An Episcopal faith community exploring together what a life of faith "outside of a church" may be |
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The Beloved Community at The Trees Newsletter |
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1701 Pleasant Green Road, Durham, NC 27705
Look for "The Trees" sign by the mailbox and follow the winding gravel driveway to the parking areas near the house. We will have signs along the way to direct you to our gatherings. |
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This Week at The Beloved Community Upcoming Dates Worshipping Together Healing Ministries Featured: Summer Focus on Women: Video about Judith, First Friday Social Gathering: Watch Party, Collection for LGBTQ Center of Durham, DPS Foundation Crayons to Calculators, Fifth Sunday in August, Retreat Registration, Education for Ministry Registration, Cyclospora Info Formation Pastoral Care and Prayer Ways to Get Involved
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THIS WEEK AT THE BELOVED COMMUNITY |
Wednesday, August 5 – Virtual Religious Trauma Recovery Support Group |
Wednesday, August 5 – August Formation Book Study: Shameless |
7:00–8:30 PM, Zoom (link provided below) |
Thursday, August 6 – Coffee with Community |
9:00–11:00 AM, Starbucks on Guess Road (3801 Guess Rd, Durham) |
Friday, August 7 – First Friday Social Gathering: "Two Doors Down" Watch Party |
6:00–8:00 PM, The Trees (dinner will be provided) |
Sunday, August 9 – Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost |
3:30–4:30 PM – Parents, Families, & Friends of Queer Youth Support Group: Protecting Mental Health and Wellbeing of LGBTQ+ Youth
4:45 PM – Gathering and Prayer with the Anglican Rosary
5:00 PM – Worship with Eucharist
6:00 PM – Shared Meal of Salad and Bread, LGBTQ Center of Durham and Crayons to Calculators Collections |
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Sunday, August 30 – Fifth Sunday: Projects for The Trees with St. Matthew's Youth Group |
Thursday, September 3 – Finance Team Meeting |
12:00 PM, St. Philip's Episcopal Church |
Thursday, September 17—Saturday, September 19 – Beloved Community Retreat |
Keep up with all that's going on with The Beloved Community through our online calendar |
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1701 Pleasant Green Road, Durham, NC 27705
Look for "The Trees" sign by the mailbox and follow the winding gravel driveway to the parking areas near the house. We will have signs along the way to direct you to our gatherings. |
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Accessing Our Order of Worship |
We at The Beloved Community are committed to being as environmentally friendly as possible. We invite you to bring a device to access our Order of Worship online. We will have a sign at the entrance with a QR code that you can scan for a digital copy of the liturgy. You can also use this link: Order of Worship |
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Prayer with the Anglican Rosary |
Prior to our worship services on Sundays, we gather to pray together at 4:45 PM using Anglican prayer beads. You are invited to join us, and you are welcome to use one of the rosaries provided or bring your own. |
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We have a lectionary discussion in place of a sermon as part of our time together.
If you are interested in preparing ahead of time for our discussion, we have compiled a list of " Resources for Reflection" on our website that you may find helpful. |
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Religious Trauma Recovery Support Group
1st and 3rd Sundays, 3:00–4:30 PM at The Trees |
Religious trauma occurs when a person's religious experience is stressful, degrading, dangerous, abusive, or damaging. Traumatic religious experiences may harm or threaten to harm someone's physical, emotional, mental, sexual, or spiritual health and safety. You are invited to join us as we gather to discuss personal experiences of religious trauma and learn together about healing. |
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Parents, Families, & Friends of Queer Youth Support Group
2nd and 4th Sundays, 3:30–4:30 PM at The Trees Meets this week! |
This group is offered for anyone who considers themselves family or friends of a queer youth. The purpose of this group is to explore together what scripture actually says about being queer, how to be supportive family, and how to process your own experiences as someone who loves a queer youth. |
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Virtual Religious Trauma Recovery Support Group
Wednesdays, 12:00–1:00 PM online |
Looking for a safe place to process religious trauma and disappointment? Looking to find fellow people who have experienced similar pain and confusion? This weekly virtual group offers a judgment-free space to share, heal, and know you are not alone. |
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Throughout the summer, we will be highlighting stories of women in scripture during our Sunday worship services. If there is a scripture passage you would like included, please let Phillip or Jodi know.
