“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (Matthew 25:35-36)
Duke Memorial members are invited to donate canned foods that are then delivered to Urban Ministries of Durham monthly. A volunteer team works in the Food Pantry and Clothing Closet every third Tuesday from 1:30 until 3:30. On every fifth Sunday, a youth team goes to the Community Café at Urban Ministries to prepare and serve lunch, from 10:30 until 1:30.
Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN)
The Interfaith Hospitality Network gives shelter, food, and support to homeless families through mobilizing church volunteers to host and otherwise assist them. The organization is professionally managed by a two-person staff at its “day house” but families are in the care of congregations from 5:30 pm until the next morning. Our congregation partners with Watts Street Baptist Church to offer this ministry at least four (occasionally five) times per year by housing the families in upstairs Sunday school rooms, with a separate room for each family. Other services offered are food, conversation, a place for the children to play, and a safe space for families to be together. The church provides at least two volunteers at all times the families are in our care. These efforts allow the families to focus on the next challenges in their lives: getting a job, organizing their finances so that they can afford their own home, and dealing with other issues that have resulted in their being homeless.
Disaster Relief through UMCOR
Duke Memorial generously provides financial support in response to disasters around the world. When disasters happen, donations for disaster relief may be made by writing a check to Duke Memorial and indicating “disaster relief” on the memo line. 100% of your gift will go toward disaster relief efforts through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). In addition to financial gifts for disaster relief, our congregation may respond to a disaster by assembling flood buckets or health kits or sending a work team to a hard-hit area.
Duke Memorial annually participates in Durham’s CROP Walk for hunger every spring, raising awareness and money for people who are hungry in Durham and around the world. As always, this was a fun event, great for individuals old and young.
Donate Clothes to Welcome Baby
Welcome Baby provides parenting education and support to families with young children. They currently need clothes for their Giving Closet, which serves many families in need of clothing and other supplies for their 5 and under children. Recently much of their winter clothes supply was damaged by moisture in the storage area, and they are in need of children’s clothing donations – especially all girls’ clothing and boys’ clothing 2T and up. So if you haven’t cleaned out the attic or your closets in a while, this is the time. Welcome Baby is located at 721 Foster St, right across from Central Park School. For more information, visit welcomebaby.org.
Volunteer at Morehead Hills Senior Apartments
Morehead Hills Senior Apartments is a low-income residential facility. They are currently seeking volunteers for two needs: 1) Dividing and distributing food items for the residents, and 2) Offering light housekeeping assistance for an 87 year old resident. The resident has trouble standing for long periods of time and is greatly in need of some assistance so that he can maintain his independent lifestyle. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Reynolds.
Gleaning
Duke Memorial’s congregation participates in gleaning, the opportunity for volunteers to harvest overabundant crops left in the fields by farmers to distribute to the hungry. This ministry is coordinated through the Society of St. Andrew.
Youth Mission Trips
Duke Memorial’s youth group has traditionally gone on a mission trip every summer to serve and build relationships with the poor in another region. Church members support these trips by purchasing “stock” in the trip and praying for the participants as they learn what it means to serve the poor for the sake of Christ.
Other Mission Commitments
Duke Memorial UMC shares generous financial support to such vital ministries as: Durham Congregations in Action; missionaries Sharon and Lynn Fogleman in South Sudan; Four Corners Native American Ministries in Sawmill, Arizona; Mary Zigbuo and the United Methodist Church in Liberia; and the United Methodist Church’s Central Conference Pension Initiative.
United Methodist Missions
As a United Methodist congregation, Duke Memorial participates in the activities of the General Board of Global Ministries and the General Board of Church and Society.
