In-person worship is at 10:00 am on Sundays. Remote worship is live-streaming at United Churches of Durham, Sunday at 10:00am on our Facebookpage.
You can expect to feel welcome, to hear the Word of God, and to know God's presence in our beautiful historic sanctuary. We pray, learn, and laugh together. While we love our traditions, you never know what new or unexpected way of worshipping we might explore. We are low on formality and high on community. You will discover worshippers from a variety of Christian traditions. You will find people dressed in their Sunday best and others in casual clothing. Wear what you feel comfortable in. There is no judgement here.
Communion Communion is typically celebrated the first Sunday of the month. We celebrate an Open Communion Table, meaning all who hunger and thirst for Jesus, are invited to receive communion. This meal is open to all. Before Covid, we used loaves of bread and unfermented grape juice. We made gluten-free communion available and on a separate plate with individual cups of juice (ask server for this option).
Why no wine? Communion with grape juice is part of our Methodist heritage and a commitment of solidarity with those in recovery or struggling with addiction. In fact, no alcohol is served on our campus at any events. Again, our Communion table welcomes ALL. Sometimes we serve by intinction (dipping the bread into the cup) and other times we pass plates of cubed bread and small cups through the pews.
Children God put the wiggle in children, don’t feel you have to suppress it in God’s house. A church full of wiggling children is a church full of life. We provide worship bags with a variety of quiet activities to keep our youngest worshippers engaged during worship. We have a "prayground" with toys and books for our youngest worshippers to keep busy. Early in the service, children are invited to join Pastor Eva at the front of the sanctuary for a "Moment for the Young at Heart". After participating in this story and lesson, the children are encouraged to take advantage of the materials (paper, markers, and reading material). By being part of the service, the children have an opportunity to witness and participate in the sacrament of Holy Communion the first Sunday of the month. Currently we are exploring ways to return to a Faith Formation (Sunday School) program in the future. For baptisms, children remain in worship, so they learn our rich traditions and theology. Also, during coffee hour often there are educational programs for adults and activities for children.
Fellowship Worship is followed by Coffee Hour, across the parking lot in Fellowship Hall. There is coffee, tea, juice and tasty church snacks. We keep nut-free snacks available and stored separately. We are biased but we do Coffee Hour well. During this time, we catch up with one other. Newcomers are greeted and get to know us better. In many ways, Coffee Hour is an extension of our worship time together. We continue to be in community as God's people, often informally discussing how to be The Church to each other and beyond.
Accessibility Large print bulletins and hearing assistant devices are available. The best seats in the house for acoustics are in the front and center pews of the sanctuary. There is an accessible ramp into our Church and Fellowship Hall. We have an accessible restroom. There is also a "Prayground" area with extra space for crawling and spreading out with books and toys to make even our most wiggly worshippers feel welcome.