it could be shared with students in Poland and the general public.

“In our ecumenical approach, we believe that theology should be done in a dialogue which crosses doctrinal boundaries and divisions, and which honors the other person,” said Szczerba about the video series. “So we ask questions and learn from various people of faith and wisdom.”

Other interviews in the series include ones with Miroslav Volf, professor of Theology at Yale University Divinity School; the Rev. Dr. Christopher Edmonston, senior pastor of White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, N.C.; and Dr. Brian Blount, president and professor Union Presbyterian Seminary in Virginia.