1. Welcome to the Class of 2015!
It has been a delight to welcome to the members of the class of 2015, as they arrived to begin a new chapter in their lives in August. Duke Lutherans always look forward to being here to greet and support new members of the Body of Christ at Duke. The coming months, and years, will give us many opportunities to laugh, groan and grow together.
2. Sunday Worship:
There has been a significant change in our worship location again this year. We worship at Sundays at 5:00 pm, usually gathering in the Memorial Chapel on the main floor of Duke Chapel. However, this space is often not available due to conflicts with events in the Sanctuary of Duke Chapel itself. In the past, this meant that we had to worship in a classroom in the basement of the Divinity School. However, as a result of the kindness and hospitality of the Dean of the Divinity School, Richard B. Hays, we are now able to move to the York Room in the Divinity School, which was formerly the Chapel for the Divinity School. This lovely and sacred space provides a wonderful home for our worship when we are unable to occupy our regular home in Memorial Chapel. As in the past, worship is as always followed by dinner in the Chapel Kitchen at 6:00 pm. All are welcome, including any parents, siblings, alums or others that might be in the area.
3. Weekly Community Service:
Love of and service to our neighbors is a fundamental part of Lutheran living. As a way of acting that out at Duke, Duke Lutherans volunteer each week at four locations near campus. On Monday afternoons, a group of students goes to the Assisted Living Unit of The Forest at Duke Retirement Community to visit and chat with residents there. On Tuesday afternoons, students volunteer at Reality Ministries, an after-school program for middle and high school students, located just across the street from the Durham School of the Arts. On Friday afternoons, one group goes to Hillcrest Convalescent Hospital to be with patients there, and another group goes to EK Powe Elementary School, only two blocks from East Campus, to participate in after-school activities there. In all cases, the Duke students soon find that these regular visits soon lead to meaningful relationships and to a better understanding of the call we all have to minister to those around us, finding Christ in people that once might have seemed like strangers.
5. Community Kitchen:
As a part of our community outreach, we travel to Durham Urban Ministries one Saturday each semester to help prepare and serve a lunch to over 150 homeless persons and residents of the center. Rides are provided. Contact Bill Dahl for details.
6. Spring Break Mission Trips:
In 2008, a group of Duke Lutherans traveled to Washington D.C., to work in various urban ministry programs. In 2009, we traveled to Costa Rica, for a week of immersion in that country's culture. We were hosted and our itinerary planned bythe Lutheran Church in Costa Rica with whom our own North Carolina synod has a sister church relationship. In 2010, we traveled to San Francisco, for another urban ministry experience. We were the guests of St. Marks Lutheran Church in that city. The highlight was to spend two nights on the streets of the Tenderloin, Mission and Castro districts with pastors of the San Francisco Night Ministry, providing a ministry of presence to those on the streets of this major city. In the spring of 2011, we traveled o New Ebenezer Retreat Center in Rincon, GA to participate in rural relief ministries, and to develop our faith life together.
On Spring Break 2012, we will travel to New Orleans to continue relief work in the city devasted by Hurricane Katrina in the Fall of 2005. Email dukelutheran@gmail.com today to reserve your spot!
