Let's Get Naked! // Jon Watts' "Clothe Yourself in Righteousness"

During the last week of September, these odd fliers peppered the walls of Duke Divinity School. By the end of the week, people were talking about naked Quakers and asking if there would be streaking. As the event coordinator, I made no promises.

We welcomed musician Jon Watts to campus with a call he makes in one of his own songs: "Let's Get Naked!" But this wasn't just for shock value. Jon's latest musical release, Clothe Yourself in Righteousness, is a unique project that was born out of a collaboration with Maggie Harrison. Maggie had written an academic paper on the 17th-century Quaker practice of going naked as a sign.

For the September 30 performance, co-sponsored by New Creation Arts Group and the Duke Divinity Women's Center, we were excited to have Maggie with us in addition to Jon. Maggie shared the highlights of her paper with us, hitting on the several layers of significance of going naked: recalling that Adam and Eve were created good—and naked—only putting on clothes after the fall; pointing out that Isaiah preached naked in Isaiah 20; and insisting that the call to put on the new self, to put on Christ, to clothe yourself in righteousness, requires that we first take off the false clothing we have put on to hide our shame and our vulnerability. At the end of the concert, the group had a discussion with Jon and Maggie around all this and more, rounding out the event as unique not only in content but in the way it encouraged conversation and vulnerability among those present.

I haven't even mentioned Jon's music yet. As a spoken word artist (performing here with a guitar and violin), the sound is an experience all its own. Jon is a gifted songwriter, his lyrics simple but profound at the same time, unafraid of hard truths while still inviting the listener into his questions and challenges. Lyrical gems include, "Forgiveness is the difference between heaven and hell. That's not some afterlife shit; I'm talking now"; and this one that resonated with many of us present: "You don't need a degree from seminary to know God loves you." Jon's music encourages the listeners to be honest with themselves and with each other, even in their brokenness. That vulnerability is what getting naked is all about for Jon.

Pick up Jon's album, but prepared to be surprised and challenged by it. The ideas that Jon and Maggie are pushing have the potential to call the church (and not just Quakers!) back to its identity as a loving, genuine, transformative community that can effect real change in relationships and in the world.

-- Sarah

Isaiah (I Know No Other Word) // Collaborative Art and Healing

By Stephanie Gehring

Excerpt below; original post here.

Mathew Crawford, a fellow student of mine, asked me to collaborate with him on an art project. His three-year-old son Isaiah died of leukemia only a few years ago, and in one of the first conversations I had with Mat, he told me he was at Duke in order to figure out how it was possible that the experience of caring for his son during that last illness had been both the most horrific and the most beautiful experience of his life. Mat is a photographer, and he said he had a photograph of Isaiah that, he felt, captured some of the power of the experience for him. For the collaboration, he printed this photograph for me on watercolor paper, and asked me to begin with that background and interpret freely.

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Do You Have a Face? Or Do You Know Someone Who Does?

As part of the arts initiative through Jo Bailey Wells and Dean Hays, artist Rachel Campbell is painting a series of portraits. She has not yet finished the series, and is taking suggestions for local people whose faces you would like to see represented on the walls of the Divinity School. This is the same general initiative as the one that's giving us Saints through the Ages, but a different project. That means you can be involved in both! Here she is in her own words:

"I am creating a body of work that reflects our world as our parish. It is particularly meaningful to me as an artist to be able to paint portraits of people who might not normally have the opportunity to have their portrait painted. It is wonderful if it is meaningful to them in some way to be included in this project. So I am sourcing people from all countries, ages, and backgrounds. If anyone in the Divinity School has someone who comes to mind that they would like to celebrate in this way, perhaps someone who is unable to participate in community life through illness....or a sweet mentor...a child, they could email me about their friend. I have 7 portraits left to do (one is not here). So obviously I will not be able to include every suggestion--people need to be aware of this--but I do welcome ideas from others. I can work from photos, but it is an added bonus if I can get to meet the person if at all possible. Each portrait will hang in an area of the Divinity school, with a small plaque beside each painting telling some of the story of the person, depending on how much they would like to disclose."

To participate, please contact Rachel Campbell at chartlane1@gmail.com.

You Too Can Be Surrounded by Saints! In Color!

As you may have seen, there are strange angled boxes installed near the floor in the Westbrook basement hallways; on the walls above them, we hope, there will soon be paintings which the Nasher (Duke's art museum) is loaning to the Divinity School. Art committees, headed by Jo Bailey Wells, with support from Dean Hays, are taking action to cure and prevent prevalent Divinity diseases like Severe Color Deprivation, Fluorescent Anemia, and Whiteboard Alarm.

The installation of windows is not yet a part of the program, but there are several series of images that are being collected for display in Langford's long, barren hallways. One of these is called Saints through the Ages, and will include between 12 and 20 portrait-like images of saints.

