Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope

The Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope is a two-day journey of deeply encountering our city. The goal is to learn the story of Durham with particular attention to race and class, and to reflect on it through the lens of our  Christian faith. Through taking this journey, we seek to gain a renewed sense of who we are, of the pain and hope of our city, and of how we might live in light of what we’ve learned.

“We would come as pilgrims, not as tourists; as learners, not as teachers; as receivers, not as givers; as listeners, not as talkers.” - Trevor Hudson, A Mile in My Shoes

Friday, September 14
1:00pm - Tour of Historic Stagville, one of the largest plantations of the pre-Civil War South.
3:15pm - Tour of Duke Homestead, the early home, factories, and farm where Washington Duke first grew and processed tobacco.
5:30pm - Dinner and Reflection time

Saturday, September 15
9:00am - Breakfast and reflection on our own story at Duke Memorial United Methodist Church (504 W. Chapel Hill Street, Durham).
10:30am - Tour of Hayti Heritage Center, an African American cultural and educational institution deeply rooted in the historic Hayti community of Durham. We will spend time with historian Skippy Scarborough.
12:00 - Lunch and Reflection Time
1:00pm - Presentation at the Historic Parrish Street Forum. Also known as “Black Wall Street” in the early 20th century, Parrish Street was the sight of some of the nation’s leading black-owned businesses.
2:30pm - Gathering in West End Neighborhood and meeting with Keith Daniel, a Durham native, Director of the Office of Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, and former director of the Duke Pathways Program.
4:00pm - Durham Then, Durham Now - Reflection on the evolving Durham class and racial landscape and contemporary issues facing people of a variety of class and racial backgrounds.
5:30pm - Wrap-Up: Dinner and Final Reflection

*Additional Activity*: John P. Kee Concert, Saturday, 8pm: John P. Kee is a native of Durham and one of the most acclaimed gospel music artists in the country. He will be performing at the Hayti Heritage Center. Tickets are available through Duke Performances.
To sign up to go on the Pilgrimage, fill out the form below. The cost, which covers four meals and transportation, is $25 (does not include John P. Kee concert). If you have any questions, contact Reynolds Chapman at  reynoldschapman@dukememorial.org.

Thanks for Coming Out to the Cookout!

We had a great time on Sunday, eating together and enjoying each other’s company at the Summer Community Cookout! The kids bounced around in a bounce-house castle (which kind of resembled a mini-Duke Memorial if you look at it the right way), and we all played yard games, ate snow cones, and even got our faces painted.  The best part was meeting so many new people and getting to know some of our neighbors better. As part of our 2012 Mission Theme, “Who is My Neighbor? Listening, Learning and Living with Our City,” this was indeed what we were hoping to get out of our first “Celebration” – to welcome new people to our church and share our lives with each other. Thank you to everyone who helped with the setup, break-down, food prep, and showing generous hospitality to our guests!

Duke Memorial Considering Closer Ties with IHN

     It was good to learn more at our Dinner and Discussion this week about the needs of homeless families in Durham.  We want to inform you of an exciting proposition that is being considered at Duke Memorial that could directly impact this issue.  Recently, the Director of Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) approached our staff about unused church space that could be utilized for the program’s day center.  The IHN program collaborates with many area congregations to serve homeless families.  Families stay in a church in the evenings and overnight, with church members serving as volunteer hosts.  During the day, some adults work and children who are old enough go to school or daycare.  But there is always a day space available for family members who are out of work or have not yet been accepted to a school or daycare.  The day space is where activities of daily living occur, including meal preparation, baths and showers are had, and laundry is done.  The day center is also where IHN staff work most closely with families to look for employment, affordable housing or child care arrangements.

