A North Durham Church That Started in a Dance Hall
Aldersgate United Methodist Church sits on Umstead Road in North Durham, just a few minutes from the intersection of Guess and Umstead. The Sanctuary and the Family Life Center are clustered around a tree-shaded activity field and a walking track that the neighborhood uses in every season. Inside that peaceful campus is a story that begins, improbably, with a dance hall and an ambitious bishop.
In 1956, Bishop Paul Neff Garber of the North Carolina Methodist Conference challenged his conference to start 70 new churches in 70 months. To fund the effort, members contributed through something called the Ten Dollar Club, and grants of $25,000 were made available to launch new congregations. Northern Durham was growing fast, and Durham District Superintendent Dr. W. L. Clegg moved quickly when he learned that Smith's dance hall had lost its liquor license and was for sale. The conference purchased the cinder-block building, and the first meeting was held there on October 30, 1955. The official organizational service followed worship on January 8, 1956, with Dr. Henry Glass as the first pastor and 34 charter members.
The original plan was to call the new church Homestead Heights Methodist Church, but Bishop Garber, hearing that a dance hall had been transformed into a sanctuary, said the change echoed the conversion of John Wesley on Aldersgate Street in London. He proposed the name Aldersgate, and the name stuck. Generations later, the church still leans into that story. As one reflection puts it: just as the little assembly on Aldersgate Street warmed John Wesley's heart, may Aldersgate UMC offer warm welcome to all who cross our paths or step within our doors.
From Cinder Block to Sanctuary: How the Building Grew
The charter members had their work cut out for them. The original property lacked water and sewer, so men of the church dug a well largely through rock, hitting water at 138 feet, and dug the septic tank by the light of kerosene lanterns. They sanded floors, painted walls, installed partitions, moved doors and windows, and put in a steeple. The original mortgage was paid off in January 1959. The first year's annual budget in 1958-1959 was $3,518, less than a quarter of one week's budget today.
By 1965, with membership approaching 250, a new 120-seat sanctuary and classrooms were added in front of the original block building. The first service in the new sanctuary was held on March 13, 1966. The neighborhood around the original site at Horton Road and Reave Avenue (Duke Street did not extend that far out then) was becoming commercial, and Aldersgate did not have room to grow. After years of votes and prayers, a four-acre property at Bivins and Umstead was purchased from Mr. Terry in 1982. About 150 Aldersgate members attended a Durham City Council meeting in 1985 to request rezoning of the old church property from residential to commercial; the council approved the request by a vote of 7 to 5. The last service and a deconsecrating service at the old church was held on May 26, 1985, and ground was broken at the new one on July 14, 1985.
The congregation then worshipped for sixteen months at Christ Chapel Wesleyan Church on Massey Road, sharing space for a time with the North Carolina Korean Church, a period they lovingly call their time in the wilderness. The first service in the current building was held on September 7, 1986, and the new sanctuary was consecrated the following week. The architects' phased design earned the Kampoeffner Award from NC State, and the layout included two intentional features: cathedral ceilings with mostly clear glass so worshippers can feel part of the world outside, and pews installed at a 7-degree angle to foster a stronger sense of community.
Two Sunday Services, One Open Table
Aldersgate gathers for two Sunday services in the Sanctuary. At 8:30 a.m., the Service of Word and Table includes weekly communion, preaching, Scripture and prayer, and congregational singing. It runs 45 to 60 minutes, with a nursery provided for children from birth through age three. Coffee and fellowship follow from 9:30 to 9:50.
At 11:00 a.m., the Service of the Word runs 60 to 70 minutes and features preaching, congregational song led by the Chancel Choir, and communion on the first Sunday of each month. Children from birth through age three can use the nursery, and children age four through third grade are invited to Kids Own Worship, a creative exploration of the week's texts held after the children come forward in worship. The 11:00 service is livestreamed through BoxCast and is accessible on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku. Coffee and fellowship begin at 10:30.
