This is the blog of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke University Divinity School. We are excited to provide a space where we can reflect together on issues of theology, scripture, congregational life (past, present and future), Christian identity, racial and gender identity, faith, and life together as God’s people. This is also a space where Duke Divinity School faculty members and colleagues elsewhere can reflect on their work and their thoughts on topics at the intersection of these issues. Some of the regular commentators on this blog will be black faculty members and alumni working on the frontlines of ministry, mission and scholarship. They will be sending us their dispatches from the trenches! We also invite you into this conversation. Feel free to reply and respond to what you read.
The image of the Madonna with the Christ-child signifies for Christians all over the world not only the blessed reality of the incarnation but also the journey of vulnerability, intimacy and suffering that God entered on our behalf and for our redemption. The black Madonna by artist Margaret Parker captures the beginning of the journey the Mother of God will take with her child by her side. So too, with this blog we invite all participants to reflect on their journey of faith in view of the issues of racial and cultural identity, the church, and Christian theology.
Who We Are
Office of Black Church Studies Affiliated Faculty and Staff (from left): Professors Richard Payne, Richard Lischer, Willie Jennings, Emmanuel Katongole, J. Kameron Carter, Mary McClintock Fulkerson, William Turner, Jr., Esther Acolatse, Adjunct Assistant Professor Tonya Armstrong and Associate Dean Joy J. Moore. Not pictured are: Professors Amy Laura Hall, Curtis Freeman, Jo Wells and Tammy Williams.