January+Services

January 4th, 9:30 and 11:15
“[|Reflections at the Turning of the Year]” A service of meditation, music and a message for turning the past over and letting the present moment begin. Led by Rev. Maj-Britt Johnson, Carolyn Holt and Bob Weston.

January 11th, 9:30 and 11:15
Annual Martin Luther King Memorial Worship Service presented by the Charles M Jones Peace and Justice Committee. [|A Little Sympathy for Herod]." "Herod is a moderate just like you...he's got his power to preserve, an immigration problem, and some pretty slippery advisers. Timothy B. Tyson, speaker, Mary D. Williams, vocalist.
 * Tim Tyson** is Senior Scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies, Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke Divinity School, and holds an appointment in the Department of American Studies at the University of North Carolina. He was Professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1994 until 2004, when he was chosen as John Hope Franklin Senior Fellow at the National Humanities Center. Tyson’s award-winning book, //Blood Done Sign My Name//, recounts a racial murder committed in his hometown of Oxford, North Carolina in 1970 by the father of a childhood friend, and the African American uprising that followed.
 * Mary D. Williams**, a native of Raleigh, has been working closely with Tim Tyson. With a voice reminiscent of Mahalia Jackson, her powerful African American spirituals ring with the determination and triumphs of the Freedom movement.

January 18th, 9:30 and 11:15
“[|An Abundance of Hope]” –Rev. Maj-Britt Johnson. I always learn something new from re-reading some of King’s writings each year at this time. What exactly that is will be revealed when in January I once again pick up the collection of his writings: “Testament of Hope”. More will be revealed. Musical Presentation: "I Dream a World" music by Joan Szymko, text by Langston Hughes (Adult Choir) Musical Meditation: "If I Can Help Somebody" by Alma Bazel Androzzo (Kate Shipman) Offertory: "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)" by Patty Griffin (Jim Magaw)

January 25th, 9:30 and 11:15
“The Transcendent Practice of Generosity” – Rev. Maj-Britt Johnson. As we officially launch our “Share the Plate” for sharing our offering beyond our walls, we’ll reflect on how essential are emotional, material and intellectual generosity to our spiritual well being. Music: Prelude: Al Zaranka, piano, with Dorothy Wright and Jim Dietz, celli Musical Presentation: "Largo" from "Sonata Op. 2, No. 8 by G. F. Handel (Al Zaranka, piano, with Dorothy Wright and Jim Dietz, celli) Musical Meditation: "Sarabande" by G. F. Handel (Kathryn Moss, piano) Offertory: "The Size of Your Heart" text by Charles Miller, music by Eleanor Daley (Adult Choir)