By Ramishah Maruf
April 11, 2018
Sixth-grader Sedra Khatib cried on her first day at Lakewood Elementary School in Durham last year. “[The school] didn’t have a bus to go to home. And they asked me, and I didn’t understand,” Sedra said. “They called my dad and they call him and he said he will come. They had to use [Google […]
Read moreBy Cole Villena
January 31, 2018
Two weeks after New Year’s, hundreds of West End residents came together once again to celebrate a cherished American holiday. Posters of Martin Luther King Jr. replaced brightly-colored 2018 banners. Coffee, not champagne, was the drink of choice for adults at the Community Family Life and Recreation Center at Lyon Park at 1309 Halley Street. […]
Read moreBy Liz Chen
Just down Fayettville St. from the Chicken Hut and Food Lion stands a 152-year-old church that has fostered a community of devoted supporters and faithful followers of Jesus Christ in the Hayti District. White Rock Baptist Church was founded in 1866 by Margaret Faucette and is one of the oldest community service oriented churches in […]
Read moreBy Maria Elena Vizcaino
When TaQuan Lynch moved to Durham in 2012, he visited a different church every Sunday for months, hoping to find one that reflected his beliefs and values. “I was looking for certain things in a church, like the atmosphere, how people worship, how sincere they are to the word of God,” he said. “Antioch was […]
Read moreBy Collin Ellis
December 6, 2017
New Creation United Methodist Church has shone a positive light on its members and the entire Durham community ever since the church held its first meeting at the church’s Durham location on the corner of Angier Avenue more than five years ago. But today, Pastor Albert Shuler and Lay Leader Fran Lynch worship at […]
Read moreBy Tiayana Ford
November 29, 2017
Several well-known Hollywood personalities were welcomed by a full house at the Hayti Heritage Center this November to share their journeys and the role of faith in their lives. Minister Robert Black of Greensboro hosted the free event “Inspired Literature and Music Tour of the Carolinas 2017,” the Hayti Heritage Center on Nov. 4. […]
Read moreBy Julian Keeler
October 6, 2017
Many Christian churches wait on people to come inside the doors to hear their message, find a spiritual community, and build a relationship with Christ. Others conduct mission work in far-away countries. Antioch Baptist, through many community outreach programs and partners, works right in its own backyard to make Durham better. The church, located […]
Read moreBy Yizhou Jiang
October 4, 2017
Recently, a new Micah Group began recruiting new members in Durham in hopes of uniting a diverse community. Micah Groups were formed in 2011 by the Ogilvie Institute of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary in California to create communities of peers for better preacher development throughout the United States. Each Micah Group is consist of […]
Read moreBy Taquaisha Patrick
September 25, 2017
Your pastor may have a secret! If he or she seems extra enlightened, it may just be that they have been attending meetings held by DurhamCares. DurhamCares is a non-profit organization that facilitates spaces where the leaders of churches can come together to listen to each other. Their mission is to foster collaboration, develop […]
Read moreBy Alex Zietlow
September 20, 2017
Religion, in some ways, can be personified as a man of many hats. Beyond simply providing “spiritual care” for individuals, religion, specifically Christianity, plays several roles in northeast central Durham — from being a framework for social interaction, to gathering people as a collective body to address certain challenges a community might be facing. “We […]
Read moreBy Thaddeus Berglund
April 19, 2017
There was no single reason why Good Friday at the Durham Rescue Mission was a special event; there were thousands of reasons. With help from churches, businesses and individuals in the community, the Durham Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter and addiction recovery program, gave away over 1750 Easter baskets and 10,000 articles of clothing to […]
Read moreBy Catherine O'Neill and Nicole Caporaso
As semi-trucks rumble noisily overhead, a sizable crowd gathers for food, faith and fellowship under the Durham Freeway Bridge. Even on snowy winter days and humid summer afternoons, you can find Pastor David Smith and his wife, Cheryl, beneath the bridge on the third Saturday of every month. As drivers honk their horns and […]
Read moreBy Brian Shurney
April 5, 2017
Some churches are content holding a few services a week with some philanthropy thrown in here and there, but Antioch Baptist Church has bigger fish to fry. Fish Fry Friday is back at Antioch, open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1415 Holloway St. The church’s fish fry has been serving locals and […]
Read moreBy Avery Rodriguez
