Skip to content
Duke Divinity
See information for:  Students  |  Faculty  |  Staff  |  Alumni
News
Send this page Send this page
Print this page Print this page

Theologian from Sudan to Share Experiences at Duke Divinity School

Fr. Joseph Garang Atem’s visit to Durham, Sept. 18-20, continues partnership between Duke Divinity and Renk Theological College in Sudan

September 17, 2007


Fr. Joseph Garang Atem

Fr. Joseph Garang Atem, principal of Renk Theological College, a seminary of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, visits Duke Divinity School Sept. 18-20 as part of the three-year partnership between the two seminaries.

The Episcopal Church of the Sudan, now with more than 4 million members, grew dramatically during the course of a 20-year civil war in which millions of southern Sudanese were killed or driven into exile.

Educational institutions for clergy and lay leaders are needed to help maintain a stable peace in southern Sudan, where most the church’s infrastructure is based. The Renk Visiting Teachers Program, sponsored and coordinated by Duke Divinity School and Virginia Theological Seminary, was founded in 2004 to meet that need.

Formerly Renk Bible School, Renk Theological College is now a diploma-granting regional college and serves three large Episcopal dioceses: Bor, Malakal and Renk. Renk is the northern gateway to southern Sudan, where Christian faith has grown quickly despite persecution.

The first team of two visiting teachers traveled to Renk in January 2005, the same week peace accords were signed. Although the program’s initial focus was to establish a curriculum in biblical languages and to train Sudani instructors in Hebrew and Greek, a public health component was added during the summer by 2007 master of divinity graduate Dr. Peter Morris, M.D., M.P.H.

During his visit, Rev. Atem will discuss possibilities for extending the partnership to give divinity students opportunities for study with fellow theological students in Sudan. Teams of teachers now travel to Sudan several times a year.

Rev. Atem will preach and lead Eucharist in Goodson Chapel at 10 a.m. on Sept. 19. He will speak on “My Story, God’s Church: Being a Christian and Teaching Theology in Sudan,” at White Memorial Presbyterian Church, Durham, at 6 p.m. On Sept. 20, he will lead Eucharist in Goodson Chapel at 6 p.m. with students, faculty and staff of the Divinity School’s Anglican Episcopal House of Studies.

All events are open to the public.

For more information, please contact the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies, 919-660-3539 or e-mail Dana Trent.