Jazz Revival Series

In 1986, Old Pine Street Church was the first house of worship in Philadelphia to start a jazz vespers series, which lasted for more than 20 years. With the help of a grant from the Philadelphia Presbytery, we are bringing jazz worship back in a new form. Our new Jazz Revival Series is envisioned as “Jazz worship meets a TED talk.” This series is an attempt to use jazz music as a conduit for new and creative worship experiences.

“Gateway To The Summer” Celebration…Summer Ministry Focus & Community Jazz Jam

“ International Day of Peace Convocation…An Official Time of Blessing for the Series of Peace Month Activities

Vespers for the Start of Advent

The 2015 Series of Jazz Worship Events will be held on three Sundays in May, October and November. The 10:30am worship service will feature jazz music in a more scripted format and liturgy and there will be an additional 4pm event. They will be thematically woven, and the afternoon session will use the language of Jazz to reinterpret in the afternoon what happened in the morning.

For the 2015 Series Premier Event we will be beta testing The Community Jazz Jam. It will be a ‘bring your instrument’ jam session that will follow that afternoon worship service, and provide a conduit for “hands-on” participation by the Philadelphia Jazz Community.

The inaugural event was held Saturday, June 14, at 4pm in our sanctuary and featured a talk and Q&A with the New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan. (John Dominic Crossan’s appearance is made possible by the Theologian in Residence program at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church.)

John Dominic Crossan

John Dominic Crossan is one of the world’s leading New Testament scholars and historians of early Christianity. Crossan has authored 27 books on Jesus, Paul, and early Christianity. He is frequently featured in documentaries and news programs about the historical Jesus.

For more information, please visit his website at http://www.johndominiccrossan.com/.

The second worship service in our series featured speaker Bruce Reyes-Chow, the former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

(This program is produced in partnership with the Presbyterian Historical Society and the Presbytery of Philadelphia.)

Bruce Reyes-Chow

​A native Northern Californian, Bruce Reyes-Chow is a congregational pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), blogger, author, event speaker, church consultant and leadership coach. In 2008 he was elected Moderator of the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the highest elected office of the 2 million member denomination.

He earned his Honorary Masters of Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary and a

Bachelor of the Arts in Asian American Studies, Philosophy and Sociology from San Francisco State University. Bruce has also written two books: The Definitive-ish Guide for Using Social Media in the Church (Shookfoil Books, 2012) and But I Don’t See You as Asian: Curating Conversations about Race (Kickstarter, 2013).

Our third jazz revival service was an interfaith service on peacemaking, to include leaders from Judaism, Islam Christianity.

SACRED JAZZ DISTINCTIONS
“So what’s the difference between ‘Jazz’ and ‘Sacred Jazz’?”

“This is a question that often arises as we execute this Ministry. Jazz is dictionary defined as ‘…music marked by strong rhythm, distinctive harmony and improvisation…’ As relates to the peculiar experience of Sacred Jazz Worship, in the quiet space of the Holy Spirit’s Musical Meditation, there is always a connection to The Divine that appears where nothing previously had been….A Brand New…Angle of View…That Reaches All The Way Into…Your Deepest Prayer. What makes the Jazz Sacred is the Worshipful Posture of the Player…approaching the music with a reverence found in the ritual(s) of the Old Testament Levite Priests…a passionate offering…burning as sweet smelling incense in the Presence of the Divine Creator and Lord of All…Melodic notes finding their way into a praise filled configuration…a canticle in which the instrument sings…in rhythm that swings…like the Balm in Gilead that brings…Healing.” –
Warren Cooper

WARREN COOPER, CURATOR OF JAZZ REVIVAL SERIES

Warren Cooper is a native of Philadelphia who has been a professional musician since the age of 9. He was raised in Berean Presbyterian Church and studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and with many of the Masters of Classical, Sacred & Jazz Composition and Performance.

He is the featured vocalist and/or music director for a number of ensembles (including Presbybop, The Warren Cooper Sacred Jazz Quartet, The Alexander Cooper Project, and Anointed Praise) and has been a featured performer at the Philadelphia Kimmel Center, the Washington National Cathedral and the Chautauqua Institution as well as Jazz Festivals, Churches and Arenas around the world.

Warren is the Executive Producer for Music Media Ministry – a Philadelphia-based Media Broadcast Production Company that is pioneering new pathways into, Church Health, Ministry Growth and Worship Based Evangelism. In this Ministry and beyond, Warren continues to blaze new trails in the Evolution of Traditional Christian Worship and Liturgy, and into the Innovative Resourcing of 21st Century focused Ministries who are seeking to actively engage their communities in Gospel Witness.