The congregation practices open communion. Homemade bread is dipped in grape juice, and all are welcome to the table, including children. As the church notes, the elements trace a small piece of Methodist history, too: Thomas Welch, the creator of Welch's grape juice, was a Methodist minister who wanted a non-alcoholic option for the Lord's Supper. The dress code is smart casual, nothing fancy, one step up from jeans and a t-shirt. Visitors can park anywhere on campus, multiple handicap parking spaces are available directly outside the Sanctuary, and a ramp leads into the building. If worship services are cancelled, the church shares updates by email, through its automated voice attendant, and on its site; the church office follows the City of Durham delays and closures, and youth and children's ministries follow Durham Public Schools.
A Music Program Rooted in Choral Tradition
The Chancel Choir is the primary choir for worship at Aldersgate, leading congregational singing and offering choral music each Sunday morning. Members learn to read music, develop proper vocal technique, and present services of special music a few times a year around Christmas, Easter, and other feast days. In November 2024, the Chancel Choir presented the Advent portion of Handel's Messiah, accompanied by the Mallarmé Chamber Players on period instruments. Rehearsals are held Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and Sundays from 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. Previous choral experience is helpful but not required; the choir welcomes new members.
For those who like striking things with mallets, the Joyful Noise Ringers handbell ensemble meets on Tuesday nights from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and rings in worship several times each year. Some music literacy is encouraged but not required. Individual instrumentalists of any instrument serve the congregation with their gifts, and the music program welcomes players of any skill level.
Henry Branson directs the music ministry and has been on staff since December 2018. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Furman University and a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from East Carolina University. The church also welcomed Jeff Whicker as church organist, a musician with a 40-year background as a church music director and accompanist who most recently served Emerywood Baptist Church in High Point, North Carolina, and who had previously been the pianist for Aldersgate's children's summer program for five years.
Bull City Kids and Bull City Youth
Children in kindergarten through sixth grade gather on Wednesday evenings during the school year for Bull City Kids, a weekly program that meets from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center. The night splits between Arts in Worship and Bible Study. In Arts in Worship, kids explore how to worship through music and drama; in Bible Study, children are divided into age groups (K-2nd, 3rd-4th, 5th-6th) for a time of study that follows the Revised Common Lectionary and often lines up with the following Sunday's Scripture reading. Kids frequently share what they create during the Sunday morning service. Each summer, Bull City Kids offers Vacation Bible School and occasional day camps in partnership with Camp Chestnut Ridge.
On Sunday mornings, kids can stay in the sanctuary with their families, where colorful activity bags in the narthex can keep little ones occupied. Children in preschool through third grade are also warmly invited to Kids Own Worship in the Family Life Center after the Scripture reading, with age-appropriate storytelling and coloring that helps them own their worship experience.
Bull City Youth serves students in grades six through twelve on Sunday afternoons from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. during the school year, meeting in the Family Life Center's Scout/Youth Room. Evenings are split between games and activities, teaching, and small groups that separate middle and high schoolers. The teaching time uses the week to help build each student's walk of faith and to explore what it means to be called as Christians to interact with each other, the world, and themselves. Throughout the year, youth also engage in community service projects and serve at the altar during Sunday morning worship, including on the tech team, as greeters, Scripture readers, choir singers, and instrumentalists. A confirmation class is offered every other year. Lydia Cauley, who has worked in youth ministry for ten years and joined the Aldersgate staff in January 2018, directs both Bull City Kids and Bull City Youth and also serves as the Corridor District Youth Coordinator for the North Carolina Conference.
Adult Discipleship, Sunday School, and Small Groups
Sunday School for adults meets at 9:30 a.m. (with children's Sunday School at 9:45 a.m.), giving people a chance to attend the 8:30 service and still make it to coffee before class. The Gathering is a young-adult class committed to doing life together with meaningful friendship and biblical teaching; Grace Moments welcomes adults of all ages for grace-filled fellowship and Bible-based study; Iron Men is a men's class that studies Scripture through roundtable discussion; Living in Faith Together (L.I.F.T.) shares faith journeys through spiritual practices and study; and Outbackers, a class that began more than 25 years ago, uses the Bible and Bible-based book studies. Barbara Atkinson facilitates L.I.F.T.; Jordan Field and Heather Mitchell facilitate The Gathering; Glenn Newman facilitates Grace Moments; Judy Alford and Richard King facilitate Outbackers; and Steve Wilfong facilitates Iron Men.
