Connect | Formation Groups

Garrett Rocha

Minister of Spiritual Formation & Witness | (he/him)

Engaging Community

Duke Memorial formation groups offer an opportunity for curiosity, learning, conversation, and relationship with a goal of journeying together towards better faithfulness. Duke Memorial offers a range of formation groups for people at various stages of life and faith.
​Contact one of the leaders below or Minister Garrett for more information. 

NEW Groups | Fall 2021

New Short-term Studies

Marching From Pain to Possibility

​6 Sessions | Beginning week of Oct 11
Join Pastor Heather for a 6-week video series on making sense of the desires that come from trauma, pain and woundedness. Each week's video features diverse theologians, including Walter Brueggeman, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza and Micky ScottBey Jones. The provided curriculum includes practices for examining our wounds- and the wounds of others- as a way to move towards God's possibilities for healing, restoration and fulfillment.  

Created Being

​6 Sessions | Beginning week of Oct 11
​Calling all theology nerds! Created Being: Expanding Creedal Christology explores the incarnation, our connection to the larger creation, and feminism overlap. If you are looking for a deep dive of tradition, theologians, and different theological perspectives then join Garrett Rocha in this 6-week book study. The book is not a traditional study, but offers the base of conversation surrounding Jesus becoming human and creation. 

New Recurring Groups

LGBTQ+ Formation Group

First Meeting: Sunday, Oct.3, 7:00 PM
​We are excited to offer a new formation group! We hope to create a safer space that we may come together in fellowship, heal from our past and present experiences, and grow into our better selves. This group is open to all, including allies, to explore faith and life together. In our first meeting we will introduce ourselves as well as dream about what kind of community we hope to create. Future meet-ups will be in various places across Durham and Raleigh.

Hiking Church

First Hike: Sunday, Oct.10, 9:00 AM
​Can we have church outside? Yes!
Join us for Hiking Church and spend your Sunday morning outside. We'll meet at a local hiking spot 1-2 times a month for a short devotion and light hike. We hope that this new opportunity will provide a new way for people to connect who might be inside-hesitant during COVID or are just looking something different. We'll see you at the trailhead!
The Basics
  • Meet at 9:00 AM - 15 minute devotion - Typically done by 11/11:30
  • Fair-Good weather - No special experience or skill necessary - Be able to walk 1-3 miles over varied terrain

Sunday Formation Groups

Open Door Class
Join by Phone 
1) Call: 301-715-8592
2) Enter Meeting ID: 990 2074 3125
3) Participant ID: Press # to bypass
4) Meeting Password: 887260
5) Use *6 to mute and unmute​
Sundays | 9:45 AM | In-Person & Zoom
We are a traditional Sunday School class meeting each Sunday from 9:45-10:45 to study Scripture and enjoy time together. We use the Adult Bible Study Series, video presentations about the holy land or biblical personalities, and enjoy the varied talents shared by our three teachers.  We welcome those from 30 to 95+ (open to all).  The Open Door classroom is located on the second floor of the Education Building around the corner next to the elevator.
Contact: Linda Adkinson

Beginnings in Bradshaw
Sundays | 10:00 AM | In-Person & Zoom
We are a relaxed and friendly group of folks with young children, from babies through grade school.  We meet by Zoom on Sundays before worship from 10:00-10:45, and we divide our time between fellowshipping and discussing scripture from the week’s lectionary.  A study guide with a few thought questions is emailed on Fridays, but advance preparation is entirely optional.  Please join us, with your kids, your dogs, your pancakes – whatever is happening in your world on Sunday morning!
Contact: Eliza Ferguson

People in the Parlor
Sundays | 9:30 AM | Zoom
Our group is very informal and we welcome adults of all ages, sexes, marital status, etc. who are interested in having real, open, honest dialogue and discussions about living a Christ centered life.

​New Fall 2021 Study: Mark: Like you've never studied it before! 
We will analyze the book of Mark from a historian’s perspective, rather than a theologian’s. Looking at the Bible from a historian’s perspective can be eye opening, exciting, and very difficult. No matter what, the search for knowledge and truth is exactly why it is important to do. Jesus, more than anyone else in history, questioned norms.
Contact: Stephen Zapotoczny

Mary Martha Class

1st Sunday of the Month | 9:45 AM | In-Person
Join us in the Lullaby/Mary Martha room behind the sanctuary on the 1st Sunday of the month.
​We also meet every Sunday during Advent. We use the Upper Room series to guide our devotion and fellowship.
Contact: Nadine Hoover 


​Mid-Week Formation Groups

The Seekers Connection

Wednesdays | 8:00 AM | In-Person
​The Seekers is a group that has been meeting on Wednesday mornings at 8 am since 2016 when we studied the book of Matthew. Since then, the reading has included the Bible as well as religion and spirituality in general and how it impacts our lives as Christians.  All are welcome to our usually small group, so if you are a morning person, please consider joining us. We hope to see you there.
Contact: Gary Boyd

​Wednesday Morning Women’s Group

Wednesdays | 9:30-11:0​0 AM | In-Person
This fall we will read and discuss Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor, in which the author “tackles the questions, worries, and concerns that arise when we encounter “difference” and “others.” This is not a primer on religions; instead she explores what is opened and what is revealed when we accept the invitation to investigate all of the wonder before us.  Here we learn not only that God’s preferred language is driven by curiosity and specializes in questions, but we also discover the spiritual riches God can teach us from the faith of others." We will also carry out a small service project, to be determined as a group. We warmly welcome new members to join us!
Contact: Karalyn Colopy or 919-956-7875

Heart of the Bible
A Weekly Scripture Study
Wednesdays | 7:00 PM | Zoom
Sign up using Church Center →
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Looking for a place where you can question faith and scripture or just quietly listen? Where you can struggle with the church and still be counted as faithful? Have you found other Bible studies boring? Are you wanting to hear God more clearly so you can follow God more nearly? Then this may be the Bible study for you.  We’ll let the Spirit lead us as we explore God, life, and faith through Holy Scripture. No homework or commitment required. No wrong questions or answers. Come be surprised by God.
Contact: Renee Burnette

Living Into The Scriptures
Join by Phone 
1) Call: 301-715-8592
2) Enter Meeting ID: 982 0261 0429
3) Participant ID: Press # to bypass
4) Meeting Passcode: 292199
5) Use *6 to mute and unmute
Thursdays | 10:30 AM | Zoom
Our new book, Barking to the Choir, by Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle, is a moving account of what his work at Homeboy Industries taught him about faith, compassion, and the enduring power of kinship, and how it is transforming the lives of gang members in Los Angeles. Barking to the Choir offers a snapshot into the challenges and joys of life on the margins through the people Boyle meets. One example of the stories is one about new father Cuco, who never knew his own dad, who thinks of a daily adventure on which to take his four-year-old son. Together, the stories uplift the soul and reveal how right life can be when filled with unconditional love and kindness. The stories “cause us to laugh, cry, pray, and, most importantly, invite us to build Boyle’s vision of kinship—a community where there is no division, no ‘us’ and ’them,’ but simply us.” New members are welcome.
Contact:  Ann Stallings Smith - 919-384-2981

The Downtown Group

Thursdays | 7:30 PM | In-Person
Sign up using Church Center →
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The “Downtown Small Group” invites YOU to join us each Thursday for fellowship and conversation. We typically discuss current events with a Christian lens. Each week we will email the questions and location. No preparation is needed!