2025 Season Guests 2025 Season Guests
June 29
Rev. Joanne Hus
United Methodist Church of Martha’s Vineyard
(Note, this is a combined service with United Methodist, held at The Tabernacle)
July 6
Honorable. Ayanna Pressley, U.S. Congresswoman
Massachusetts's 7th congressional district
July 14
Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley
Myrtle Baptist Church, West Newton, Massachusetts
July 20
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie
President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ
July 27
Rev. Frederick Haynes III
Friendship-West Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas
August 3
Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III
Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois
August 10
Rev. Dr. Howard John Wesley
Alfred Street Baptist Church, Alexandria, Virginia
August 17
Rev. Dante Quick, Ph.D. First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, Somerset, New Jersey
Aug 24
Rev. Dana Allen Walsh South Church, Andover, Massachusetts
August 31
Rev. Dr. Aliya Browne Union Chapel, Martha’s Vineyard
Union Chapel Board of Trustees Union Chapel Board of Trustees
Rev. Dr. Aliya F. Browne, President
Heidi Bryan, Vice President
Stephanie Parker, Secretary Kamla Branche, Treasurer
Rachelle Browne, Brenda Bryan, Cindy Carter, MD, Alvin R Johnson, Louise
Johnson, Robert Jennings, Sexton, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Ginny
McIntosh, Roger Morris, Kevin Myatt, Andrew Skeen, Ann Stewart, Ed Trayes, Diane Welburn, Lois Jean White, Sabrina Williams
Trustees Emeriti:
William Adams, Joann Kidd, Anne H. Parsons, Trustee Preident Emeritus Richard Taylor
Interdenominational
Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
Michael Eric Dyson is a man of many talents. As a professor, he has taught at some of the most prestigious universities in the nation, including Princeton, Brown, and Georgetown. He is currently a Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University, where he holds positions in both the College of Arts & Science and The Divinity School.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Dyson is also a gifted writer and media personality. He has authored over 25 books, including seven New York Times bestsellers, and has won numerous awards for his literary contributions, including the 2020 Langston Hughes Medal and two NAACP Image Awards.
Dyson’s work spans a wide range of topics, including civil rights, hip-hop, Black culture, and politics. He has written bestselling books on figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, 2Pac, Marvin Gaye, Bill Cosby, and Barack Obama. His most recent book, Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America, has been described as a “searing cry for racial justice” and a “sweeping overview of racism in America.”
Michael Eric Dyson has received numerous accolades for his literary output, including the 2020 Langston Hughes Medal, which has previously been awarded to James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and August Wilson. He has also won an American Book Award, a Southern Book Award, and two NAACP Image Awards.
Dyson has written seven New York Times bestsellers, including books on Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, 2Pac, Marvin Gaye, Bill Cosby, and Barack Obama. His book, The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America, was described by the New York Times as “an interpretive miracle” and was a finalist for the 2016 Kirkus Prize.
Dyson’s New York Times bestseller Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America was called by the New York Times “one of the most frank and searing discussions on race” and was a finalist for the 2018 Southern Book Prize. His book What Truth Sounds Like: RFK, James Baldwin and Our Unfinished Conversation on Race in America was named by the Washington Post as one of the “50 notable works of nonfiction in 2018.”
TRUSTEE GREETINGS
Rev. Dr. Aliya Browne
*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.”
LORD’S PRAYER
MUSICAL SELECTION
Danny Rivera PRAYER
PRAYER RESPONSE
OFFERTORY
MUSICAL SELECTION
George Russell
*OFFERATORY PRAYER
SCRIPTURE
SPEAKER
Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
*HYMN: Lift Every Voice and Sing
Written by James Weldon Johnson
Performed by Donna McElroy
BENEDICTION
*Please rise in body or in spirit.
