​January 8, 2021

We the pastors and Church Council of Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, NC, appreciate the commitment to duty and courage of the legislators who, on Wednesday evening, conducted the business of the nation in the face of violence  and endorsed the votes of all Americans in the election of our next president. We thank the law enforcement, Secret Service, and military personnel who placed themselves in danger to protect others. We pray for those killed, injured, or terrorized by the violence, and for those who feel unheard and unsupported. 

At the same time, we denounce those who invoked the name of the Prince of Peace, Jesus, during their violent assault on the United States Congress. Jesus calls us to reconciliation with God and with each other. When Jesus’ own disciples took up arms against Roman oppressors seeking to remove him and kill him, Jesus stopped the violence and healed the injured Roman. Jesus embodied self-sacrificing service for the sake of others, a willingness to die rather than violently insist on his own agenda. We are saved by Jesus, not by our violence. 

As a church, we again commit to stand up and speak out against evil, oppression and injustice in whatever forms they present themselves as we seek to love as Jesus loved: not in ways sentimental but in ways that lead to justice, mercy, forgiveness and grace for all. 

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Hebrews 12:14-15)

Signed:
2021 Church Council, Duke Memorial UMC 
Rev. Heather Rodrigues, Lead Pastor
Rev. Jennifer Ingold Asbill, Minister of Children and Pastoral Care 

​FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
United Methodist clergy officiate same-gender marriage in holy disobedience to denominational policy.

March 3, 2020
Contact: Rev. Heather Rodrigues, Pastor (919) 683-3467
[email protected] 

DURHAM, NC - Duke Memorial United Methodist Church joyfully celebrates the covenant marriage of Caleb Parker and Thomas Phillips, which took place in our sanctuary on February 29, 2020. Twelve clergy from Duke Memorial United Methodist Church and our United Methodist and ecumenical connection jointly officiated this wedding in holy disobedience to the prohibitions against same-gender marriage laid forth by denominational policy in the United Methodist Book of Discipline (¶ 341.6). We bless Thomas’s and Caleb’s covenant promises in Christian marriage and are grateful to be given the honor of celebrating their love through the wedding worship service.

Love is at the center of our faith tradition and is a lens through which we interpret the Scriptures. We at Duke Memorial will continue to celebrate the reconciliation of all persons as beloved children of God, equal before the throne of love and grace. We will continue to welcome and affirm ALL of God’s children, as we live into our baptismal vows to “accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves” (United Methodist Hymnal, 34). 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Duke Memorial United Methodist Church stands on the side of love and reconciliation, not judgment and exclusion.

February 28, 2019
Rev. Heather Rodrigues, Lead Pastor
[email protected]
​
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.  For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”  1 John 4:18
 
We regret and are saddened by the recent decision of the General Conference of the United Methodist Church to bar, on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, those whom God has called to the ministry; to deny marriage to certain members of the faith on the basis of their respective genders; and to push from our pulpits those clergy whose consciences will not permit them to comply with these hurtful policies.  We do not see the love of Jesus reflected in this decision.  We believe that it inflicts needless and unjust pain upon persons for whom Jesus died and leaves an enduring scar on the Body of Christ.  Love is at the center of our faith tradition and is the lens through which we interpret the Scriptures.  We will continue to celebrate the reconciliation of all persons as beloved children of God, equal before the throne of love and grace.