"Telling the Story: A Life in Ministry, Community, and Communications"
Dr. Art McClanahan reflects on his journey, remembering the sense of community at the Duke Divinity School, the influence of faculty, including Dean Thomas Langford, Dr. Stuart Henry, and Dr. Robert Cushman. Field education positions included as a middler serving in the first Divinity School student intern cohort at Duke Chapel, along with two first-years, his home church, Christ Church, in Manhattan, and the then-rural Fletcher’s Chapel, which shaped his understanding of parish ministry. At the same time, he edited student publications, was Student Representative Assembly president during his senior year, and played trombone in University ensembles.
After graduation, his parish ministry at churches in Northport, Sayville, and Fairfield blended pastoral care with community engagement—serving as chaplain to fire and police departments—and communications work, broadcasting daily radio segments, and earning a doctorate in instructional technology and media. In crisis moments, he supported ash-covered parishioners who returned home from the Twin Towers area on 9/11 and later did some chaplaincy work at The Pile with Port Authority police.
In 2005, he transitioned from parish ministry to become Director of Communications for the Iowa Annual Conference, where he led a team that supported local church programs, was active in mission engagement, and covered everything from natural disasters to clergy crises over 15 years. One of his most challenging assignments came while reporting on Superstorm Sandy. UMCom sent him to Sandy Hook, Connecticut, the day after the tragic school shooting, where his previous relationships allowed him unique access to give voice to the grieving community with respect and compassion.
Art concludes that his life has been fundamentally about "telling the story" through various media—a calling that was grounded in his Duke Divinity School experience, and expressed through decades of ministry that wove together pastoral care, community service, music, and communications.
