McDonald Agape Foundation Gift will Enlarge Capacity for Research and Programming in Divinity Initiative

In July 2019, Rick Amsberry, an accountant from Dallas, Texas, and his wife, Lisa, were visiting the Duke University campus. He had been discerning whether he was called to seminary and wanted to meet with people in the admissions office of the Divinity School.

While he was there, he noticed posters for the upcoming DITA10 conference, a three-day symposium celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the establishment of Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts (DITA) at Duke Divinity School. The conference featured conversations with leading scholars and artists, workshops for church leaders, inspiring corporate worship, an interactive concert featuring musicians from the top orchestras in the nation, and a colloquium for emerging scholars.

“At that time, I knew nothing about DITA, but after doing some preliminary research on the program, we decided that it would be a good way to come and immerse ourselves in the Duke environment for a few days,” Amsberry said. “My wife and I are both long-time sacred choral musicians and are familiar with the various ways the arts can be used both in the formation of Christians and as an outreach to the community beyond the church.”