We begin the new calendar year in the season of Epiphany, a time when we focus on the revelation that Jesus is fully God and fully human, God Incarnate among us. This year, we are using the season between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday to explore becoming the people of God. Join us for worship this Sunday as Rev. Nguyen preaches on the subject "Among Your Own People." Come and be blessed.

Rev. Gray Southern, a former pastor of Trinity UMC,  will be preaching on Sunday, Feb 11, 2024. Rev. Southern is also the former District Superintendent of the former Durham District.  

Pastor Tobi will be on retreat with the Confirmands.

In October 2023, Dallas Bonavita, Executive Director of Note in the Pocket, spoke at Trinity. She shared the plans to fight clothing insecurity in Durham as the organization has been doing in Wake County for a number of years. The Durham location opened on January 12, 2024. This expansion will enable Note in the Pocket to clothe 11,500 in Durham and Wake Counties for 2024.  You can now drop-off clothing donations at our Durham location. No appointment necessary. They accept clothing and shoe donations of all sizes (infant-adult). Donation hours: Wednesday-Friday 9:00am-4:00pm, Saturday 9:00am-12:00pm.  Address: 1010 Martin Luther King Jr Pkwy, Durham, NC.

Note in the Pocket provides quality clothing to homeless and impoverished children and families with dignity and love.

March 24, 2024 is almost here!  And, Durham is gearing up for another fantastic year and need all hands on deck for this very special event...50 years of Durham fighting hunger by raising over $5.5 million to fight hunger locally, nationally and around the world! 

The Team Captain Kick-offs are THE time to come for Walk information, new yard signs and to buy t-shirts...team captains get a free shirt!  Plus, several of the local recipient agencies that receive funding from the CROP Walk will be there to talk about how money from the Walk helps them fight hunger in Durham.  Also on hand will be many of the wonderful committee members who help to make CROP Walk happen each year to respond to any of your questions and suggestions.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. It marks the beginning of a period of reflection and penance. In the Bible, sprinkling oneself with ashes was traditionally a sign of one's sorrow for having committed sins. In the Christian tradition, Ash Wednesday also marked the beginning of preparation for the understanding of the death and resurrection of Christ. The particular symbolism of ashes for this day comes from a practice in the Roman Catholic churches in which the ashes from the palms used in the preceding year's Palm Sunday celebration are blessed. With these ashes, the priest on the first day of Lent marks a cross on the forehead of each worshiper. This practice has become a part of Ash Wednesday services in many United Methodist churches.

Source: A Dictionary for United Methodists, Alan K. Waltz, Copyright 1991, Abingdon Press.

The following remarks were delivered by Executive Director, Jennifer Copeland during a Faith Leaders Rally for Abortion Access on January 22, 2024. 

When I was a newly ordained, still naive and idealistic, young pastor from South Carolina, I went to a meeting for a group called Clergy for Choice. This was in 1989, 16 years after the U.S. Supreme Court Decision legalizing abortion. We had gathered as faith leaders because state legislation was pending that would curtail that federal right. Using the typical channels of public advocacy, we launched a campaign and held the line. Little did I know this would be the beginning of a career-long struggle to hold the line on reproductive rights, a struggle that intensified with each passing anniversary of Roe, came to a head with the Dobbs Decision, and now is a crisis in North Carolina.

Duke is working on a clinical trial focused on improving cardiac arrest survival in North Carolina. Cardiac arrest is when the heart stops suddenly due to an electrical problem. 356,000 cardiac arrests happen each year in the United States with only 8-10% of victims surviving after being hospitalized. In the past year, cardiac arrests occurred in two star athletes, Damar Hamlin and Bronny James. Duke is partnering with health care systems, 911, EMS, and communities to improve cardiac arrest survival in North Carolina. Dr. Nkiru Osude is a cardiology fellow physician at Duke in Durham North Carolina who will be presenting on cardiac arrest, what to do after someone has a cardiac arrest, and how to prepare your congregation for a cardiac arrest.

The NCCUMC Health Ministry Team encourages you to participate!

Hello ladies! The invitaiton below is from Sujatha Balasundaram, the leader for the "Spiritual Growth through the Arts" workshop.

Congregations for Children will hold their late-winter/early spring mission project from Sunday, February 11 through Sunday, March 3. We will collect classroom school supplies, and more information will be coming soon.

Rev. Nguyen, her husband Jimmy, Rev. Schultz, Nicole McDonald, Annette Baker, and LaNella Smith attended the Durham Congregations in Action (DCIA) banquet on Tuesday evening, January 23rd.  The CROP Walk funds were distributed to non-profits in the Durham community.  Open Table Ministry was a recipent.

Rev. Nguyen was installed as a member of the DCIA board.  Trinity is a member congregation of DCIA.

Pastor Tobi being installed and Open Table Ministry

Give if you can and call if you need.