This hundred-year-old church played Chappell Roan on its bells for Pride

Playing Chappell at an actual chapel? It only makes sense.

To ring in Pride Month, Duke Memorial United Methodist Church in Durham, North Carolina, played a modern gay classic for all to hear: “HOT TO GO!” by sapphic icon Chappell Roan. The song is a bop with full production, but it sounds just as good on Duke Memorial’s bells, which were cast more than a hundred years ago in 1908.

A user on TikTok captured the bells ringing out over Durham in a video that’s garnered more than 1.4 million likes. Even Roan herself saw the video and reposted it, giving the church’s rendition her stamp of approval.

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Naturally, the comments section was obsessed. “Me when I misspell Chappell Roan as Chapel Roan,” joked one commenter.

“Your favorite pastor’s favorite artist,” quipped another, referencing Roan’s iconic speech at Coachella, which was itself a reference to RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar Sasha Colby.

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“We’re writing ballads, some sad songs where it’s just the piano and her voice,” said Roan’s producer Dan Nigro at a recent red carpet.

Beyond the jokes, some commenters got deep about the video’s meaning. “If you think about it too hard this is really emotional,” wrote one commenter, and several others agreed that the video — and what it implies about the church’s openness to queer people — unexpectedly moved them to tears.

The “HOT TO GO!” cover comes courtesy of Katelyn MacDonald, a staff member at Duke University Chapel. She shared the behind-the-scenes of her playing the song on the church’s ten-bell chime, which is no easy feat.

After going viral, MacDonald returned to TikTok to share a powerful message about Pride. While wearing a shirt reading, “TRANS PEOPLE ARE DIVINE,” she spoke to the queer community about the connection between queerness and faith.

“I just wanted to let you know this Pride Month that you are loved, period,” MacDonald said. “There are a lot of churches that have done harm over the years to you and might be still doing harm — and I’m so sorry about that — and there are a lot of places and people and even churches who are really excited to get to know you however you’re getting to know yourself.”

“There are people who are ready to love you in your life, and this Pride Month I hope that they can find you, that you can find them, and that you just feel a little bit of gratitude and joy as we enter this Pride Month together,” she continued.

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