His young Church of the Messiah, with about 50 members, meets on Sundays at 3 p.m. at Christ the King Moravian Church on Hope Valley Road.

Father Ben Sharpe, the pastor, is a former United Methodist minister who found himself out of step with worship in the Methodist tradition.

"I love the Methodist Church and it was heartbreaking to leave, but I had a serious call from God asking me to do one more bold thing for him," Sharpe said. "I became part of a planning mission to plant a church rooted in the Anglican tradition in Durham."

Sharpe said he had become more liturgical during the 17 years he was a pastor in the United Methodist Church and had come to believe that the Anglican liturgy (a prescribed form or set of forms for public religious worship) was the best way to worship and honor God.

To worship at the Moravian Church, Sharpe, 45, and his congregation bring their own altar table, linens and paraments for the service, as well as the Communion ware and a processional cross. The procession that opens the service includes a crucifer who carries the cross, a liturgist and the priest.

"We are liturgical, but not stuffy," Sharpe said.

A graduate of Duke Divinity School, Sharpe is a teaching assistant for preaching and worship in the Anglican House of Studies at Duke University.

The Rwandan church, he said, is a part of the Anglican Communion that also includes the Episcopal Church in the United States. However, the African bishops, including his, are among the more conservative segment of the church.

"What distinguishes us is that we have a real passion for the Great Commission, 'Go out and make disciples of all nations.' We believe in bringing in people and there are 130 million Americans who need to have a life-saving relationship with Jesus Christ," Sharpe said.

The congregation has been meeting at the Moravian Church for worship since last summer.

"Moravians have a history of hospitality," he said. "John Wesley, an Anglican before he founded the Methodist Church, was profoundly influenced by the Moravians when he visited Herrnut, a Moravian community. He was impressed by their piety and spirit-filled services."

Sharpe is a Chapel Hill native. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill. He and wife Lisa have three daughters.

While he was a United Methodist pastor, he served churches in Alamance County, on the Outer Banks and was pastor of a Fayetteville church for nine years.