Men meet for the United Methodist Men Tuesday Morning Bible Study at 6:30 a.m. in the Wesley Room and for the UMM fellowship meeting on second Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. in the Family Life Center. Iron Men also gathers as a Sunday School class at 10:00 a.m. Coming Together to Pray, the church's prayer ministry, meets on second and fourth Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. in the Wesley Room and lifts up all requests and thanksgivings to the Lord. Primetimers Senior Adults Ministry meets on second and fourth Thursdays at 11:45 a.m. in the Wesley Room for fellowship and study. Sacred Stitches Prayer Ministry gathers on first Sundays at 4:00 p.m. in the Wesley Room. Wednesday Night Bible Studies are offered several times each year.
Women's Ministries: Three Circles and a Monthly Table
Aldersgate's women's ministries revolve around three circles, each named for a woman who shaped Christian life. The Agape Circle, led by Carol Newman, takes its name from the Greek word for love in action. The circle takes time to know one another, care, pray, and listen, and the social calendar has included High Tea, movies, parties, and lunches. The Agape Circle hosts two Kids' Consignment Sales each year; sellers declutter and earn money, buyers clothe their children, a tithe goes to the church, and unsold items are donated to charities including Welcome Baby, Eno Valley Elementary School, New Nearly New, and TROSA. Circle members then vote on which nonprofits and missions to support with the proceeds; in fall 2024, donations assisted Save the Children and Baby2baby in western North Carolina.
The Susanna Wesley Circle, named for the mother of John and Charles Wesley, is service-oriented and missions-focused. Its annual Palm Sunday Craft & Bake Sale is months in the making and raises money for nonprofits chosen by the circle. Mothers and daughters are welcome to serve together. Caring & Sharing, led by Chick Hinton, meets once per month at Bennett Pointe Grill in Durham for dinner, conversation, and friendship; women who are parents or guardians of teenage girls age 13 and up are warmly invited to bring their daughters along.
Spiritual Direction and Certified Lay Ministry
Two Certified Lay Ministers, John Hall and Barbara Atkinson, serve the church under formal covenants reviewed every two years with the District Committee on Ordained Ministry. Both were part of the first Certified Lay Ministry cohort for the Durham District (now the Corridor District) of the North Carolina Conference.
Barbara Atkinson also serves as a spiritual director, meeting with directees once a month in her home in north Durham for approximately an hour, walking together in faith and learning to recognize what God is already doing. She completed a two-year training program in 2015 and has received advanced training in administering the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. Sessions are free for Aldersgate members and regular attenders, and clergy of any denomination may also receive direction at no charge; others are offered a flexible sliding-scale fee. As she describes it, spiritual direction is not life coaching, therapy, or theology class. It is sacred time in which we learn to hear God's voice in our hearts.
The church frames lay ministry in broad Wesleyan terms. As the Book of Discipline says, the ministry of clergy and laity is complementary, and no minister is subordinate to another. Christ calls and sends all United Methodists to live and work together in mutual interdependence, and laity are encouraged to discover and use their gifts as part of the body of Christ.
Thirty Years with the Mam Maya of Guatemala
In 1987, a mission team from Church of Reconciliation in Chapel Hill traveled to the Western Highlands of Guatemala and asked Indigenous women what they would most want. The women answered in unison: a sewing machine. The group borrowed a Jeep, drove down a dusty road into town, and bought the community's first foot-pedal Singer sewing machine. In 2000, the first official Sewing School was established. More than 1,000 women have now graduated.
Anne Finch, who had been traveling to Guatemala to serve the Mam Maya since 1972, was on that 1987 trip. When she joined Aldersgate in 1991, a decades-long partnership began. One year of tuition for a student costs about $50; a sewing machine that can generate income for generations costs about $240. Aldersgate supports the schools through prayer, financial gifts, and mission trips but does not operate them. On-site, the schools are run by the Association of Mam Christian Women for Development; in the United States, they are a program of the New Castle Presbytery Guatemala Partnership. The Mam Maya have lived in western Guatemala for more than 2,500 years, descended from ancient Mayan peoples, and today more than 600,000 Mam people continue to live in Indigenous communities, wearing traditional dress and speaking their own Mam language alongside Spanish.