If you would like to learn more about Judith, the book and character featured in the reading for Sunday, August 2, here is a video from the Bible Project that offers an illustrated account of this story: " Judith" |
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From May through August, we are reading and discussing three different books that engage gender and sexuality in our formation gatherings online on Wednesdays. Our July study of one of Pauli Murray's books is also one of our Pride offerings this summer. |
Shameless by Nadia Bolz-Weber August 5 – 26, 2026 |
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First Friday Social Gathering: "Two Doors Down" Watch Party |
Friday, August 7, 2026 6:00–8:00 PM, The Trees Hosted by Anthony Bishop |
For our First Friday event this week, we will be viewing an episode of Dolly Parton's Heartstrings Series, Two Doors Down, at the Trees on August 7 from 6:00–8:00 PM. We will have pizza provided. Bring your own beverage and maybe cookies to share. Invite your friends and join the fun! |
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Collection for LGBTQ Center of Durham |
Sunday, August 2 & 9, The Trees |
The Beloved Community is collecting supplies to donate to the LGBTQ Center of Durham. If you are interested in contributing, below is a list of items that the Center has requested. Donations can be brought to The Trees at our Sunday worship gathering on August 9. |
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Personal care (particularly needed):
shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, edge gel for hair, combs, brushes, bobby pins, hair clips, nail clippers, deodorant and antiperspirant, body wipes, sunscreen, bug spray
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Period products & sexual health:
tampons, pads, reusable pads, cups, period underwear, condoms and dental dams (latex and non-latex), lube, pregnancy tests, ovulation test kits
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Clothing and accessories:
sunglasses, new underwear (all genders and sizes), hats, belts, bags of all varieties, swimwear, sleepwear; for colder weather, hand-warmers, warm hats, gloves/mittens, scarves, thick socks, lip balm
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Non-perishable food:
pop-top items that do not require a can opener, high nutrient items, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options, sugar-free, low and no sodium items, baking staples (flour, sugar, salt, spices, oil)
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Household cleaners:
dish soap, laundry detergent, other clothing care items, all-purpose spray cleaner, bleach, vinegar, air freshener
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Household items:
manual can openers, travel utensils, durable dishes, working electronics (alarm clocks, phone cables, battery chargers, portable batteries, small lamps), small queer inspirational decor
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For the Center:
individual snacks for lobby and staff (home baked goods are appreciated at beginning of a week), copier paper (both white and color), 4x6 ruled super sticky Post-It notes, #10 letter envelopes, stickers for lobby giveaways
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For the art corner:
canvas board, watercolor paint, paint brushes, markers, stickers, supplies for children under 5
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DPS Foundation Crayons to Calculators Donation Drive |
Sunday, August 9, The Trees |
As part of our Fifth Sunday Outreach opportunities for 2026, The Beloved Community is collecting donations to support the Durham Public School Foundation's Crayons to Calculators school supply drive. If you would like to contribute to the school supplies collection, you can bring supplies to The Trees to the worship service on Sunday, August 9.
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Fifth Sunday in August: Supporting The Trees |
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Sunday, August 30, 2026 2:00–4:30 PM, The Trees |
For our Fifth Sunday offering in August, The Beloved Community will be partnering with and supporting our worship home, The Trees. We will create little libraries to be installed beside the benches in the outdoor prayer space. The libraries will hold blessings and other prayers or meditations that visitors can use to aid in their contemplation and even take home with them. There will also be a place where visitors can leave prayer requests.
You can take part by: Sharing a favorite prayer, poem, or other blessing to be included in the box – You can share any piece of writing that has been meaningful to you and that you think might aid a visitor in their contemplation or be a blessing they can take home with them; it can be anything from a formal prayer from the Episcopal prayer book to a poem or song lyrics, but generally they should be short enough to fit on half a printed letter-size page. Join us on August 30 to construct and paint the boxes, decorate and pray over the blessing cards, and, time permitting, possibly give our storage room a spruce-up. The youth of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Hillsborough will also be joining us to work on these projects together.
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The Beloved Community Retreat Registration |
Friday, September 18, 8:00 AM — Saturday, September 19, 3:00 PM with Check-In beginning on Thursday, September 17, 5:00 PM Cedar Cross Retreat Center, Louisburg, NC |
Our retreat is almost a month away, and all are invited to attend. We will gather at the Cedar Cross Retreat Center in Louisburg. The retreat will officially start Friday morning, but everyone is welcome to arrive the evening before as early as 5:00 PM. There is no cost to participate. More info about the retreat to come.
