About CHMF

God calls us to embody the love of Christ through our worship, fellowship, and witness in our neighborhoods and the world. This love transfigures us into an egalitarian community of peace where all people are welcomed as bearers of grace, where every person is received as a gift from God. In our gathering we await the Holy Spirit to lead us into God’s mercy and justice for the world.

Our Vision, adopted September 2017.

We are an active, curious, and committed congregation seeking to follow Jesus. We are inspired by our Radical Reformation tradition that goes back 500 years, where early Anabaptists embodied a Christ-centered faith opposed to nationalism and war. As Mennonites we believe in nonviolent resistance to evil, communal discernment of God’s will, simple living and mutual aid, and living out and advocating for God’s justice in our world.

We are actively involved as a congregation within Central District Conference, which is part of Mennonite Church USA. We strive to be an inclusive congregation, working to embody the love of Christ and receive every person as a gift from God. We are a part of the Supportive Communities Network of the Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Interests, a network of Mennonite and Church of the Brethren communities that welcome and affirm the full participation and leadership of LGBTQIA+ people.

We officially got our start in 2003, when a small group from Raleigh Mennonite Church formed a new congregation in Chapel Hill. Since then, people have found community and connection to God in our congregation. Over the years we’ve offered hospitality and belonging to students and newcomers and families and retirees, organized for justice, mentored and sent budding pastors to other congregations, hosted someone without documentation in sanctuary, and sought to follow Jesus in our shared life.

We enjoy spending time with each other. We like to eat at dinner groups, snack time and potlucks after worship. We like to work together by helping each other out in times of need, in service projects, and in organizing for justice. We love to sing together in worship and at protests.

We value intergenerational friendships in the church. We range from infants and toddlers to retirees. Most of us live in the greater Chapel Hill and Durham areas.