For Meg Greto, pursuing her Master of Divinity at Duke Divinity School is a call to serve and grow at the intersection of scholarship, pastoral care, and spiritual formation.
Greto, a second-career seminary student, is completing her field education placement with The Congregation at Duke Chapel, an interdenominational church community that gathers weekly for worship in Duke University Chapel. There, she’s been deeply involved in preaching, pastoral care, and adult formation.
“I’ve been mostly with The Congregation, supporting them with worship and liturgy on Sundays,” she said. “One of the most meaningful experiences was leading a nine-week adult Bible study using curriculum I originally created for an academic course. It was a joy to bring that to life in a church setting.”
Greto intentionally pursued a self-initiated field education placement that would allow her to integrate academic rigor with practical ministry. “Field education creates the practical space to work out the things we’ve written about or thought deeply about,” she said. “Your theology doesn’t mean much if you can’t articulate it in relationship with others in the body of Christ.”
Greto said The Congregation at Duke Chapel is unique in that it's a community of faithful servants, coming together at the heart of an academic research setting—often only for a season since students may come for a time before moving on.
"So much of our lives operate within a season," said Greto. "We have seasons of parenting, mothering, ministering. That seasonal nature has its own beauty and meaning. It's important that we learn from each other in those seasons."
Relationships have been a defining aspect of Greto’s time at Duke—and especially at The Congregation. “Ministry is built on relationships,” she reflected. “Our faith thrives when we are paying attention to God, yes, but also when we are growing alongside others."
Mentorship has also played a key role. Greto’s supervisor, the Rev. Lynn Holmes, shares a similar vocational path and helped guide her through moments of discernment with wisdom and grace. “We both came to ministry after careers in other fields,” Greto said. “Her thoughtful problem-solving, encouragement, and generous care have meant the world to me.”
Holmes has honed her gift for leadership in many sectors, including her time at Georgetown Law School, as legislative counsel in the U.S. Senate, working as a legislative lobbyist, and teaching at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy.
She also graduated with a Master of Divinity ('19) from Duke Divinity School, where she served her field education placement with The Congregation at Duke Chapel.
Said Holmes, "The opportunity to serve as a field education supervisor at The Congregation was a full circle moment for me since I had been a field education intern not very long ago. Having already served as an intern with The Congregation gave me a unique perspective in supervising an intern."
Holmes says that Greto's experience with Duke Chapel has given Greto "more tools to think about what's next." Greto has been able to work with Chapel staff, minister to The Congregation, lead worship in Duke Chapel, and discover a love for teaching.
"Field education provides students with a range of real-life, practical ministry opportunities," said Holmes.
"Even if the student has served in parish ministry, field education gives the student experience in a different context. A classroom does not give the student a sustained opportunity to have that sort of practical experience."
Asked what she would want prospective students to know about Duke and its field education program, Greto didn’t hesitate. “Field ed allows you to take your academic and spiritual formation and live it out in a practical way,” she said. “It’s where you learn how to receive feedback and how to be in community with people. It’s a profound experience.”
For Greto, coming from a liturical tradition, relational work is scriptural. "We have this great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us," she shared, quoting the book of Hebrews. "Our voices, our labors, our prayers, our transformation are bound with the community, the community that has gone before us."
"That's what's been so beautiful about working with Lynn. We just kind of clicked because we both had the experience of relating to the world in a different way and coming to ministry in a later season."
Looking ahead, Greto is discerning a future in parish ministry, theological education, or a combination of both. “This internship has affirmed my call to ministry at the intersection of academia and the church,” she said. “I hope to be a bridge-builder—someone who helps others encounter God more deeply through Scripture, worship, and thoughtful theological engagement.”