R Wave Respite for Dementia Care Partners
R Wave Respite is an outreach ministry serving both the congregation and the surrounding community, offering respite care on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Family Life Center Scout/Youth Room. The program welcomes friends with mild or moderate dementia whose care partners need a few hours to attend appointments, meet friends for lunch, shop, or simply rest. A typical day moves from welcome and table games to cognitive group games, exercises, crafts and community projects, a shared lunch, movement and storytelling, more cognitive games like chair yoga, and music, dance, and karaoke to close the afternoon.
Volunteers, including an in-house chef team, make the day possible. The program is based on the model championed by Bishop Lawson Bryan and Daphne Johnston at First United Methodist Church of Montgomery, Alabama, in 2012. Care partners are welcome to stay briefly for coffee and a snack at drop-off, and an R Wave Support Group meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at 10:30 a.m. in FLC room 207 for shared conversation and What Next seminars. Participation requires that friends be ambulatory (with wheelchairs or walkers welcome), able to be socially engaged, self-sufficient in toileting, and able to eat independently; staff and volunteers may not administer medications.
The Genesis Garden and Local Food Ministry
The Genesis Garden was built in 2016 as an Eagle Scout project through Boy Scout Troop 400, which has met at Aldersgate for decades. The garden fell out of use during COVID, but in 2022, members Kitty Creery, Regina Whitaker, and Jane Bahor began working to revive the neglected space. By 2023, harvests were so plentiful that finding a recipient became a challenge, and Kitty made a connection with the Durham Rescue Mission's location on Alston and Main. That site has the refrigerator space and preparation areas needed to receive large quantities of produce, serves three meals a day to those in need, and now takes the garden's harvest, which averages about 30 pounds per week during the growing season.
During the spring, summer, and fall growing season, the garden is always in need of volunteers and donations for planting, weeding, watering, and delivering produce. Kitty and her late husband Pres first got involved during walks around the property's trail during the pandemic, helping to clear overgrowth and stumbling upon the unused garden, where Kitty's childhood love of gardening took root.
Support Groups, Divorce Care, and Recovery
Aldersgate hosts a number of support groups that are open to the wider community. GriefShare, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Happy Destiny all meet on the campus. DivorceCare, a thirteen-week class and support group designed to help people navigate the hardship of divorce, meets weekly on Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. in Family Life Center room 206 and is led locally by David Anderson.
A Keto Support Group, coordinated with Dr. Eric Westman from Duke, meets on the first Monday of each month from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Family Life Center Gym and welcomes both members and non-members.
Upward Soccer and Community Recreation
Aldersgate has hosted Upward Soccer for thirteen years, since 2013, and the church was recognized by Upward in 2023 with a banner for its dedication. The fall league serves three divisions: kindergarten through first grade, second through third grade, and fourth through fifth grade. Players practice on Tuesdays from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and play games on Saturdays at 9:00 a.m. on the fenced activity field at the back of the campus. Registration includes a jersey and a pair of soccer socks; shin guards are required but not included. Sibling and coach discounts are available. Head coach John Howe leads coaching teams of two to three volunteers per team, and the league relies on hospitality and set-up volunteers throughout the season.
The activity field, roughly 360 feet wide by 340 feet long and encircled by a walking track, is gated and divided into five smaller fields during the soccer season. Beyond soccer, the FLC Gym hosts Adult Soccer on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. (open to anyone age 13 and older, no tryouts needed) and Community Pickleball on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. The 14-table picnic shelter, set on a concrete slab with electrical outlets, is shaded and used for outdoor gatherings in the spring, summer, and fall.
Aldersgate Weekday School Ministries
Aldersgate Weekday School Ministries operates a preschool and afterschool program that has grown steadily since the mid-1990s. The program began in 1995 with ten children in an afterschool setting in the Wesley Room. In 1998, Bragtown Baptist Church's preschool moved onto the campus, and in 2001, Aldersgate began operating its own preschool for ages two through four with 88 children enrolled and 13 staff. That fall, both the preschool and the afterschool programs moved into the new Family Life Center. An infant and toddler class was added in 2004. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the school continued preschool for over 100 students and provided remote learning classrooms for over 60 elementary and middle school students; it also provided space for playing in the gym and outside, which was especially important during that time. Today the preschool serves 129 students with 28 staff and the afterschool program serves 126 students with 12 staff.
