First Sunday Brunches

October 5
“African American Christianity: A Report on My Upcoming Book”
The Rev. Craig D. Townsend, Ph.D., Vicar

November 2
“Our Ministry in Malawi”
Partners in Mission – Malawi Committee

December 7 TBA

January 4
“A Preview of the New Organ”
Davis Wortman, DMA, Director of Music and Organist

Special Events

Saturday, September 13, 10:00 a.m.
Tour of Mother AME Zion Church, Harlem
As the first Black church in New York and part of the famed Underground Railroad for escaping slaves, this church was originally known as the “Freedom Church.” In 1925 it moved from the Lower East Side to its new home in central Harlem (W. 137th St. between Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. and Lenox Ave.), to an elegant neo-gothic structure designed by the state’s first African-American architect. The church continues to welcome immigrants from many parts of the world. The tour starts at 11:00 a.m. We will meet at St. James’ at 10:00 a.m. for a light brunch and share cabs to Mother A.M.E. Zion.

Monday, Octer 6, 6:30 p.m.
“A Trip to the Holy Lands”
The Rev. Craig  D. Townsend, Vicar, will show slides from his trip this summer and discuss his plans to lead an interfaith trip in January.

Monday, October 27, 6:30 p.m.
“An Introduction to the New Gallery Organ”
a concert and conversation with Davis Wortman, Director of Music and Organist, and the president of Schoenstein & Co. Organ Builders

Sunday, December 7, 4:30 p.m.
Annual Park Avenue Tree-Lighting Party in the Atrium

New Adult Education Offering: the Return of “The Rest of the Week”
Thursday evenings, 6:30-8:00 p.m. biweekly beginning October 9

This bi-weekly set of classes, led by the Rev. Craig Townsend, Vicar, returns this fall. The class is an opportunity to look for the ways your faith impacts your life during the rest of the week. We will read a good bit of Bible, some significant theology (Augustine, Martin Luther King, Jr., Robert Farrar Capon), and some fabulous short stories by authors such as Flannery O’Connor, Ursula LeGuin, John Updike, and Tobias Wolff, and we will learn together to do theological reflection on lived experience. This is a two-year class, though you can sign up for a year at a time. In the second year, we focus on telling some of our own stories, and reflecting theologically on our own experiences. Please contact Craig if you are interested.