Duke Divinity School Faithful Stewardship

February 26, 2006



Dear Dean Greg Jones, Reverend Susan Pendleton Jones, and Administrators of Duke Divinity School:



We as members of the Divinity School Community would first like to express our appreciation for your tireless work to resource and equip the Divinity School to be one of the finest environments for pastoral training in the world. We are truly blessed to have the caliber of faculty, library, and buildings as we have here at the Divinity School. We also appreciate your efforts to be a good steward of these resources. And it is in this spirit of faithful stewardship that we write this letter.



We understand that donors of the Divinity School have generously allocated money to be used to put stained glass windows in Goodson Chapel. While we are humbled by their generosity, we nevertheless feel that there are several reasons why Goodson Chapel should keep the clear windows. First, we serve a creating God. To be able to look out upon the trees is to worship in the midst of Gods creation. Even the most graceful and beautiful of human art cannot match the splendor of Gods creation. Therefore, we believe that the clear glass windows are aesthetically more pleasing than stained glass.



Secondly, as part of a Christian community, our architecture should reflect our theology. We serve a God who has called us into mission in the world. We are not called to shut ourselves off from the world, or to become blind to the world. As beautiful as stained glass is, it would prevent us from being able to see beyond the chapel, from being able to see out into the world into which we are called to minister.



Finally, and most challenging, not only for you but for those of us who have written this letter, is the issue of faithful stewardship. Although we greatly appreciate the generosity of those who have donated the money for the stained glass windows, we feel that we could be more faithful stewards of our resources if we spent this money differently. We would like to offer a few suggestions. While a few of us have had the opportunity to do field placements in South Africa and thus have a special affinity for John Wesley Seminary, the entire Divinity School Community has a partnership with the seminary. Those of you who have visited John Wesley know that their library is less equipped than most high school libraries in the U.S. Their few second hand computers do not go far in providing students with the resources and learning tools found on the internet. Perhaps, we at Duke, as the covenant partner blessed with more financial resources, might consider furthering our financial support of John Wesley seminary. Indeed, those of us who have experienced their hospitality first hand know that financial support is the least we could do to repay them for their incredible warmth and kindness.



Secondly, many of us feel that our field education experiences have been the most formative part of our Divinity School experience. We are disappointed to learn about the cut in funding for field education. The new initiatives in Mississippi are wonderful, and those of us who have participated in cross cultural placements have found them to be incredibly transformative. Perhaps a faithful use of our resources could be to fund more cross cultural field placements and more placements among the poor. After all, the Methodist Movement began as a movement where educated men like Wesley went to the poor, not only to minister to them, but because Wesley and his colleagues understood that they could find Jesus among the poor.



We realize that what we are asking is not as simple as taking money from one fund and placing it in another. We know that donations come with stipulations. However, we also know that the gospel can transform people, including donors and how they give. It is our hope that our gracious donors will come to see that as beautiful as stained glass windows in the chapel could be, enabling this institution to further Gods kingdom in the world and in our own lives is yet more beautiful.



Humbly yours