Last fall, while many first-year seminary students were studying for midterms, Libba McCluskey was preparing for something else entirely: presiding over her first funeral.
The experience captured the unique reality of McCluskey's theological education at Duke Divinity School. As a student pastor serving Lea's Chapel United Methodist Church in Roxboro, N.C., she isn't preparing for ministry someday. She is already doing it each week.
She’s preaching every Sunday, leading worship, coordinating ministries, and walking with congregants through some of life's biggest moments while simultaneously pursuing her Master of Divinity degree.
"It can definitely be tough,” she said. “Last fall I did my first funeral right in the middle of midterms, but the gift is getting the opportunity to live in a laboratory."
McCluskey, MDiv ‘29, is part of Duke Divinity School's student pastor program, which allows certain United Methodist students serving local congregations to fulfill their field education requirements through their pastoral appointments. Student pastors complete the residential MDiv over four years rather than the traditional three, integrating academic study and congregational leadership throughout their theological education.
The student pastor program was one of the primary reasons she chose Duke.
"I experienced God's call to ministry at a young age and have been on a wild goose chase with the Holy Spirit ever since," she said. “When I finally realized that God was inviting me down this particular path, I knew that I would need some education.”
After exploring a wide range of ministry experiences—college ministry, refugee work, overseas church planting, and more—McCluskey knew she was called to ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, particularly in a rural setting. In addition to the student pastor program, McCluskey chose Duke because of its “stellar reputation,” connections to the UMC, and the Thriving Rural Communities program. "I didn't even apply to any other schools,” she said.
That decision ultimately led her to Lea's Chapel United Methodist Church, a rural congregation that was founded more than two centuries ago, just celebrating its 275th anniversary. The church has approximately 65 members and a long history of nurturing emerging clergy.
"I'm actually student pastor number 19," McCluskey said. "More often than not, the pastor here is a student at Duke and a Rural Ministry Fellow. The congregation sees one of its primary ministries as helping new pastors learn the ropes and begin the journey of ministry.”
At Lea's Chapel, McCluskey serves as the congregation's only staff member, leading worship and preaching each week while overseeing administration, children's ministry, and youth ministry.
Though small in size, the church maintains a significant presence in Person County through partnerships with local nonprofits and community organizations. Every month, congregants serve meals to roughly 100 people in downtown Roxboro and regularly deliver meals to older adults and others unable to leave their homes.
"We really love to feed people!" McCluskey said, “And I pride myself on the fact that people know we serve really good food.”
Still, the demands of being the only pastor holds unique challenges and has transformed the way that McCluskey makes decisions about her ministry and education. "I've had to confront certain perfectionist tendencies and anxieties, and realize that I cannot do everything, all at once, all the time," she said. "I think this has made me wiser and helped me focus on what is actually a priority at any given moment."
For McCluskey, that means the focus of her schooling has to connect to real people in her congregation. From navigating liturgical seasons to organizing a county-wide Brunswick stew fundraiser, the challenges of ministry are unfolding in real-time.
"I take my education seriously because I know it doesn't stop with me," she said. “I get to share what I'm learning with my congregation, and they help keep my academic pursuits grounded in the real life of the church. Everything I learn or practice, and every way I am formed continues on to the people I serve."
McCluskey says attending Duke has helped confirm her vocation and emphasized that the congregations we lead deserve pastors who are well-trained and deeply formed. Many of her peers are passionate about chaplaincy, advocacy, nonprofits, or something else entirely. Learning with them makes her sharper, she says, but it also confirms her calling to the rural church pulpit.
"A lot of students graduate seminary or divinity school and go to major cities or large churches, but small towns deserve that kind of leadership, too," she said.
For McCluskey, theological education is about becoming the strongest version of her full self, from spiritual growth to professional preparation to academic depth. Not for ego or for a degree on the wall, but so she can feed herself back into the life of the congregation she serves.
