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 Holy Week Services Worshipping Together Healing Ministries Featured: Lent in Community, First Friday in March, Youth Group Visits, "What's Love Got To Do with It?" Retreat, Fifth Sunday in March Formation Pastoral Care and Prayer Ways to Get Involved
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THIS WEEK AT THE BELOVED COMMUNITY |
Tuesday, March 3 – Virtual Religious Trauma Support Group |
7:00–8:30 PM, online (link to register provided below) |
Wednesday, March 4 – Lenten Book Study Online |
7:00–8:30 PM, Zoom (link provided below) |
Thursday, March 5 – Coffee with Community |
9:00–11:00 AM, Starbucks on Guess Road (3801 Guess Rd, Durham) |
Friday, March 6 – First Friday Craft Night at The Trees |
6:00–8:30 PM, The Trees (dinner will be provided) |
Sunday, March 8 – Third Sunday in Lent at The Trees |
3:30–4:30 PM – Parents, Friends, & Families of Queer Youth Support Group: "Queer Youth Safety Tips: Practical Steps to Ensure Their Safety"
4:45 PM – Gathering and Prayer with the Anglican Rosary
5:00 PM – Worship with Eucharist
6:00 PM – Shared Meal of Soup and Bread |
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Sunday, March 15 – St. John's, Wake Forest Youth Group Visit |
Keep up with all that's going on with The Beloved Community through our online calendar |
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Thursday, April 2 – Maundy Thursday at The Trees |
Friday, April 3 – Good Friday with St. Philip's |
TBD, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 403 E Main St, Durham |
Saturday, April 4 – Easter Vigil at The Trees |
Sunday, April 5 – Easter Sunday at The Trees |
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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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Narrative Lectionary and Discussion |
We are using the Narrative Lectionary for our Sunday scripture readings, and 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 Support Group
Tuesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM, Jan. 13 — May 5, online |
This group, led by Sam Laurent, Ph.D., is for anyone who identifies as having experienced religious trauma. This is an open group—you may join at any time—though we encourage beginning early to support the full processing experience. You can register to attend at this link: Virtual Religious Trauma Support Group Registration Form |
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As a way to journey through Lent in community, we are highlighting reflections on Lent from members of our community, along with quotes from our Lenten Book Study devotional, God Didn't Make Us to Hate Us in our communications throughout the season. You are invited to read along and share a quote that speaks to you or offer a reflection on Lent with the community.
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From God Didn't Make Us to Hate Us by Lizzie McManus-Dail
"God cares about the minutae of my body. God sees the little things only I notice. God is not wrathful or condemning or even, I think, concerned about these small and big changes, but God knows transition needs care. God knows when I need a moment to acknowledge my body, my only guaranteed lifelong companion, which God wove for me—for me! God knows when we need to pause and remember that even in this change, in this unfolding or expanding or loss, we are still made in God's own image." (chapter 5, 22–23) |
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First Friday in March: Collage Craft Night |
Friday, March 6, 2026 6:00–8:30 PM, The Trees Hosted by Mandie Harrison |
Please join us for an evening of creativity and camaraderie! Dinner will be provided, and a variety of materials will be available for collage, blackout poetry, etc. You'll also have the opportunity to contribute to a community collage project, if you wish!
Feel free to bring additional scissors, stickers, or anything else you want to include. |
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Youth Group Visits with The Beloved Community |
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The youth from area Episcopal congregations will be joining The Beloved Community for worship in upcoming weeks. The youth group from St. John's Episcopal Church in Wake Forest will be with us on Sunday, March 15. And the youth of Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill will be visiting on Sunday, March 22.
Please come and be part of offering hospitality to these youth groups. |
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"What's Love Got To Do with It?" Retreat |
Thursday, March 12, 2026 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM Avila Center for Community Leadership, 711 Mason Rd, Durham, NC 27712 Led by Rev. Angie Wright and Rev. Dr. Cathy S. Gilliard Cost: $35 |
Peace Hill at Avila and Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South are co-sponsoring an all-day retreat focused on loving our enemies while also loving ourselves. The leaders of the retreat are retired pastors in the United Church of Christ and United Methodist Church, respectively.
