Application open for Convocation on the Rural Church

The Convocation on the Rural Church is an annual opportunity for pastors of The Duke Endowment-eligible churches from the North Carolina and Western North Carolina Conferences of the United Methodist Church to join with Duke Divinity School and The Duke Endowment to discuss issues that are important in transforming rural churches and communities and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Participants will join in worship, plenary sessions, and fellowship. The theme of this year’s event is “Cultivating Community,” and our featured speaker will be Robert P. Jones. Dr. Jones is the founding CEO of PRRI and a leading scholar and commentator on religion and politics. He is the author of The End of White Christian America, two other books, and numerous peer-review articles on religion and public policy. Jones writes a column for The Atlantic online on politics and culture and appears regularly on Interfaith Voices, the nation’s leading religion news-magazine on public radio. He is frequently featured in major national media such as MSNBC, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. Dr. Jones serves as the Co-Chair of the national steering committee for the Religion and Politics Section at the American Academy of Religion and is a member of the editorial boards for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion and for Politics and Religion, a journal of the American Political Science Association. He holds a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University and a M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary In response to growing demand for this event and in an effort to include participants with a variety of experiences, we have implemented an application process that includes answering a few brief essay questions. The application is available here. The application deadline is May 1st. Those selected to attend will receive notification and be invited to register within three weeks of completing the application; all others will be added to a waiting list. Questions regarding this event can be directed to Rev. Brad Thie, Director of Thriving Rural Communities, at 919-660-3423 or bthie@div.duke.edu, or Event Program Coordinator Quinten Lochmann at qlochmann@div.duke.edu. Learn more about the Convocation on the Rural Church. APPLY NOW