Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative

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Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative

The TMC Initiative seeks the renewal of health care by forming clinicians for faithful practice and public witness.

08/28/2026

We can’t believe immersive week has come and gone! We have been blessed by the presence of our hybrid students this week—we’ve laughed, cried, gotten our hands sticky with dough, played, prayed, and made lifelong friends (oh and we learned some things too). Wishing all safe travels to wherever you call home after this incredible week together! Duke Divinity School

08/26/2026

Join TMC Associate Director Brett McCarty in Cambridge this fall for the Christianity & Public Health Conference! Co-hosted by the Veritas Scholars Program and the Harvard Human Flourishing Program, this gathering will explore the vital intersections of Christianity and public health research and practice.

This 1-day conference will take place Saturday, October 24th from 9-5pm on Harvard's campus. Dr. McCarty will be discussing "Christian Reflections on Substance Use" with colleagues Tracy Balboni and Andi Clements.

Find the full program and register at the link in our bio!

Human Flourishing Harvard Duke Divinity School

08/20/2026

Book your stay in TMC's hotel room blocks for Practice & Presence by 5pm on August 21st!

Tomorrow is the final day to book your stay at the JB Duke Hotel or The Lodge at Duke Medical Center. We have just a few reserved rooms available! Visit the Practice & Presence website for lodging details. Link in bio.

08/14/2026

One week left to book your room through the Practice & Presence hotel block!

If you’re joining us in Durham this September, now is the time to secure your lodging and take advantage of our discounted group rates at:

• The Lodge at Duke Medical Center ($139/night) • JB Duke Hotel ($245/night)

Hotel block rates expire in one week.

Visit our website for booking details and links.

08/07/2026

It can be hard to live and move as an integrated whole, loving God "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). In this plenary, "Practicing Coherence: Living as an Integrated Whole," a pianist and a physician—two friends whose collective work spans art, moral formation, and Christian practice—explore how the Trinitarian Godhead forms us toward coherence, and how the beauty of Christ crucified invites fuller integration of body, mind, soul, and spirit, especially where there's been rupture and wounds.

Join us for Practice & Presence: A Gathering for Christians in Health Care September 11-12 for this conversation with Mia Chung-Yee & Brewer Eberly.

08/06/2026

Listen to the full interview on art, suffering, and medicine between Natalie Carnes & TMC alumnus Brewer Eberly or read it in Comment Magazine. Links in bio 🔗

07/29/2026

Sisters Darian Goldin Stahl and Devan Stahl have spent 15 years transforming illness narratives into works of fine art — and in the process, transformed their own relationship. Join us for the plenary session "The Role of Fine Art in Healing Chronic Illness" at Practice & Presence 2026.

Devan will share how chronic illness and motherhood reshaped her relationship with her body, and how Darian's collaborative artistic process became part of her healing. Darian will also share how she's extended this work into art workshops helping others turn experiences of medicine, illness, and caretaking into artists' books — work now being acquired by learning institutions across the country.

Join us September 11–12 for this powerful conversation on art, illness, and healing! Register at the link in our bio.

07/28/2026

Today’s “Out of Office” comes from Program Coordinator Victoria Yunez Behm. Victoria’s multi-generational homestead grew this year with the addition of a flock of chickens (Nimbus, Alfredo, Big DeeDee, Pixie, Olive, Henny, Ember & Nugget).

They are expectedly very silly chickens, and just started producing eggs this month! Victoria says, “We’re getting about 5-6 eggs a day, which supplies our family with exactly what we need! We have Olive Eggers and Barred Rock hens, which produce beautiful green/blue and brown eggs respectively. This is also our third year with a vegetable garden on our property. The North Carolina clay has been tough to work with, but we’ve had a great tomato, kale, and zucchini harvest so far this year. We’re looking forward to trying the melon, eggplant, peppers, and butternut squash once they mature.”

When she’s not at work, you can catch Victoria and her kiddos in the garden or watching the chickens cluck about the yard.

Victoria Yunez Behm

07/23/2026

We are excited to share a recent publication by several TMC faculty, staff, alumni, and friends in the Journal of Religion and Health, titled "Christian Congregations as Sites of Response to Community Substance Use Issues: An Exploratory Needs Assessment Survey of Clergy in North Carolina, USA." Please join us in congratulating Alejandra Salemi, Brett McCarty, CJ Lynch, Rachel Meyer Gallagher, Warren Kinghorn (pictured) and colleagues!

07/22/2026

Today's "Out of Office" comes from TMC Program Coordinator, Heather Plonk!

Heather is an all-around green thumb and raises the most amazing heirloom chrysanthemums! She says, "I’ve been trying to keep my heirloom chrysanthemums alive through Durham’s drought and heat! What began with a trial run of 8 plants in 2021 has grown into an annual practice of raising chrysanthemums, and this year I’ve got more than 25 varieties!

I’ve long been happiest with my hands in the dirt, and heirlooms are well worth all the tending they need throughout the year. Come fall, they’ll produce blooms of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and when picked they’ll last 10-20 days (or more!) in a vase. I’ve got dreams for this little garden of mine and am grateful for the room to nurture them – and these plants – this summer."

TMC is blessed to be surrounded by beautiful flowers tended to and curated by Heather throughout the year!

plonkstagram

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407 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC
27708

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https://linktr.ee/dukeTMC

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