In the past, to provide messages of hope and justice to the Durham community, Duke Memorial used banners at the front of the building. When looking for a more tangible way to involve our members in these calls for justice, yard signs were a natural next step.
We, as a team, looked through the Social Principles, and selected a handful of principles that seemed relevant to the contexts of our members, and the needs of the Durham community. We printed those Social Principles on yard signs and placed them across the lawn.
These signs proved to impact our members and the community in a myriad of ways. This past weekend there was a protest in downtown Durham as part of a national protest movement. Lots of people walked past our church campus on the way to the protest and were greeted with the Social Principles displayed proudly.
Since then, the signs have acted as a reminder to our ministry team, members, and larger community of the responsibility we have to work towards social justice in line with our Social Principles. We are called to make our actions match our words, and displaying the Social Principles helps us all be held accountable to those expectations. We hope to provide a hope for justice in our community, as we inspire our members to be actors for justice.
On Sunday, following worship, we invited those worshipping with us to take a Social Principles yard sign back to their own home as a personal reminder and a sign for their community with the best of a prophetic spirit. Our hope was both to live into our call at Duke Memorial UMC to be ‘In the City and For the City” of Durham, as well as to lean into the historic UMC concern for social justice in our present times.
Rebecca Majorel is the Coordinator of Administration and Communication for Duke Memorial United Methodist Church.
This content was originally published by the General Board of Church and Society; republished with permission on ResourceUMC.org on April 29, 2025