The Union Chapel building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is owned and managed by the Vineyard Preservation Trust
55 Narragansett Avenue, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
www.unionchapelmv.org
Organ Prelude Begins at 9:50 A.M. | Sunday Worship Begins at 10:00 A.M.
July 28, 2024
Reverend Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley
Services will be streamed and available for watching on Facebook, YouTube and through our website www.UnionChapelMV.org
Welcoming Our 2024 Season Guests
June 30
Rev. Deborah Finley-Jackson, Ph.D.
Family of Faith AME Church, St. Thomas, USVI
July 7
Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D.
La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 14 Rev. Shannon Kershner
Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia
July 21
Rev. Dr. Leslie Callahan
St. Pauls Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 28
Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley
Myrtle Baptist Church, West Newton, Massachusetts
August 4
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III
Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois
August 11
Rev. Dr.Howard John Wesley
Alfred Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, Virginia
August 18 Rev. Dante Quick, Ph.D.
First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset, New Jersey
August 25 Rev. Dana Allen Walsh
South Church, Andover, Massachussetts
September 1 Rev. Dr. Aliya Browne
President, Union Chapel Board of Trustees, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts
Union Chapel Board of Trustees
Rev. Dr. Aliya F. Browne, President
Heidi Bryan, Vice President
Stephanie Parker, Secretary
Kamla Branche, Treasurer
Robert Jennings, Sexton
Rachelle Browne
Brenda Bryan
Cindy Carter
Alvin R Johnson
Louise Johnson
Kathleen McGhee-Anderson
Ginny McIntosh
Roger Morris
Kevin Myatt
Jeanna Shepard
Andrew Skeen
Ann Stewart
Ed Trayes
Diane Welburn
Lois Jean White
Sabrina Williams
Trustees Emeriti:
William Adams
Joann Kidd
Anne H. Parsons
Richard Taylor, President Emeritis
Today’s floral arrangements on the altar are placed ...
In memory of my father, Bishop Clarence Williams. From Bethany Williams.
In loving memory of Al Carter, past president of Union Chapel, and his wife, Carolyn, Harry & Ruby McCraw and Array and Elvinna Yarborough. From Cindy and Zachery Carter.
In loving memory of William and Fay Alexander, Ginette and Louis Martial, Peter and Saretta. From Alexander and Evelyne Martial.
In loving memory of Jim Nolan and Christy Grace. From Renee Nolan and Stephen Grace.
To sponsor a Sunday Service in the Chapel please visit www.unionchapelmv.org, or contact Heidi Bryan 214-549-7235/508-687-9725
o ur m usic t his m orning
The Problematics is a New York City based musician’s collective that specializes in Jazz, Funk, Fusion, R&B, Gospel, Soul and original music. Led by vocalist, bandleader and curator Alexander Wright, the group was formed with the purpose of uplifting the legacy of the Black composer within modern music. The group is comprised of saxophonist Griffin Ross, pianist Sterling Cozza, bassist Stanley Ruvinov, drummer Gabriel P. Jones, and guest vocalist Katie Oberholtzer. Each member of the group is a wellestablished and highly sought after musician in their own right. Collectively & individually, the group has performed at Mezzrow, Arthur’s Tavern, Minton’s, Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Small’s Jazz Club, Birdland, Chris’s Jazz Cafe, Melody’s, Lincoln Center, Trinity Church Wall Street, Rutgers Presbyterian Church, Church of The Heavenly Rest, and countless other venues. They can be heard on numerous recordings and have toured widely in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Tonight at Union Chapel!
The Problematics in Concert
7:30 PM | Free Admission | Open to All
Next week in worship: Special Guest Musical ArtistsDr. Jolie Rocke, soprano; Andrew Lee, piano; Johnnie Walker III, cello
Order of Service
PRELUDES: Selections by The Problematics
INTROIT: Come Sunday
TRUSTEE GREETINGS
*INVOCATION
Alexander Wright, vocal
Duke Ellington
Cindy Carter
“God of hope, we have sensed your spirit walking with us as we open a new door in our lives, felt your urging when we were reluctant to say yes to a new adventure. Come among us today. Open our eyes to truth wherever it may be found. Allow us to hear the siren song of knowledge and understanding.”