Here's where you come in. 20 is a small number, given how many saints there are – and “saints” here is construed in the broadest possible sense; we will include canonized Catholic, Anglican, and other saints, but also still-living Christians, in the spirit of the New Testament "sainthood of all believers." The current count of proposed saints is nearing 100, so we need help culling, as well as researching the saints, hunting for digital images (which will be mounted on sintra boards for display), and writing up the brief introduction to each saint that will appear on a plaque below his or her image.

If you'd like to spend five minutes (or five hours) surrounded by saints for this project, we'd love your help. Please contact Stephanie Gehring, stephanie.gehring@duke.edu.

Liturgy, Formation, Mission and Art // A Conference in Durham

On November 8-10, 2011, Duke Divinity Th.D. student and arts pastor David Taylor will host a conference on liturgy, formation, mission and art. While the focus will be on Anglican and Episcopalian traditions, it's for anyone with an appreciation for liturgy. Plenary speakers will include Sam Wells, Mark Galli, Lester Ruth and David Taylor. Click here for more information.

Celebrity and Iconicity: Some Preliminary Sketches // Carole Baker in The Other Journal

Full article here // Excerpt below

By Carole Baker

That contemporary America is captivated by the phenomenon of celebrity is hardly a contestable observation. Even those of us who try to limit the impact of celebrity on our life find that its tenacity is hard to overcome. Some try to overcome the impact of celebrity by willing its insignificance. But that some energy is required to will its insignificance should be an indication that, despite our best efforts, as contemporary Americans we are beholden to it. Celebrity has become the lingua franca of our society.

As I survey the relationship between celebrity and the two disciplines of theology and visual art, it may be worth stating my modest aims bluntly: by drawing attention to the phenomenon of celebrity, I hope to investigate a nagging suspicion of mine that something fundamental is missing in present enthusiasms surrounding the role of art and artists in the contemporary church. And that something entails a thicker theological account of materiality and Christian identity, an ontology and anthropology that goes beyond the typical imago dei apologetics. What follows are some preliminary sketches of these matters, and as any artist knows, preliminary sketches are just that—preliminary.

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Music from The Gathering Church // Hymns Record Kickstarter Campaign

It's been a while since this blog has been updated, but this seems to be an appropriate topic for a return to posting. The Gathering Church of Durham is drawing on its congregation's phenomenal talent pool to produce an album of hymn arrangements, and they are raising money through Kickstarter to fund the project. Check out their video below, support their efforts, and look forward to some great folk-style sacred music coming soon out of the local community.



The Gathering Church is recording a new album of traditional hymns arranged in a different way with plenty of guests. It is a followup to 2010's Christmas Nights EP, a successful start to the recording vision of Chapel Hill's Gathering Church.

This project is larger in scale and needs your support. As it is a full length with guest vocalists, we need a larger recording budget and honorariums for the guests that appear on the record. Your money will go towards this and other expenses involved in manufacturing CDs and artwork along the way.

Proceeds from the recording after expenses will be split evenly between the production team and fundraising for the music ministry of the Gathering Church. Donations are to the church - a 501c3 non-profit - allowing them to be written off on your taxes.

Call for Artists // October Arts Fair at Duke Divinity's 2011 Convocation & Pastors' School

Duke Divinity School is accepting applications from artists wishing to display, demonstrate, and sell their craft during an Arts Fair that will take place Monday, October 10, on campus.

The Arts Fair is part of the 2011 Convocation & Pastors’ School, “Drawn into Scripture: Arts and the Life of the Church,” an event that will explore new ways of interpreting the Word.

There is no cost for vendors to participate in the arts fair, and artists will be accepted at the discretion of the event staff.

The application deadline is June 30, 2011. Space is limited, so artists are encouraged to apply early.

To learn more, download an application.

TONIGHT AND TOMORROW in Durham // Duke Divinity School Broadway Revue

Come enjoy your favorite Broadway Tunes!
Admission is FREE!
Tickets are available at Duke Divinity School or by email request. [linnyb12@gmail.com]

Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16
Doors open at 6:30, show begins at 7:00
Hayti Heritage Center

804 Old Fayetteville Street

Durham, NC

April 9 at Duke // Author-Activist Barbara Kingsolver To Receive Duke Leaf Award

Full article here // Excerpt below

Critically acclaimed American author Barbara Kingsolver is the 2011 recipient of the Duke LEAF Award for Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts, Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment announced Thursday.

The Duke LEAF Award was established in 2009 to honor artists whose works have lifted the human spirit by conveying humanity’s connection to the Earth, thereby inspiring others to help forge a more sustainable life for all. Actor Robert Redford received the inaugural award.

