Through two field education placements with Arise Collective in Raleigh, N.C., Elizabeth Deters found both a community and a deeper understanding of what ministry could look like with individuals impacted by incarceration.
The field education component of the Master of Divinity program at Duke Divinity School gives every M.Div. student the contextual learning opportunity to serve in a church, nonprofit, or other setting under the guidance of a trained supervisor.
Arise Collective serves women before and after their release from prison, offering holistic support during incarceration and reentry. Deters worked alongside a community-funded chaplain who split her time between a state women’s prison and the residential reentry program.
The experience, Deters says, expanded her understanding of spiritual care.
“One moment I’ll never forget was taking one of the women in the program to Starbucks for the first time,” she recalls.
“It taught me how expansive spiritual care can be. Helping women navigate a world that looks very different than their world pre-incarceration is spiritual care. Sharing a special coffee treat to celebrate is spiritual care too.”
"Field education gave me an opportunity to practice pastoral care in an interfaith setting. Observing my supervisor work with people of different and no faith traditions in group settings allowed me to eventually be empowered to lead those groups as well.”
Deters' experience at Duke Divinity was deeply shaped by her participation in Project TURN, a program that brings together students and incarcerated individuals for theological education inside prison walls.
“Taking class in prison continually reminded me that my goal at Duke Divinity School was not solely an academic venture,” she says. “Inviting in voices that are different than the voices already in Durham classrooms pops the bubble of academia and roots theological topics in real, lived reality.”
Her time at Arise Collective gave her the opportunity to lead and learn in an interfaith context. “Field education gave me an opportunity to practice pastoral care in an interfaith setting,” she says. “Observing my supervisor work with people of different and no faith traditions in group settings allowed me to eventually be empowered to lead those groups as well.”
After graduation, Deters is relocating to Charlotte, N.C. She plans to continue pursuing her call to serve women and others affected by incarceration.
“Success after Duke looks like a lifetime of advocacy for women and incarcerated people at individual and systemic levels,” she says. For Deters, this is both a vocational goal and so much more. It's a lifelong commitment to justice and care.
