St. Luke’s will celebrate Black History Month throughout February with adult forums focused on what we can learn about the rich influence on the Episcopal Church. Throughout the month, hymns will be selected from Lift Every Voice and Sing – An African American Hymnal.
Our celebrations begin on Sunday, February 2, when The Very Rev. Joshua Mastine Nisbett, D. Min., will lead an adult forum about the Caribbean Diaspora within the Episcopal Church.
Rev. Nisbett is the author of the book Bloom Wherever God Plants You: Following Jesus from a Small Caribbean Parish to the Big Apple, and has also published another book, several hymns, and a passion play. Rev. Nisbett earned his doctorate in Ministry from the University of the South, Sewanee, TN; he holds a Master of Arts from Fordham University and Bachelor of Arts from the United Theological College of the West Indies.
On Sunday, February 9, Shawn Rochester will present our Adult Forum, speaking on racial economic inequality. Mr. Rochester is the author of The Black Tax: The Cost of Being Black in America, and has extensively researched the financial cost of conscious and unconscious anti-Black discrimination. He is an entrepreneur and an expert in identifying, optimizing, and allocating cash flow. A former corporate development and global strategy executive, Mr. Rochester has executed $500 million worth of transactions and generated over $10 billion of incremental revenue and cash flow. He holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a focus in Accounting, Finance and Entrepreneurship. For more about our celebration of Black History Month, please contact Matthew Price via email at mjprice62@yahoo.com.
On Sunday, February 16 at 11:30am, we will share a video by Dr. Gillian Scott-Ward, a clinical psychologist in the New York City. She was instrumental in the passage of the new legal enforcement guidance issued in New York City last year, which was the first in the country to recognize discrimination on the basis of hair as race discrimination.
For more about our celebration of Black History Month, please contact Matthew Price at mjprice62@yahoo.com.