Rev. Dr. Aliya F. Browne, President
Heidi Bryan, Vice President
Stephanie Parker, Secretary
Kamla Branche, Treasurer
Robert Jennings, Sexton
Brenda Bryan
Cynthia Carter, MD
Alvin R Johnson
Louise Johnson
Ginny McIntosh
Kathleen McGhee-Anderson
Roger Morris
Jeanna Shepard
Andrew Skeen
Ann Stewart
Ed Trayes
Diane Welburn
Lois Jean White
Trustees Emeriti: Joann Kidd, and Anne H. Parsons
June 30 Rev. Deborah Finley-Jackson, Ph.D. Family of Faith AME Church, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
July 7 Daniel 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. Charles Baptist Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
July 28 Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas, Myrtle Baptist Church, West Newton, Massachusetts
August 4 Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois
August 11
August 18
Rev. Dr. Howard John Wesley, Alfred Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, Virginia
Rev. Dante Quick, Ph.D., First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset, New Jersey
August 25 Rev. Dana Allen Walsh, South Church, Andover, Massachusetts
September 1 Rev. Dr. Aliya Browne, President, Union Chapel Board of Trustees, Oak Bluffs, Massachussetts
Services will be streamed and available for watching on Facebook, YouTube and through our website www.UnionChapelMV.org
Union Chapel Quartet
Becky Williams, soprano; Martha Hudson, alto; David Behnke, tenor; Brad Austin, bass
William D. Peek Jr., Union Chapel Music Director and Organist
PRELUDES: Offertoire sur les grands jeux François Couperin (from Mass for the Convents)
INTROIT: Welcome, Summer words: Geoffrey Chaucer music: Irish Traditional
TRUSTEE GREETINGS Ann Stewart
*INVOCATION
“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: #136 Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty Nicaea ANTHEM With A Voice of Singing Martin Shaw
PRAYER
PRAYER RESPONSE O Thou That Hearest Prayer J. Burton, Wm. Peek
OFFERTORY Swing Low, Sweet Chariot African American Spiritual (arr. Harry T. Burleigh) Becky Williams, soprano
OFFERTORY PRAYER
*DOXOLOGY #34 OLD HUNDREDTH
*HYMN #20 Like a Mighty River Flowing Quem Pastores Laudavere
SCRIPTURE Genesis 1:26 Matthew 3:13-17
SERMON “ The Divine Dance”
Rev. Deborah Finley-Jackson, Ph.D.
*HYMN: #728 God of the Ages, Whose Almighty Hand National Hymn BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE Dialogue and Deo Gratias François Couperin
*Please stand if you are able
The Rev. Deborah Finley-Jackson is an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She currently serves in the 16th Episcopal District, where she is an associate minister at Family of Faith AME Church on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. She is also the treasurer of the 16th Episcopal District AME Women in Ministry.
Rev. Finley-Jackson received her BA degree from the University of Michigan, majoring in African Studies, a BS degree in Education from Long Island University, a Masters of Divinity from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and most recently, a PhD from the University of the Virgin Islands, in Creative Leadership for Innovation and Change.
Professionally, Rev. Finley-Jackson was a teacher and Principal in both public and private schools in Brooklyn, New York. Currently, she is a Creativity Specialist with the University of the Virgin Islands Creativity Lab and facilitates groups in Creative Problem Solving, Strategic Planning, Team Building, and Creative Mindset. She is also active in the Rotary Club of St. Thomas East Eco, an environmentally focused club, where she serves as President.
As a lifelong summer resident of Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard has a special place in the heart of Rev. Finley-Jackson. She was blessed to have been a Trustee of Union Chapel for over twenty years and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Martha’s Vineyard African American Heritage Trail.
She is the wife of Rev. Andrew Jackson who shares the ministry with her. Together they have three sons and very recently became grandparents of an energetic and lovely granddaughter.
Rev. Finley-Jackson believes that all her life experiences are God’s divine will for her life. Her message is always the same: That God loves each of us more than we can possibly love ourselves. Her call is to encourage others to work within the whole Gospel, loving God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. She stands on her faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and understands that she must incorporate her early training in community work, her love of her people, with her ministry as she shares the Gospel in words and deeds in her service to the Lord.
Today’s floral arrangements on the altar are placed ...
In loving memory of Aunt Betty and Uncle Bill, who introduced our family to the Vineyard many years ago.
In memory of Fred Jackson, 1947-2024.
Our love is eternal. Yvonne and family.
In loving memory of Charles and Kit Sanders and Jim and Louise Sanders from their children and grandchildren.
In honor of Rev. Dr. Deborah Finley-Jackson by the Finley family. We love you Doo-Bop/Rev. Deb Dawgs!
To sponsor a Sunday Service in the Chapel please visit www.unionchapelmv.org, or contact Heidi Bryan 214-549-7235/508-687-9725.
The Sunday Bulletin is being printed one per family. You can share or scan
the code for the
digital version.
The words of Welcome, Summer come from Geoffrey Chaucer’s (c.1343 - 1400) The Parliament of Fowls. With a Voice of Singing is by Martin Shaw (1875 – 1958), an English composer and conductor. His over 300 published works include songs, hymns, carols, oratorios, and four operas. The offertory setting of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot was arranged by Harry Thacker Burleigh, (1866 – 1949), a prominent singer, composer, and arranger. He introduced African American spirituals to Antonin Dvorak, influencing his New World Symphony. Burleigh was a frequent summer visitor in Oak Bluffs. The preludes and postludes are from François Couperin's (1668 – 1733) Mass for the Convents, organ music that would have alternated with sung Gregorian Chant in the Mass in early 18th century France.
