East Durham Vital Worship Movement
What is the East Durham Vital Worship Movement (EDVWM)?
The EDVWM is a cohort of seven churches who are partnering in a year-long project of connecting local history with worship. Through learning experiences, reflection times, and collaborative worship services, the EDVWM hopes to cultivate worship that is present and responsive to the people and realities of their neighborhood in East Durham.
Who are the churches in the EDVWM?
The seven churches who are part of EDVWM are A New Creation Church, Change Paths Ministries, Greater Emmanuel Temple of Grace, Shepherd’s Flock Baptist Church, Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church, Vinea Church, and Mt. Gilead Baptist Church.
What about other churches in East Durham?
We invite any of the churches in East Durham to be involved in the learning experiences and worship services put on by the EDVWM. Some of the learning experiences will be for all churches in Durham. We hope this year-long project will spark a movement that will involve many more churches in East Durham, and can be inspiration to other neighborhoods in Durham.
When and how did the EDVWM get started?
The churches, and relationships between them, long precede the EDVWM. But a few years ago, churches in East Durham started gathering to learn from each other and seek ways to partner for the well-being of their neighborhood. In 2018, four of the churches named above conceived of their first year-long project on worship and community impact and received a grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship to carry it out. Now they have received their second grant from the Calvin Institute with a focus on the relationship between worship and neighborhood and city history. It started May 2020 and will finish June 2021.
What will happen after the project is over?
We hope this project will strengthen the relationships between the churches in East Durham and will continue to foster collaboration and holistic ministry with the neighborhood.
What are some past events with the EDVWM?
Moving Forward: A Global Pandemic, Racial Injustice, and Church Leadership in a Time of Crisis
In late May, as stay at home orders were beginning to lift, faith leaders were faced with the question about how, if, and when to transition to in-person worship. Then racism reared itself once again for public display with the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Pastors are navigating worship, pastoral care, service to the community, proclamation, advocacy, and the very survival of their congregation – all in the face of longstanding injustices with new manifestations. How do we move forward? Join us for a two part series to gain insights and resources about faithful ministry during these trying times. DurhamCares is bringing together the church mobilization and pilgrimage programs for this special event series. It is a continuation of the Pilgrimage Through the Pandemic series and a vision of the East Durham Vital Worship Movement, a collective of seven churches in East Durham who are spending the next year reflecting on how local history impacts worship. Your hosts will be Pilgrimage Director Tammy Rodman, and Church Mobilization Officer, Georie Bryant.
June 11, 6:30pm
Speakers:
Rev. Dr. Jonathan C. Augustine, Pastor, St. Joseph AME Church
James Sansom, Faith Based Sector Director, Self-Help
Amber E. Burgin, Community Health Educator, North Carolina Central University
This program is made possible through a Vital Worship Grant from the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Grand Rapids, Michigan, with funds provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc.
Questions? Contact Reynolds Chapman at rchapman@durhamcares.org.