      Duke Memorial, as many of you know, has been in relationship with IHN as a host church since the program’s inception about fifteen years ago.  IHN is looking to expand the number of families it can serve from its current capacity of three to six families, but in order to do so, a new day center location is needed.  Preliminary discussions have begun about the potential to use currently under-utilized space on the first level of the Sanctuary building for this day center and the IHN staff office location. To accommodate this arrangement, some renovation of the area would be necessary.  Many questions remain to be answered before a decision can be made about this proposal.  Our church staff have indicated that it is imperative that we consider the impact of this arrangement on the entire body of the church.  Is this relationship consistent with our mission, vision and strategic plan?  How would renovations be funded and what would the ongoing financial impact of a long term lease arrangement be for the church?  How would the presence of IHN impact current activities and programs of the church, including the weekday school, AA meetings and youth activities?  These and many other detailed issues are being analyzed by some of our congregational leaders in collaboration with our church staff.

     We believe this relationship has significant potential to help our church grow in our outreach ministry and can enable an opportunity to have a direct impact on the important issue of homelessness.  But a proposal will not be advanced to our Church Council nor any agreement reached until the important questions noted above have been addressed.  We welcome your feedback as we explore this arrangement.  If you have ideas, concerns or questions, please address them to our church staff, especially Ginger and Reynolds.  A task force has been formed to discern this matter, made up of Fuller Sasser, Roger Loyd, Tom Chandler, Eric Miller, Leta Loyd, Katie Garman and John Legge. The members are interested in hearing from you.  We will keep you updated on this issue in the weeks to come.  

- John Legge and Katie Garman         

Further Reflections on the Mission Theme

by John Legge

 

     I appreciate Katie’s reflections on the year so far.  It has been heartening to journey with our Mission Committee, church staff, and most importantly, so many from our congregation who have engaged in deepening our understanding of the relationships Christ calls us to.  In addition to the listening and reflecting that Katie highlighted, we have continued to serve in so many ways.

·         Participation in Community MLK event

·         Expanding relationships with Henderson Towers residents

·         Building a Habitat house

·         Hosting homeless families through Interfaith Hospitality Network

·         Raising $4500 during the Durham CROP Walk

·         Food donations and volunteering at Urban Ministries

·         Support for summer youth mission activities  

     I look forward to listening, learning and growing with our congregation and within our community.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of something that feels so important.  Thanks to all of you who’ve helped nurture this environment where Christ’s messages of love and giving are coming to life.

 -John Legge

Who is My Neighbor? The Year Thus Far....

by Katie Garman

The Listening theme began in January with the goal to discern more about our remarkable neighbors in Durham by taking time to hear about the hopes, dreams, pain, and joy in our community. 

We’ve hosted several Dinner and Discussions this year. If you missed these, scroll through this blog to find video links and commentary. 

At our first Dinner and Discussion, we heard generally about what it means to actively listen, and our own Stephen Ministers and members shared how often people just need someone to be present with them. Listening doesn’t mean fixing all of someone’s problems, but it can mean joining in a journey together that brings healing. 

At the second Dinner, we listened to news from Urban Ministries about folks in our community who are hungry, and how we can help address hunger in Durham. We heard stories about the people who are turned away at night when there are not enough beds for all in need. 

At the next Dinner and Discussion, we listened to Sam Wells and Marcia Owen talk about being present in Durham for those who have suffered due to violence in our own community, and the power of listening to our neighbors, and being present with them when loved ones have been killed. 

Our Good Neighbor team has listened to neighbors in Durham close to Duke Memorial: Neighbors at Henderson Towers and in the West End Neighborhood. Around Easter-time, Reynolds shared a story about inviting a family in the West End Neighborhood to our Easter service. We heard hope in the way the invitation was received and we heard gladness from those neighbors that our church would welcome them inside our doors. My sense is that we have more to learn from these neighbors in our surrounding areas.

So far this year, I would say that our listening has taught us about the power of being present. Neighbors in our larger community, as well as members of our own congregation, both long for connection with other people and time for fellowship together. 

I hope you will look into your own heart and join us in listening this year. We would love to hear your ideas about ways to respond to what we are learning about our neighbors, and we hope we’ll have a wonderful turnout at the next Dinner and Discussion on June 4^th 6-8 PM when we listen with open hearts to news about Housing and Homelessness in Durham. You can RSVP here. Thank you for all the ways you continue to join the mission here at Duke Memorial. 

-Katie Garman