A unique Duke Divinity School fellowship program brought pastors in rural North Carolina together to develop projects that address challenging problems in their communities, and then launch those projects in their home parishes.

The Rural Church D.Min. Fellowship, a three-year one-time pilot project funded by The Duke Endowment and The Parish Ministry Fund, began in 2020 with a cohort of 16 students, all United Methodist pastors, who journeyed through the D.Min. program together to work on practical solutions to issues in their communities.

The fellowship showcased a special partnership with the Ormond Center at Duke Divinity School, which used its expertise to support the cohort by journeying alongside the fellows, recruiting church and community leaders for advice and feedback on fellows’ projects, and uniting theology and practice by teaching and participating in three of the required program courses.

Rural Pastors Impacting Local Communities

Through special courses and their individual real-world capstone projects, the fellows addressed complex issues of access, resources, and isolation in rural communities, bringing their theological formation into real-world practice.

Projects included “Hope for Healing,” a project that invited an ecumenical community to attend a retreat discussing racial identity, what racial identity means to attendees, and what they believe is needed to move forward; “Upstream Solutions for Community Thriving,” a project focused on fostering spaces for conversations on food insecurity, transportation, and mental health; and “Vitality through Storytelling,” a project which helps individuals form a deeper connection with God, one another, and their community through storytelling, allowing them to narrate their stories and root them in the larger narrative of God’s story.

The Rev. Cathy Kearney’s “Hope for Healing” project centers on the idea that the church in rural communities is a vital player in the life of the community and can be an agent of change around challenges like race and racial division. “Coming into the D.Min. fellowship really helped give me some thought partners, stimulate my own thinking, and give me an opportunity to explore how we remain faithful and effective to continue the mission of the church despite the challenges,” she said.

The Rev. Darren Crotts, whose “Upstream Solutions for Community Thriving” project is targeted at addressing justice issues before they become bigger problem, says the fellowship has helped shape his calling. The former pastor of Smith Grove UMC in Mocksville, N.C. is now a project manager for the NC Rural Center. “I cannot say enough about how the Ormond Center and Duke Divinity School have equipped me for this conversation,” he said. “The spaces Duke has allowed me to be in has inspired me to do this work on a larger scale.”

Said the Rev. Nicole Jones, “Being a part of the D.Min. program at Duke has renewed my passion for the rural church. It has created renewed passion and energy to see ways that my experience, my history, and my gifts are connected to the ways God is calling me in the future.” Jones sees a vibrantly creative and innovative nature in the rural church but also identifies a need for connection. Her project, “Vitality through Storytelling,” helps people connect with the stories of their churches and communities, highlighting the connection that all people share in God’s story.

The Ormond Center and Student Formation

The Ormond Center’s mission, which centers around equipping churches and communities for thriving, made driving the Rural Church D.Min. Fellowship a natural fit.

Said Dr. Linda Coley, executive director of the Ormond Center, “It is important for Ormond to engage these D.Min students because fostering thriving clergy, congregations, and communities (particularly rural communities) is the mission of the Ormond Center. We are able, through the generosity of the Duke Endowment, to put these projects into our ‘Pathways of Repair’ process and use our resources, talents, and gifts to help our students, who become our alumni, get to the finish line of implantation in their respective communities.”

Most of the projects will continue long after the cohort graduates from the program. This semester, all 16 graduating students submitted their final capstone projects for approval to an audience of their peers, funders, Ormond Center leadership, and invited guests who were invested in the success of the projects from start to finish.

After spending years advising, supporting, teaching, and helping build networks for the students, the leadership at the Ormond Center will evaluate their final project presentations. Said Coley, “I’m looking at the work with an eye for of missional innovation, community economic development consideration, and ability to implement. Moving forward, Ormond’s purpose would now be to encourage that implementation.”

The Ormond Center’s mission is “to foster renewed imagination, will, and ability among clergy, congregations, and communities as we journey together, becoming agents of thriving.” Linda Coley says the Ormond Center’s work is particularly important in rural areas because “the church, as an anchor institution at the community level of the economy, needs to become an agent of thriving, addressing barriers to thriving such as oppression, poverty, injustice, inequality, and inequity.”