Emmaus Way Church

What are services like?
The tone of our worship gatherings is very relaxed. We meet in the round and practice a dialogue style of "sermon" conversations. Our style of music could be called a fusion of contemporary acoustic & folk alternative, but includes music drawn from a variety of sources and centuries. We've made a commitment to supporting local, professional musicians and have a remarkably gifted community of musicians who play during our Sunday evenings together. The worship gathering, though casual, is liturgically shaped by the rhythms and organization of a typical "mass." We celebrate an open table Eucharist at every gathering. Childcare is provided.

What is the community like?
Community is very important. In addition to our Sunday gatherings, we encourage people to be involved in a small group for a more intimate gathering (around 6 to 8 people). The founding dreams of Emmaus Way included being missional/activistic and building common lives shaped by hospitality. In terms of mission and activism, we hoped that the "doing of church" would not prevent our community from being deeply involved with the work of justice, compassion, community building, and hope in Durham. We also hoped to not see ourselves as always the initiative-takers or creators of this work. To this end, we have a number of diverse and deeply valued partnerships in this work, including Durham CAN (Congregations, Associations, & Neighborhoods), Reality Ministries, ABC (Antioch Builds Community, a partnership with Antioch Baptist Church), and Africa Rising.

What if I'm not a Christian?
We try not to establish boundaries to being a part of the community, While we are a Christian church, we recognize that people come from a variety of places and have a variety of views (whether Christian or nor). Everyone can contribute to the community. There is no weekly altar call or pressure to make quick decisions.