Downtown Durham residents woke up to the sound of church bells on June 1.
But instead of a hymn, the melody “You can take me hot to go!” rang out from the century-old bell tower of Duke Memorial United Methodist Church.
Katelyn MacDonald, a member and leader in the congregation, was playing queer popstar Chappell Roan’s hit “HOT TO GO!” to celebrate the first day of Pride Month.
MacDonald, who usually plays the bells on Saturday mornings, said she and the other members of the congregation with access to the bell tower enjoy the freedom to play whatever they want to.
So she played the popular queer anthem, then left for choir rehearsal at 10 a.m.
By 11:30 a.m., MacDonald’s phone was blowing up. She opened it to see dozens of texts from a group chat of her friends.
“Katelyn, is this you?” one friend asked.
Church goes viral on TikTok
It was. A TikTok of the 116 year-old church bells ringing out “H-O-T-T-O-G-O!” in Durham was going viral. Now, it has more than 7 million views and 1.5 million likes.
Even Roan reposted it.
“I might actually sob. The full acceptance and appreciation for our queerness from the one place we expected to reject us,” one user said in a comment.
MacDonald filmed herself playing the bells that morning, so she posted a separate “her point of view” video on her TikTok account. That video gathered nearly 5 million views and hundreds of comments saying they had seen the original video.
Duke Memorial’s lead pastor, Rev. Heather Rodriguez, did not know MacDonald had played “HOT TO GO!” on the bells until she saw the viral TikTok. But Rodriguez said she is grateful MacDonald played a “song that would be recognizable to and supportive of our queer community as she blurred the lines between sacred and secular in this important, fruitful way.”
Since June 1, MacDonald has played other songs by Roan, including “Good Luck, Babe!” “Pink Pony Club” and “Red Wine Supernova.” As a queer and transgender person, MacDonald sees herself in Roan’s music and thinks young queer people look up to the 26-year-old star because of her authenticity.
“It was the first day of Pride Month, so it just seemed natural to me to play something that was queer, and I felt comfortable doing so because I had the support of my pastor, but also it reflected my church community faithfully,” she said.
‘A church that would ‘see’ them in this way’
When the Pride Month decorations that First Presbyterian Church in Durham had put up were vandalized last week, MacDonald said Duke Memorial came together to help replace what had been torn down.
Duke Memorial’s welcome statement explains that the church embraces “those of every age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, and physical or mental ability.”
Rodriguez acknowledged that many members of the LGBTQ+ community experienced religious trauma. She said Duke Memorial has officiated queer weddings and advocated for the inclusion of queer church members in church leadership positions. They have also participated in Durham’s Pride Parade, among other initiatives.
Rodriguez said a member of the congregation who works at a local gay bar “had patrons showing them the video, having no idea they, the bartender, even attend a church, let alone are a member of ours.”
“Another member’s brother and his husband, in Colorado, said how the video moved quickly through their local community — and how proud they were to claim us,” Rodriquez said in an email statement. “You’ve seen many of the comments on social media — what surprised and moved me were the number of folks who were emotional about a church that would ‘see’ them in this way.”
MacDonald graduated from Duke University Divinity School with her master of divinity in 2021 and plans to be a pastor. She is a second generation pastor’s kid and is on track to become an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.
Chappell Roan in North Carolina
But she still wants the church to accept and love gay people better.
“It’s ironic because the call is coming from the church building and sounding out into the community, but it feels more like the people who really need to hear it are the ones inside the building,” MacDonald said.
Roan will be in North Carolina on Wednesday to perform a sold-out show at Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh. Originally planned to be held at The Ritz, the show was moved to the larger outside venue due to high demand. Resale tickets to her show are going for several hundred dollars.
MacDonald did not get tickets for Roan’s Raleigh show and does not expect to go, but she hasn’t given up hope. She is leaving town for a conference on Thursday — and is making two travel plans just in case.
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