Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts

It's been a little over two weeks, but it feels like yesterday. Below are a few sequenced highlights from Sacred Places: Decoding the Spiritual, the culmination of Matthew Rushing's term as Artist in Context at Duke Divinity School. As you flip through these photos, we hope you get a glimpse of the night, and see how Rushing and A'Keen invited everyone into a conversation about the enduring power of the spirituals and of dance's unique capacity to help us embody both lament and hope.

Stay tuned for more. We look forward to carrying on the conversation!

As always, our thanks to our partners, Duke Arts, Duke University Chapel, and the Creative Arts Collective.

And for those of you who couldn't attend in person, here's a breakdown of the night's show:

1. Glory, Glory: Opening dance number featuring full troupe
2. A'Keen and Rushing share about the original production and process
3. Documentary Episode 1: The Vision
4. Matthew Rushing performs a core movement sequence that informs the entirety of Sacred Songs and Places
5. Documentary Episode 2: The Music
6. A'Keen and the band play Elijah Riff, a development of a traditional spiritual Elijah Rock
7. Panel discussion on the theology of the work with Divinity faculty Dr. Daniel Train and Dr. Ellen Davis

Then The Big Three: Featuring the full troupe, the band, and choreography from the original Sacred Songs

8. Passage Song
9. By The Waters of Babylon
10. Troubles Troubling

11. Audience Q&A - what was the creative process like?
12. Oh Morning Star: A new number with original choreography by Rushing and dance MFA students and music by A'Keen
13. Closing sing-along conducted by A'Keen and a final fist pump by Rushing, or simply, closing joy.

It was a night to remember. We look forward to sharing more. And note the Duke hoodies. 👍

Photo credit: Les Todd Photography

We're absolutely thrilled and grateful to have Matthew Rushing, Associate Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, with us Duke Divinity School as "artist-in-context." See below to learn more about his project!

The grant-funded program through the Creative Arts Collective
encompasses several on-campus residencies to pursue research, offer community dance workshops, and produce a new iteration of Sacred Songs, his 2024 ballet for Alvin Ailey, which will premiere at Duke in April 2026. Learn more here: https://divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/dita/rushing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-m-CGiA7BI&t=1s

Artist in Context: Matthew Rushing & Duke Divinity School Dancer & Choreographer Matthew Rushing is a current Artist in Context Grantee in partnership with Duke Divinity School. Learn more about their collaboration ...

Thrilled for our Th.D. student, Andrew Hendrixson, whose article came out with Christianity Today in the Jan/Feb 2026 issue!

Both Volf and Wiman were Hendrixson's former professors, and the article is a product of a long weekend interview with the two men about their lifelong friendship. One artist and one academic, their friendship, according to Hendrixson, is built on "looking squarely at life’s big questions and tackling faith and doubt, suffering and joy, together." See below to read!

Miroslav Volf: ‘Disagreeing With You Feels Like Disagreeing With Myself’ - Christianity Today The deep friendship between the theologian and poet Christian Wiman is built around mutual respect and a willingness to tackle life’s hardest questions.

We're delighted that Naming the Spirit, co-edited by DITA Assoc. Director Daniel Train, has been awarded the Readers' Choice Awards in the Arts & Humanities category by InterVarsity Press!

A product of numerous collaborative symposiums, the volume brings together "a remarkable group of theologians, scholars, and artists to offer a fresh perspective on pneumatology through the creative lens of the arts." The work explores the significance of the Holy Spirit for the field of theology and the arts. Each chapter focuses on a particular name for the Holy Spirit and expands on its importance through particular artistic mediums. Essays explore topics such as the spirit of shalom, the poetic imagination, the Holy Spirit's use of Black Music for the New Creation, and much more.

"This adventurous volume evidences that theology and the arts is no longer an emerging field, but an established one—a field that sets the pace for theology as a whole," says Matthew J. Milliner, professor of art history at Wheaton College

See the link below to learn more and purchase at a discount! Thank you, IVP, for the honor, and thank you to all the scholars who made this volume possible.

https://www.ivpress.com/readerschoice?srsltid=AfmBOooiskFPNwZ8B9TEb0AbkR9RcTD_jLUcU8jBOy7ggI5meBTQ5GFS

Time flies, but we're still soaking in the beauty of DITA2025.

The first full day of programming included morning prayer, an opening plenary by former archbishop Rowan Williams, panel discussions on creativity and the Creed, applied workshops, and a closing keynote featuring a concert with Sandra McCracken and conversation between Rowan Williams and Chigozie Obioma.

"DITA2025 felt alive with promise and delight, something we all deeply needed," said Rowan Williams.

"When we sing," said Sandra McCracken at Fully Alive, "we catch up to ourselves and learn what it means to be fully alive."

We are so grateful to all who joined us and look forward to sharing more highlights in the future. See the link below to watch Dr. Williams's plenary and more

Fully Alive was presented in partnership with the The Veritas Forum.

https://divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/dita/dita2025

DITA2025 was an incredible event. We've been soaking in the beauty and are excited to share recaps, highlights, recordings, and more. And please keep tagging us to share your stories! We hope the conversations continue long into the future.

The opening keynote, A Surprising Welcome, kicked off the weekend, following a time for check in, connection, and mingling. James K.A. Smith spoke on the tension between metaphysics and history in the Nicene Creed—and the implications of that tension for artists and art making. "Our neighborhoods need you, artists," he said, "to incarnate the beauty and mystery of God, to give us songs to sing to rhyme with Nicaea."

His address was followed by an incredible set of theological and musical improvisations by friends and jazz duo Julian Davis Reid and Nnenna Freelon. "We hope that tonight we can live out the ethos of Nicaea," said Reid, "where Jesus didn’t come just to have signs and wonders and make more signs and wonders, but came close so that we might look for the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come." Reid and Freelon performed a version of "Moan," a new single recently released by Reid (see below to listen). Freelon told a powerful vignette about her husband's kindness—set to accompaniment by Reid. The evening closed with a panel with all three speakers moderated by DITA Director Dr. Jeremy Begbie.

We're so delighted so many attended and are humbled by all the powerful connections that took place. See the event page below for a full recap and stay tuned for more to come! Thank you to everyone who joined us.

https://divinity.duke.edu/initiatives/dita/dita2025

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juliandavisreid/moan-for-hearts-of-flesh-feat-tramaine-parker-narykcin--lenard-simpson?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=Email+&utm_source=SendGrid

REGISTRATION CLOSING! So thrilled to continue to announce new speakers and programming highlights! Julian Davis Reid and Nnenna Freelon will help us kick off the conference—alongside James K. A. Smith. An experience of texture and surprise, the opening keynote, A Surprising Welcome, will combine all the elements of the full conference in one place: music, improvisation, and dialogue—and all between speakers whom might not otherwise meet despite their training, talent, and excellence. The event will feature music and improvisation by jazz artists Nnenna Freelon and Julian Davis Reid, a talk by James K. A. Smith, and a panel on the theology of surprising encounters with all three speakers chaired by DITA Director Jeremy Begbie. Learn more: https://dita2025.com/opening-keynote

And see below to register for this incredible four-day conference. DITA2025 registration closes TODAY—August 15! Get your spot now!

https://dita2025.com/