Each year, the 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old classes host a Christmas program for their families. A weeklong summer Music and Arts Camp welcomes sixty or more students who learn an entire musical and perform on Friday afternoon. Evie Johnson has served as director since 2011, having joined the program in 2004; she holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Education from Bethany College.
The Family Life Center and a Place to Host the Neighborhood
The Family Life Center (FLC) is the second building of the Aldersgate campus, connected to it by a breezeway, and is the engine room for most weekly programming. The FLC Gym is carpeted, can be divided with curtains, and accommodates roughly 40 round tables, six long tables, and 160 folding chairs, with a stage and AV equipment available on request. An attached kitchen serves member events; guests may use the microwave, refrigerator, and freezer. On the second floor of the FLC, accessible by stairs or an ADA elevator, sit classrooms 201, 202, 205, 206, 207, and 210, plus the Scout/Youth Room, which serves Bull City Youth, Bull City Kids, Scouting, and R Wave with couches, a TV, foosball, and a pool table.
The Wesley Room, on the Sanctuary side of the breezeway, seats up to 50 at long tables and connects through two pass-through windows to an adjoining kitchen equipped with a stove, microwave, and refrigerator. The church welcomes outside groups and members to use its facilities for gatherings, events, and special occasions, with reservations reviewed by the Trustees Committee. Member use of most spaces is fee-waived; outside groups pay a refundable security deposit and modest rental fees that vary by space. Building access needs and emergencies during an event can be directed to Facilities Manager Pete Horne.
The Sanctuary, the Columbarium, and Holy Ground
The Sanctuary itself is intentionally designed for community. The two chairs at the rear of the worship space are the pulpit chairs from the old church on Duke Street, given by the Chappell and Blalock families. The stained glass windows on each side of the altar were purchased by the Women's Society of Christian Service, who raised the money by making and selling Brunswick Stew and sent Pearl Turner and Lee King to Raleigh Stained Glass Company to choose them. Small crosses made from the wooden altar rail of the old church were given to each church family, and for several years new families received one until they ran out. Chrismons, gold and white bead symbols of Jesus Christ, have been made and hung on the tree each Advent since the late 1970s.
The Aldersgate Memorial Garden and Columbarium is open every day for prayer and reflection and can be accessed through a gate on the Bivins Road side of the property. It is available to Aldersgate members and their immediate family members, past ministers and their spouses, and select community members with strong ties to the church. A full niche is reserved for $2,600 and a half-niche for $2,000, with payment plans available; memorial plaques are $300. The garden is described in the Book of John 14:2: In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
Giving, the Church Center App, and Staying Connected
Giving is simple: gifts can be made online through the church's giving portal with a card or ACH transfer, placed in the offering plate during worship using the small privacy envelopes available in each pew pocket, mailed to the church office, or arranged as an in-kind or planned gift. The Church Center app, available on iPhone and the web, serves as the congregation's digital directory and gives members a place to update their profiles, view their giving records, and stay current on Aldersgate events, calendar items, and groups. Weekly Connections emails highlight what is coming up around the church.
Pastoral Leadership and Staff
Rev. Steve Murphy, an ordained United Methodist Elder, has served as senior pastor since June 2022. He holds a B.A. in Elementary Education from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. Steve and his wife, Jill, are from Louisiana.
Tom Berry joined the staff in May 2023 as Treasurer, after retiring from 43 years of working in finance at Duke University. Henry Branson has directed the music ministry since December 2018. Lydia Cauley joined the staff in January 2018 as Director of Family Ministries and serves the wider conference as NCCUMC Corridor District Youth Coordinator. Pete Horne is the Facilities Manager. Evelyn Johnson has served as Director of Weekday School Ministries since 2011 and on the weekday school staff since 2004. Jonathan Hudson joined the staff in January 2026 as Communications and Office Director. Jeff Whicker serves as the church's organist, having been part of AUMC's children's summer program and the wider community of Triangle-area choirs before stepping into his current role. Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the office is closed on Fridays.
Aldersgate's vision is to keep connecting, knowing, loving, and growing, and the church sees itself as a neighborhood church where there is something going on every night of the week. As one reflection puts it, Aldersgate is at its best at times other than Sunday morning, with Scouts and choir, AA and pickleball, Upward soccer, the Genesis Garden, and dozens of small groups keeping the campus alive with the rhythms of discipleship.