LORDS PRAYER
*HYMN:
#422 Amazing Grace! from Willie J. Wright
ANTHEM Sunday
Katie Oberholtzer, vocal
PRAYER
PRAYER RESPONSE O Thou That Hearest Prayer
Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin
J. Burton, Wm. Peek
OFFERTORY Wade in the Water African American Spiritual (arr. Alexander Wright and Alcee Chriss)
*DOXOLOGY #34 Old Hundredth
OFFERTORY PRAYER
SONG
SCRIPTURE
Get Happy / Happy Days are Here Again
Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen
Jack Yellen and Milton Ager
Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 8:11-21
New Testament Reading: Matthew 10:1-16 Proverbs 9:10
SERMON “Wisdom”
Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley
*HYMN: #426 Blessed Assurance Assurance
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE
I Shall Wear a Golden Crown Cheryl A. Bragg The Wright Family Singers
*Please stand if you are able | Music Director: William Peek, Jr.
Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley
The Reverend Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley is an AfricanAmerican pastor, preacher, author, and scholar in religion, theology, and queer theory. Since 2009, he has served as the Senior Pastor of the Historic Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts, one of America’s oldest Black congregations founded by formerly enslaved Africans at the end of Reconstruction and one of the few open and affirming historically Black churches in the United States of America.
In addition to his pastoral role, Dr. Crowley is a Lecturer in Ministry Studies at Harvard University’s Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the 2024-2026 Honorary Distinguished Fellow in the Department of Classics, Ancient History, Religion, and Theology at the University of Exeter in England. Dr. Crowley has taught courses on Theology, Race, Ethical Leadership, Queer Theory, and African American Religions at Boston University, Emory University, the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, and the Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. Reverend Crowley earned a Ph.D. in Church and Society and a Master of Sacred Theology with a certificate in social justice from Boston University’s School of Theology. He also earned a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion with a moral cosmopolitan pastoral leadership certificate from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Reverend Crowley’s first manuscript is titled Queering Black Churches: Dismantling Heteronormativity in African American Congregations with Oxford University Press. Dr. Crowley’s research and ministry have been featured in the Associated Press, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC, CBS, and The Griot. His work demonstrates a commitment to challenging societal norms within African American faith communities and forging innovative pathways for the future.
Beyond his pastoral and academic roles, Dr. Crowley also serves on various boards and is a leader in several communal organizations. He is an inaugural member of the Council of Religious Practitioners and Scholars for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., a member of The Greater Boston Salvation Army Advisory Board, a member of the Harvard Alumni Council and membership selection committee, a member of the Newton-Wellesley Hospital Community Benefits and Needs Assessment committees, and the new Owner and Curator of the Board of the African American Lectionary Inc. Ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., and licensed in the National Baptist Convention of America, Dr. Crowley brings a wealth of wisdom and dedication to his work. He resides in New England with his husband, Tyrone Sutton, the Headmaster (principal) of Boston Arts Academy, a premier high school for the visual and performing arts in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Together, they share a home with their beloved 15-year-old Maltese pup, Bishop.
Union Chapel Events
Visit www.UnionChapelMV.org for more.
JULY 28th 7:30 PM
The Problematics Jazz Sextet Concert Free Admission (free will offering)
AUGUST 3rd 9-1 PM
Pickleball Fundraiserto benefit Island Grown Martha’s Vineyard Email h.bryan526@gmail.com to register
AUGUST 3rd 4-5:30 PM
Harmonies & Heritage Concertby HBCU Arts on the Vineyard featuring Andrew Lee, founder DC Strings, Johnny Walker, III, cellist, and Dr. Jolie Rocke, soprano
AUGUST 11th 1 PM
Festival of Worship in Word and Song
A collaboration between MV Campground Meeting Association, First Congregational Church of West Tisbury and Union Chapel with Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock, Guest Artist, Isreal Houghton and Music Director, Mark Miller. AT THE TABERNACLE 80 Trinity Park, Oak Bluffs
Free Noon Concert Series
July 31 Vocals - Jessica Sanseverino
August 7 Jazz Piano & Guitar - Jeremy Berlin Eric Johnson
August 14 A Cappella- Vineyard Sound
BiBle study
Finding god Faithful Wednesdays July 10 to August 28 9:45 AM
Union Chapel Education & Cultural Institute
2024 Charles Ogletree Free Public Forum Series
July 31st 4 -6 PM
Reimagining Black Female Beauty The Art of Fabiola Jean-Louis, in Conversation with Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth
August 1st 4 -6 PM
Actors and Activism: The Urgency of Black Arts in Today’s America
August 7th 3:30-5:30 PM
Economic Mobility as a Pathway to Health Equity
August 7th 5:30-7:30 PM
When We Vote: Why it Matters
August 11th 5:00-7:00 PM
D9: Uniting our Voices, Uniting Our Vote
August 14th 4 -6 PM
DEI in a Divided America: Where Do We Go From Here
August 15th 4 -6 PM
State of Black Philanthropy
August 22nd 4 -6 PM
A Blueprint for Belonging: Designing Cities Where Black People Can Thrive