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Education for Ministry Registration Is Open |
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Info about the Cyclospora Outbreak |
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August Book Study: Shameless by Nadia Bolz-Weber |
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Wednesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM, Zoom August 5 – 26, 2026 Led by Rev. Phillip Bass
Our book study for August will be Nadia Bolz-Weber's book Shameless: A Case for Not Feeling Bad about Feeling Good (about Sex). The book seeks to explore sex, intimacy, and embodiment through lenses of faith and take the shame out of how people of faith think about and approach sex. Nadia Bolz-Weber brings her sense of humor, candidness, and compassion to her reflections, stories, and words for churches on this important yet often neglected dimension of being human.
Reading Schedule
August 5: Chapters 1–3 August 12: Chapters 4–6 August 19: Chapters 7–9 August 26: Chapters 10–12
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To learn about our future book studies, you can check out the Formation page on our website. |
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Do you have a book you’d like us to consider for TBC’s 2027 Wednesday night formation series? Share the title and author with us at this link: TBC 2027 Formation Brainstorm
Stay tuned for next week's newsletter when you will have the opportunity to vote for your favorites among the titles everyone has submitted! |
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Phillip's availability is now online. You can request a meeting with Phillip by using his Google Calendar page, which you can also access on our website by clicking "Meet with Rev. Phillip" under the "About" menu.
If there is a pastoral care emergency, you are encouraged to reach out to Rev. Phillip or Deacon Dan directly. |
During our weekly worship, we set aside time to remember those who are in our prayers. It is our practice to name them individually and to remember them communally. We also add an ongoing prayer list to our order of worship for those who appreciate having the names recorded for their prayer practices between worship gatherings.
If you would like to add yourself or someone else to the prayer list, please contact us at welcome@belovedcommunitydurham.org. You are welcome to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable. Only the person's first name will be included in the order of worship.
This week we remember Alayna, Anthony, Billy, Bob, Chris, Gregory, Karen, Kerry, Mandie, Marie, Maureen, Nikki, September, and Susan. |
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For a small community, we have a lot going on! Because our mission is to offer a safe and affirming place for those healing from religious trauma, we never want anyone to feel that they must give (financially or otherwise). However, we also recognize that volunteering to support our ministries can be a way for some to heal.
With that in mind, if you feel a desire or calling to help out, below are a few ways you can do so. To sign up, follow this link to our Volunteer page. |
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Each Sunday, we gather for a simple shared meal of soup and bread after worship. This time of gathering together around a table has been fundamental in our building The Beloved Community.
We welcome more folks to get involved in bringing a meal, purchasing food for a meal, or assisting in the kitchen with meal prep and cleanup.
If you would like to help, you can sign up on the Volunteer page. If the cost of the meal is prohibitive, you can receive reimbursement by speaking with a member of the finance team. |
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Each Sunday a member of the community picks up flowers from St. Philip's Episcopal Church in downtown Durham and brings them to The Trees for our worship service. We are in need of a few more people to transport flowers on a monthly rotation.
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To help all of us enter into the Narrative Lectionary readings and discussion, we have someone "set the scene" every Sunday with an introduction to the reading that offers us more context for understanding the scriptures. |
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We have requested use of The Trees on the first Fridays of each month in 2026 for social gatherings. In the past, we've enjoyed game nights, documentaries, craft nights, and more.
If you are interested in organizing a First Friday Social Gathering, let us know! |
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To make it easier for our community to share announcements, the communications team has set up a simple form to submit announcements or information for the newsletter and other communications. You can access it at this link: TBC Newsletter and Social Media Submission Form
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We rely on your gifts to offer the ministries of The Beloved Community. Although we strive to keep our overhead low, we do face financial responsibility. Your financial donations support our weekly meals, formation opportunities, supplies for healing ministries and worship, and other resources. If you would like to contribute funds to the ministries of The Beloved Community, you can do so with cash, check, PayPal, or ChurchTrac.
Mailing Address for Check Donations The Beloved Community at The Trees 1701 Pleasant Green Road Durham, NC 27705
ChurchTrac Donations You may make a donation directly into our account through the ChurchTrac link below. Donations can be done with credit/debit card or an ACH bank transfer. |
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We are grateful for our sending parish, The Church of the Nativity in Raleigh. Nativity supported The Beloved Community through prayer, shared ministries, and financial oversight for our first year.
We are grateful for the use of The Trees, graciously provided to us at no cost by St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Durham. We also give thanks to St. Philip’s for the gift of flowers. Each Sunday, St. Philip’s shares their flowers with The Beloved Community so that we too may enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.
We also acknowledge that we gather on the ancestral territory of the Eno, the Tuscarora, the Occaneechi, and other Indigenous peoples. |
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1701 Pleasant Green Road
Durham, NC 27705
USA
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