Divinity School's Lay Academy Begins 15th Year of Training
The academy provides lay persons with theological study through non-degree programs
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
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DURHAM, N.C. -- On Sept. 3, Duke Divinity School's Lay Academy of Religion will begin its 15th year of providing lay persons with theological study through non-degree programs.
Courses for the 2003-2004 academic year begin with "The Minor Prophets" taught by James "Mickey" Efird, a professor of biblical interpretation at Duke Divinity and an ordained Presbyterian minister. Efird was the academy's first instructor in 1988-89 and has taught classes throughout its 15 years.
Though Efird has been the mainstay of the program, numerous Duke Divinity faculty members teach courses. The lay education program has expanded to include two Laity Weekends during the school year, which are packed with seminars and lectures by local and visiting experts in all fields of theological education.
Other morning courses for the year are "The Gospel of Mark," starting on Jan. 7, and "Paul's Neglected Letters," which begins on April 21, both taught by Efird. Morning classes meet four times, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. once a week, at Epworth United Methodist Church, at the corner of University Drive and Hope Valley Road in Durham.
Evening classes take place from 7-9 p.m. at Resurrection United Methodist Church on Chapel Hill Road in Durham. Efird will teach the first session starting Oct. 2 on "Revelation." Duke Divinity professor of church history Grant Wacker will instruct the course, "For God and Region: Religion and the Civil War," starting Nov. 6.
On Jan. 8, Efird will return with a course on the book of Romans. Steven Sager, visiting lecturer at Duke Divinity and rabbi of Beth El Synagogue, will close out the evening slate of courses in February with "Seeing and Perceiving: A Close Reading of Genesis 18-22."
Efird also teaches classes for the Lay Academy in High Point, Charlotte and Greensboro.
For registration and fee information, contact the Center for Continuing Education at Duke Divinity School by e-mail; at (919) 660-3528 or toll-free at (888) 845-4216; or online.