Office of the Chaplain

The Office of the Chaplain provides spiritual support to the Divinity School community through pastoral care and community worship. Contact the Office of the Chaplain at (919) 660-3459.

Pastoral Care

The life of a student can be filled with a variety of anxieties, stresses, and hardships. The chaplain is available to be a source of support and advisement (or simply a listening ear) to students in a variety of areas, including spiritual concerns, vocational discernment, and anxieties about school or relationships. The chaplain also maintains a list of spiritual directors and therapists (many with theological training) in order to make referrals as necessary. Students may drop by the chaplain’s office or make an appointment.

Community Worship

Community worship is a vibrant part of the Divinity School’s life together. The chaplain’s office convenes weekly worship opportunities in Goodson Chapel. This includes daily morning prayer led by the Anglican Episcopal House of Studies, and three mid-day services on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. These services include faculty and student preaching and Communion (once a week). There are a range of diverse liturgical traditions represented and celebrated within the Goodson Chapel worship space—from the mystery of a formal Anglican High Mass to free-spirited Gospel services. Students, faculty, and staff share in the leadership (and often in the planning) of worship. Live-streaming enables remote members of the community to join in Goodson Chapel worship. Additionally, as an act of hospitality to the wider Duke University community, Goodson Chapel also hosts several masses and other weekly liturgies led by the Duke Catholic Center.

The Divinity School enjoys a particularly close relationship with Duke Chapel. Duke Divinity School administrators and faculty are often among the guest preachers at Sunday morning worship services in Duke Chapel. Divinity School students have the opportunity to participate in chapel worship, either by reading scripture, serving communion, or singing in one of the chapel’s three choirs (the Chapel choir, Vespers choir, and Evensong choir), which provide choral leadership for the chapel’s various weekly services, as well as special music programs throughout the academic year, including an annual Advent performance of Handel’s Messiah and a spring performance.