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April 15-16 at Duke // Catholicism and the Visual Study of Religions Interdisciplinary Humanities Conference

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 5:00pm - Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 5:00pm
0013 Westbrook

The Duke Department of Religion will hold a free conference on the role of visuality in the study of religion, with special interest in Roman Catholicism. Papers at the Catholicism and the Visual Study of Religions Interdisciplinary Humanities Conference will explore how visualizing the study of religion may assist scholars in understanding such phenomena as apparitions, visions, dreams divination, devotional practices, and the use of imagination in ritual practices such as meditation, prayer, and pilgrimage.

Tomorrow in Durham // Divinity Women's Center Art Show and Open-Mic Poetry

The Duke Divinity School Women's Center will kick off its art show with an open-mic poetry reading at Bean Traders on Ninth Street on March 24th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The exhibit will feature female artists’ work as well as art about women. Everyone who attends receives free drinks, compliments of The Duke Divinity School Women’s Center. Contact: eunsung.kim@duke.edu.

Wild Goose Festival // An Arts, Music, Justice and Spirituality Festival in Pittsboro

Wild Goose Festival - June 23 - 26, 2011 Shakori Hills Farm, NC from Wild Goose on Vimeo.

The Wild Goose is a Celtic metaphor for the Holy Spirit. We are followers of Jesus creating a festival of justice, spirituality, music and the arts. The festival is rooted in the Christian tradition and therefore open to all regardless of belief, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, denomination or religious affiliation. June 23-26, 2011.

Hip-Hop Mosaic // From Faith & Leadership

Full article here // Excerpt below

By Jeff Strickler

To say that the Rev. Efrem Smith thinks outside the box isn’t entirely accurate. He doesn’t recognize the box in the first place. Not that others haven’t pointed it out to him, or even tried to put him in one from time to time. But he isn’t having any part of it.

It was an outlook he got early in life. Growing up in an integrated neighborhood in Minneapolis in the 1970s, he questioned why people gathered in segregated worship services on Sunday mornings.

Keep reading...

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Efrem Smith and Curtiss DeYoung will be teaching at the Duke Divinity School Center for Reconcilation's 2011 Summer Institute.

Tonight at Duke // 'Jazz Mama' Documentary Showing

'Jazz Mama' documentary film screening and discussion with filmmaker Petna Ndaliko and African Studies scholar Chérie Rivers

Tuesday, February 22 @ 6:45pm
0014 Westbrook
FREE Pizza & Beverages

Does the media’s focus on stories of violence condition us to overlook the strength, resiliency and hope of women in Congo? Jazz Mama is both a film and a movement inspired by the uncompromising strength and dignity of Congolese women, despite the obstacles and violence they face. Jazz Mama aims to bring awareness to gender-based violence in Congo without reducing the women to victims whose lives are circumscribed by rape. While sexual violence is a devastating problem, these women are often not only survivors but pillars of the community.

Juror for New Creation's 2011 Juried Arts Exhibit Announced

The juror for NCAG's 2011 Juried Arts Exhibit, Carolyn Butler, is a North Carolina-based artist working in digital and new media. Her work has been shown throughout the south and northeast, winning awards at the Green Rice Gallery, in Charlotte, NC and the Reece Museum in Johnson City, TN. She has been an artist-in-residence at the Duke Youth Academy at Duke University, and recently was awarded an artist residency at the prestigious Vermont Studio Center. Butler received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and will complete the MFA program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill this spring.

Monday at Duke // Free Show in Reynolds Auditorium: Mayda Del Valle

Mayda Del Valle (2001 National Poetry Slam Winner)

Monday, February 14 @ 8:00 p.m.
Reynolds Theater, Duke University
FREE SHOW

More info

Photography and the Education of a Doctor // Learning from Patients

Full article here // Excerpt below

By Lucy Hood

A stethoscope, a blood pressure cuff and a few other tools are all pediatrician John Moses needs to obtain basic information about the health of his patients. But when he wants to go beyond the clinical setting and find out more about their health issues -- the whys and wherefores of teen pregnancy, for example - he puts the medical instruments down and picks up a camera.

Keep reading...

“Enhancing My Medical Education Through Photography," A Talk By Pediatrician/Photographer John Moses from Center for Documentary Studies on Vimeo.

Drawn Into Scripture: Arts and the Life of the Church // 2011 Convocation & Pastors’ School @ Duke Divinity

While the church’s celebrations and teachings follow a steady cadence, we continue to seek new and vibrant ways of interpreting the Word. The arts – in their varied forms – can provide a source of inspiration.

Join us as professor and musician Jeremy Begbie, author Marilynne Robinson, professor and musician Anthony Kelley and the BLAK Ensemble, and the Rev. Dr. Lillian Daniel help us explore art’s illuminating power.

Together, we will experience the scriptures from a new perspective and find imaginative ways of expanding the life of the church.

More info

Call for Submissions // 2011 Juried Arts Exhibit: "Places of Redemption"

Submissions for the 2011 Juried Arts Exhibit will be accepted March 16-18, 2011. Guidelines and submission forms will be available in a folder above the student mailboxes or as downloadable PDFs from the New Creation website (click here).