Sunday morning worship at Duke Chapel

Christian Worship

Duke Chapel is a vibrant center of ecumenical Christian worship with a long—and living—tradition of faithful preaching and inspiring sacred music.

This tradition has come to include an active congregation for care and service and a vocational discernment program. In acts of worship beyond the walls of the Chapel, the Chapel community is sent out to pray with its hands and feet by seeking the welfare of Durham in partnership with nonprofits, churches, and neighborhoods, as well as by nurturing relationships across social, cultural, and political division.

Worship Services

Typically, Duke Chapel offers more than 150 opportunities for worship each year, featuring the Chapel’s traditions of compelling preaching and inspiring sacred music. Special services each year include Blessing of the Animals, All Hallows’ Eve, Christmas Eve, Ash Wednesday, and Easter. These services are in addition to the many services held by Religious Life groups at the Chapel and around campus. More information:

    Living Tradition Preaching Resource

    Duke University Chapel is home to a long history of faithful preaching. Through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment, sermons preached at Duke Chapel between 1946 and 2002 have been digitized and transcribed. The Duke University Chapel Recordings Digital Collection makes these manuscripts and recordings available to the public. The Living Tradition online preaching resource curates this historical collection in service of the present moment.
     

    Congregation at Duke Chapel

    The Congregation at Duke University Chapel is the interdenominational church home for people who consider the Chapel to be their primary place of worship. The Sunday morning service at 11:00 a.m. draws worshipers from all areas of campus as well as from many of our neighboring communities. Recognizing that the Christian life is more than a Sunday morning experience, members of the Congregation long to deepen their relationships with God, with each other, and with their neighbors. Through education, mission, and fellowship the Congregation helps us to strengthen these precious relationships.

    Weddings and Funerals

    The Chapel provides a pastoral presence on campus and beyond by hosting significant university ceremonies and community gatherings, as well as weddings, funerals, and baptisms. People connected to the Duke community may reserve the Chapel for weddings, funerals, and baptisms; campus groups may request use of the Chapel for other events. Learn more about:

    Archives and Recordings

    Through various media, the Chapel’s worship services and other events are extended to those unable to visit the Chapel in person.
    Worship Services

    Duke Chapel offers more than 150 opportunities for worship each year, featuring the Chapel’s traditions of compelling preaching and inspiring sacred music.
    Weddings

    Available to students, staff, faculty, alumni and their children or grandchildren. We’re delighted that you’re considering holding your ceremony at the Chapel.
    Sunday Morning Worship Service

    The Chapel's Sunday morning service gathers members of the university community, and surrounding communities, for ecumenical Christian worship.
    Choral Evensong

    For centuries, the church has marked the transition from daytime to evening with psalms, prayer, and song. Duke Chapel's Choral Evensong follows this historic pattern, using the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer and featuring choral and organ music from the English cathedral tradition. The service lasts approximately forty-five minutes.Time and Location
    Religious Life Groups

    Duke Chapel acts as a moderator and advocate for the various faith groups at Duke.
    Living Tradition

    Sermons from the Past, in Service of the PresentDuke University Chapel is home to a long history of faithful preaching. Through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment, sermons preached at Duke Chapel between 1946 and 2002 have been digitized and transcribed. The Duke University Chapel Recordings Digital Collection makes these manuscripts and recordings available to the public.
    Funerals & Memorials

    The Chapel shares the sorrows and joys of the life of the Duke community by tending to the full spectrum of human need, including the depths of lament.
    Baptisms

    Available to students, staff, faculty, alumni and their children or grandchildren, as well as members of the Congregation at Duke. Baptism is the sacrament by which a person becomes part of the body of Christ.