The Power of Ministry
AEHS Clergy Study Day
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Download audio and text from the March 12, 2009 AEHS Clergy Study Day.
How do we discover (or rediscover) the true power of ministry? Duke Chapel Dean Samuel Wells believes that we are a generation of clergy who have no idea of our own power. We have no vocabulary for it, no social legitimacy for it, no theology for it, no encouragement for it. And so those of us who fall into despair, or anger, or depression, or displaced desperation for security or love, do so more than anything else out of a sense of powerlessness. In his Clergy Study Day address he identifies where the true power of ministry lies, and so seeks to restore confidence in priesthood as a vocation.”
Location and Directions
Directions to Duke Divinity School
Schedule
| 8:30 a.m. | Gather for refreshments and fellowship |
| 9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer |
| 9:30 a.m. | “The Power of Ministry” |
| 10:45 a.m. | Coffee break |
| 11:15 a.m. | “The Authority of Ministry” |
| 12:30 p.m. | Noonday Prayer |
| 12:45 p.m. | Luncheon |
| 2:00 p.m. | “Ministry Amid the Crisis of Authority” |
| 3:30 p.m. | Blessing and Dismissal |
Overnight Accommodations
The Duke Divinity School rate of $126.90, including tax, is available at the Millennium Hotel. To make a reservation, call 1-800-633-5379; be sure to request the Duke Divinity rate.
The Revd. Canon Samuel Wells
Sam Wells was appointed dean of Duke University Chapel and research professor of Christian ethics at The Divinity School in 2005.
He previously served four parishes in the Church of England, from 1991-2005. Most of this time was spent in the post-industrial North East and in a socially disadvantaged neighborhood in East Anglia. He also served suburban and urban village communities in Cambridge. From 1998-2003 he was closely involved in establishing a community-led development trust, the first such organization in the East of England. During this time he also launched a nonprofit organization offering disadvantaged children opportunities to discover wonder and joy through creative play.
Sam’s responsibilities as Dean of Duke Chapel include preaching at the majority of the 11 a.m. Sunday services, leading worship, and interacting with and praying for all levels of the university. His work also entails lifting up the connections between Christian faith and theology and the pressing issues of the day, and making the Chapel and the poorest neighborhoods of Durham visible to one another.
Thinking and writing have always been an integral part of Sam’s ministry, even though functioning as a priest in God’s church has always been at the heart. He has published nine books in the areas of theology, ethics, and worship.
Questions?
Please e-mail Center for Lifelong Learning or call 919.660.3448.