The Lectureship with documentary filmmaker Macky Alston begins at 9:30 a.m. Click here to access the presentation via Zoom.

Wallace McPherson Alston III, known to all as Macky, was a small boy when his father, Wallace Alston, served First Presbyterian Church as pastor from 1969 through 1974. Macky graduated from Columbia College in 1987 and has become well-known as a documentary filmmaker.

In his presentation on Sunday, February 28, Macky will guide us in a conversation about repairing historic harm in regard to slavery and the Native American genocide and their legacies that live in our political, social, and individual systems today. A documentary filmmaker who has also worked for decades equipping prophetic leaders to speak effectively through the media, Macky is currently co-directing Acts of Reparation, a personal quest to learn from groups across the country committed to acting in ways that establish equity and justice in this nation in the light of what many call its “original sins.”

In our shared conversation, Macky will tell stories of his own quest and the models for repair he has observed. He will then invite us as individuals and as a community to imagine our region and country healed and how we might act toward that end. As a part of the Lectureship, we have invited Macky to return for a follow-up engagement when it is safe to travel and gather.

Family Name, Love Free or Die, and Questioning Faith: Confessions of a Seminarian are available on Apple TV. There are links to these and other films on Macky’s website.

As faith leaders, we are accustomed to fulfilling our duty by congregating, by gathering for worship in prayer and song.  We realize, however, that promoting and facilitating physical proximity, especially through songful worship, poses a potentially lethal threat to the health and safety of our families, friends, and neighbors.  

Our responsibility to promote physical distancing during this pandemic is a sacred duty.  Our traditions are diverse, yet we share a faithful devotion to the preservation of lives.  Our obligation to promote public health during this pandemic is part and parcel of our core beliefs, inextricable with our sense of what God demands of us.  

For this reason, we reject the notion that houses of worship ought to be exempt from orders that limit large gatherings. Lest our churches, temples, and mosques become incubators for COVID-19, houses of worship are the very places that must model safety and promote wellness.  

Read the entire letter here which includes the names of the clergy who endorsed the letter.

Sunday, January 19 at 3:00 p.m.

CONCERT: “Traveling to Freedom” – the search for freedom, the dangers of the journey, our country’s history of freedom (both demeaning it and denying it), and our possible roles in offering it to others. Directed by Jeremy Nabors, accompanied by Deborah Coclanis. Free admission: $10 suggested donation. Email: [email protected] for more info.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Tuesday, December 24

3:00 p.m. – Worship with communion and candles (in the sanctuary) – A simple 45-minute service featuring “Bird Watchers,” a children’s Christmas pageant.

5:00 p.m. – Communion and Candlelight Service (in the sanctuary) – The birth of the Christ Child is celebrated in word and song with Communion and candlelight service. 

Childcare provided for younger children at both services. 

An offering will be received at both services to support CWS’s refugee resettlement program.

The Mallarme Chamber Players will present a CONCERT in the sanctuary from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Low & Lower, Brooks Whitehouse – cello and Paul Sharpe – bass, America’s #1 selling cello/bass duo celebrates its popular mashup of comedy, virtuosity and satire with a new show, A Series of Unfortunate Musical Events. Click here to purchase a ticket and for more information.