The women of the Majestic Angels, a dance troupe for senior citizens in Durham, have served as examples of the power of faith and dance since 2015. Durham resident Vanessa Dunston, 62, started the eight-person dance team after more than 30 years of military service. “After I retired in 2011, I didn’t know what I […]
Read moreBy Catherine O'Neill
March 1, 2017
The pews of Antioch Baptist Church were packed Sunday afternoon as members of the Durham community gathered to celebrate the church’s annual Black History Month honorees. The ceremony, which lasted for two hours, included song, dance, poetry and prayer. Attendees heard the vocal arrangements of Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Male […]
Read moreBy Avery Rodriguez and Thaddeus Berglund
The Durham Rescue Mission is building three new dorms in an effort to continue providing more warm meals and safe places to sleep for the homeless of Durham. Ernie Mills, 72, the CEO and co-founder of the mission, says he was inspired to help those in need after watching his father combat alcoholism. He believes […]
Read moreBy Jarely Parada and Molly Smith
In an age when teenagers crave social media popularity, students at Hillside High School are showing their peers the powerful impact that comes from stepping out of the norm. Every school morning at 8:50, the halls of Hillside are filled with sleepy faces, young couples and a growing number of teenagers eager to participate in […]
Read moreBy Thaddeus Berglund
February 15, 2017
Love was in the air this past Thursday when over 200 seniors gathered at the Durham Armory to enjoy food, fun and fellowship with each other at the Red and White Valentine’s Luncheon. For many people Valentine’s Day is filled with love and time spent with the people cared about most; however, for some this […]
Read moreBy Alexis Allston
February 1, 2017
Beautiful music, elegant poetry, expressive dance and a delicious soul food feast — that’s what attendees can expect at Antioch Baptist Church’s annual African-American History Month celebration on February 26 at 4 p.m. The event is at Antioch Baptist Church, 1415 Holloway St., and is open to everyone according to Antioch’s pastor, the Rev. […]
Read moreBy Catherine O'Neill
The old church building might be empty, but the congregation is packed. At 11 on a Sunday morning, you can find members of the Church of the Apostolic Revival International just a block down the road from the boarded-up church building on the corner of Main Street and South Holman Street. As members of the […]
Read moreBy Brenna Elmore
October 24, 2016
Dressed head to toe in bright Liberian fashion, the models in the Liberian Dinner and Fashion Show got a warm welcome from the attendees of the event at St. Philips Episcopal Church in Durham on Saturday, Oct. 15. The dinner is in its sixth year and was created as the church’s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) project, according to […]
Read moreBy Travis Butler
April 20, 2016
College towns have become integral parts of the American landscape, making it difficult to find a city where a high school is still a central part of the community. This is not the case in Durham, where Hillside High School has remained a mainstay of the city. Hillside is so vital to its community that […]
Read moreBy Travis Butler
March 2, 2016
Antioch Baptist Church hosted its fifth annual African-American History Celebration to honor five African-American leaders and educate the community of their works. The event was held on Feb. 28 and is meant to teach youth about the significance of black leaders, according to Antioch pastor Rev. Michael D. Page. “We have this event because we […]
Read moreBy Eric O'Neal
October 1, 2015
On East Geer Street, a relatively new, flashy yellow two-story building stands out from the rest of the block. The color seems symbolic of the organization housed there. Sunrise Recovery Resources Center, a peer-led organization helps substance abusers turn their lives around. SRRC is a non-clinical organization and branch of the Alcoholic Drug Council. They […]
Read moreBy Leah Montgomery and Melquan Ganzy
November 12, 2014
Julia Ross Harrelson grow up in Hurdle Mills, N.C., on a farm with more than 114 acres of tobacco, squash, snap peas and anything else you could think of. The youngest of eight children, Harrelson had the task of collecting wood for the stove and gathering water from the spring near the farm. Her father […]
Read moreBy Jordan Bailey
October 1, 2014
When Joe Bushfan decided to leave his glamorous job as a celebrity bodyguard in order to sell hot dogs in one of Durham’s roughest areas, his family thought he was crazy. “My wife thought I was crazy, my kids thought I was crazy … my dad thought I was crazy too,” Bushfan said. “I went […]
Read moreBy Dennis Meeks
March 4, 2014
From the pulpit of Mount Calvary Church in northeast central Durham, Pastor Raymond Boney’s voice echoes off church walls with a powerful message. Pastor Boney dove into Christianity at a young age. “I accepted the Lord as my personal savior at the age of 12 and I’ve been in church all of my life,” […]
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