Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery
reflection by Gavin McCollum
This month, 2BC is highlighting the work and ministries of historic Black Baptists.
I chose to highlight Rev. Dr. Luke Powery, Dean of Duke Chapel.
Now, it might be a little on-the-nose for me to choose someone from Duke, but Dean Powery is a nationally-respected preacher and professor of homiletics (preaching). Dean Powery is also the first Black Dean of Duke Chapel.
Duke Chapel sits at the very center of Duke University’s campus. The Chapel tower can be seen for miles around Durham, NC (where Duke is located). It is a beautiful structure, but it is also a building and institution that is tied up in the South’s history of racial segregation. The Chapel- along with most of Duke’s famed West Campus – was designed by famed architect Julian Abele- an African American architect whose work was not acknowledged until recently.
Entering the Chapel, there are 6 alcoves on either side of the doors. In each alcove is a stone statue of a significant figure. One the left side, the statues are important figures of faith: Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, etc. On the right, the statues are “important” Southern figures. One of the statues is of Thomas Jefferson. Another statue – that stood until 2017 – was Robert E. Lee.
So it is no small thing for Luke Powery to have been chosen as a Black man to lead Duke Chapel.
There is a story told that James B. Duke- who gave the money to build Duke’s campus and after whom Duke is named- once said that a Black Preacher would preach in Duke Chapel, “Over my dead body.” As it happens, James Duke is buried in the crypt of Duke Chapel, above which Dean Powery preaches every Sunday.
God bless the servants who do the hard things. God bless the servants who are committed to making the earth more like the Kingdom of God.
Learn More:
https://pstem.edu/profiles/luke-powery