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Fifth Sunday in March Outreach: Durham Public Schools Foundation |
Organized by Kerry Holbrook |
Greetings, friends. I have chosen Durham Public Schools Foundation for our March Fifth Sunday organization. We hope to learn more about them, what their needs are, and how we can be in relationship with them beyond an initial donation. I am interested in learning to listen to folks about their needs, to be empathetic, and see how our lives can intersect to make change.
Durham Public Schools Foundation brings the Durham community together to support students, educators, and families across Durham Public Schools. By investing in classroom resources, student scholarships, family advocacy, and school partnerships, they are helping ensure every child is seen, supported, and set up to succeed. You can find out more by visiting their website: https://www.bullcityschools.org
A representative from DPS Foundation will join us for supper on Sunday, March 22 to talk about the organization. Thank you! |
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Lenten Book Study: God Didn't Make Us to Hate Us |
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Wednesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM, Zoom February 25 — April 1, 2026 Led by Eileen Morgan |
As stated in the subtitle to the book, Rev. Lizzie shares “40 devotions to liberate your faith from fear and reconnect with joy.” Her beloved community of Jesus-followers at Jubilee Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas asked her to share from her life-giving sermons something that they could take home and treasure over time. This book of devotions was her gift to them and to us.
Rev. Lizzie (a.k.a “Father Lizzie”) is a well-read scholar who shares insights from saints and theologians of the past and biblical scholars of today to open up the scriptures in ways that liberate from toxic theology and rigid religion. Her hope is that we too as “beloved babes of God” will reconnect with the undeniable truth that God made you to love you!
Each devotion is packed with much to ponder so I invite you to read one or two daily (rather than all in one sitting) so that you can soak up the wisdom and liberating good news in each one. I look forward to sharing this book with you as a shared Lenten journey.
Copies of the book are freely available in the Beloved Community library at The Trees for anyone who wants or needs them. To sign up for the book study, follow this link: Register for Lenten Book Study
Questions for reflecting on each devotion: What was new to me in this devotion? What was especially meaningful to me? Was there something that was difficult to hear or understand?
Reading and Discussion Schedule Feb 25: Introduction; Chapters 1–6 Mar 2: Chapters 7–14 Mar 11: Chapters 15–21 Mar 18: Chapters 22–28 Mar 25: Chapters 29–35 Apr 1: Chapters 36–40 |
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April Book Study: Suicide and the Communion of Saints by Rhonda Mawhood Lee
Wednesdays, 7:00–8:30 PM, Zoom April 8 – 29, 2026 Led by Anthony Bishop
With a special fireside conversation about the book with Rev. Dr. Lee on Tuesday, April 28 at 5:30 PM at The Trees |
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To learn about our future book studies, you can check out the Formation page on our website. |
Phillip's availability is now online. You can request a meeting with Phillip by using his Calendly 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, Chris, Gregory, Kerry, Lera, Marie, Maureen, Nikki, and Patty. |
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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: |
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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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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.
If you would like to provide a meal, your gift would be appreciated. You can sign up through our online calendar by selecting "Community Meal" for the Sunday you choose.
You are also welcome to purchase a meal for the community and turn in your receipt for reimbursement. Just ask Phillip or anyone on the finance team for more info. |
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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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In 2025, The Beloved Community began a practice of outreach in months with fifth Sundays. Last year, we were able to gather financial donations for The LGBT Center of Durham, The Pauli Murray Center, and NC Pride. As we move forward in 2026, our goal is to be more "hands-on" by working directly with other ministries, learning the stories of those we are serving, and doing our part in building the kingdom of God through our outreach and connections to others.
Two members of our community have already signed up to lead 5th Sunday outreach in March and August. We still need a volunteer to lead our outreach for November.
The organizing process is fairly simple. All you need to do is:
1) select a ministry in the wider community 2) contact the group or organization to learn more about how we can help 3) work with our communications team to share information 4) coordinate a service date for us to volunteer.
If you are involved in a ministry that is near and dear to your heart or you recognize a need in our wider community and would like to organize our outreach, please contact Phillip. |
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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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