Hope & A Future

“I remember staring up at the orientation preacher and thinking, ‘If only they can teach me to preach like that .... [Two years later,] I stepped into the Goodson pulpit, excited and unafraid, for they had indeed taught me to preach like that.

“Without financial aid, I would not have been able to attend class, chapel, morning prayer, special lectures, work in churches, and enjoy Sabbath, all of which have shaped me for ministry.”

Bonnie Scott D’11, a United Methodist seeking ordination as an elder in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, preached at the 2010 new student orientation. She has served as co-leader for the school’s New Creation Arts Group, and her textile appliqué “Tongues of Fire” won honors at the school’s Second Annual Juried Art Exhibit last spring.

“The Rural Ministry Fellowship was truly an answer to our prayers. It provided the financial support I needed to attend Duke Divinity School. After graduation, my wife and I will be able to focus our energy on loving and serving the people at our first appointment without the burden of longterm debt.”

Ken Spencer D’11 is a Rural Ministry Fellow seeking ordination as an elder. He plans to serve in a rural parish in the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.

“My travels as a student to Haiti, Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan have allowed me to build transforming friendships all over the world, and helped me understand the importance of context and location in forming theological opinions…. Thanks to my scholarship, I’ve had the time to make the most of my experience here at Duke University.”

Darriel Harris D’11 earned a degree in electrical engineering before coming to seminary. A Baptist, he plans to become a missionary in East Africa.