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Prof. Jonathan L. Walton to Harvard '17: Imagine, Dream, Then Act

May 25, 2017

In a world of growing inequality and unstable global conditions, Prof. Jonathan L. Walton called on graduating Harvard College seniors to dedicate their lives to making the world a better place.

“The past four years at Harvard have provided you with the space and ability to transcend generational categorizations, and defy limited expectations, in order that you might help rewrite this history of the world with a positive and progressive chapter,” Walton told the Harvard College Class of 2017 in his Read more about Prof. Jonathan L. Walton to Harvard '17: Imagine, Dream, Then Act

See as well as be seen

May 24, 2017

At the 2017 Baccalaureate Service, Pres. Drew Faust advises seniors, “My graduation wish for you is that we will have succeeded in making you noticers.” Read the coverage in the Harvard Gazette.

The University Choir sign from the loft of Memorial Church during Pal Sunday services.

Renovation eyes evolving mission of Memorial Church

April 18, 2017

By Jeffrey Blackwell/Memorial Church Communications

The Memorial Church is fully open to the Harvard Community following an eight-month renovation designed to transform the 85-year-old building into a more accessible, comfortable and versatile place for the evolving mission of Harvard’s “space of grace.”

The multi-million-dollar project, completed in January, is one of the most extensive renovations of the church since its construction in 1932. Visitors will notice little, if any, change inside the historic sanctuary. But those who venture downstairs will discover a complete redesign of the ground floor into a contemporary space featuring a new “Student Oasis,” meeting rooms and music rehearsal suite. Read more about Renovation eyes evolving mission of Memorial Church

The historic Memorial Church Bell on display at the church

Historic bell granted new life at Memorial Church

April 10, 2017

By Jeffrey Blackwell/Memorial Church Communications

Gregory Curci can look at a piece of cast metal and read the craftsman’s skill like an archeologist brushing away the sand from a long-forgotten artifact. Deep in the lines and imperfections of a piece of solid iron weighing thousands of pounds, he sees the hands of the maker.

“You can see what almost look like brush marks, it’s like they dug the mold out of the sand,” said Curci, running his hand across the 1,500-pound yoke of the bell that once hung in the spire of the Memorial Church. “Someone put every one of these brush strokes in this casting. A modern casting would look like it came out of a machine. This looks like someone made it by hand and sculpted it out of clay.” Read more about Historic bell granted new life at Memorial Church

Manuscript of Be Ye Broken by Carson Cooman

University Choir lift voices to new music in Sunday concert celebrating reopening of Memorial Church

February 28, 2017

By Jeffrey Blackwell/Memorial Church Communications

With the renovation of the Memorial Church during Fall Term, the Harvard University Choir stretched their voices into new venues across the campus. Auditions and rehearsals were in Paine Hall, the Fall Concert at Sanders Theatre and the Carol Services took place in St. Paul Church.

But after the extended tour of Harvard Square, the University Choir was back home inside the historic sanctuary Sunday (March 5) celebrating the reopening of Memorial Church. Read more about University Choir lift voices to new music in Sunday concert celebrating reopening of Memorial Church

Jonathan L/ Walton honored at Morehouse College

Professor Walton honored with Usher and Tyler Perry at Morehouse College Gala

February 21, 2017

Jonathan L. Walton shared a stage in Atlanta Saturday with musician Usher Raymond, actor/director Tyler Perry and music industry executive Jon Platt at Morehouse College's 29^th Annual “A Candle in the Dark” Gala, honoring the achievements of men in business, entertainment and religion.

Walton, the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church, received the Bennie Service Award in Religion at the event in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta attended by more than 1,500 people. He is a 1996 Morehouse College graduate.

Students and Professor Walton cut ribbon on Student Oasis

Slideshow: Memorial Church Celebrates New Student Oasis

February 16, 2017

Memorial Church Re-Opens With Fanfare

By JORDAN E. VIRTUE, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER

Harvard’s Memorial Church held a festive reception for around 90 students Friday night to celebrate the re-opening of the Church after months of renovations.

In a ceremony punctuated by musical performances and speeches, invited students attended the ribbon cutting and a formal dinner in the new “student oasis,” the 2,500 square foot centerpiece of the revamped basement. The downstairs area also contains two newly designed conference rooms and a kitchen for student use. Click here to read more: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/2/13/memorial-church-reopens/ Read more about Slideshow: Memorial Church Celebrates New Student Oasis

MemChurch Documentary: “The Chorus Line,” an inside look at Harvard University Choir auditions

December 1, 2016

Harvard University is an institution cultivated, in part, on the foundation of long-standing traditions that inhabit nearly every corner of the institution. The Harvard University Choir is one of those traditions. For the past 189 years, the student choir has provided the musical backdrop to services at Harvard Memorial Church.

This film, shot during the span of the 2016-2017 Fall Term, follows Choirmaster Edward Elwyn Jones and his staff as they pick though the procession of talented students auditioning for 16 open parts in the 50-member choir. Jeffrey Blackwell/Harvard Read more about MemChurch Documentary: “The Chorus Line,” an inside look at Harvard University Choir auditions

MemChurch Tailgates: Making connections and expanding the Harvard Community

November 21, 2016

By Jeffrey Blackwell/Harvard Memorial Church Communications

Under a crisp fall sky, Harvard students line up at buffet tables stocked with soft drinks, sandwiches and sweet treats on the front lawn of historic Sparks House – the pastoral home of Professor Jonathan L. Walton, the Pusey Minister of the Memorial Church – for an event that is becoming a popular stop on game day. Read more about MemChurch Tailgates: Making connections and expanding the Harvard Community

In the dust of renovation, Memorial Church defines its mission

October 19, 2016

By Jeffrey Blackwell/Harvard Memorial Church Communications

The distance between Memorial Church in Harvard Yard and the Knafel Center in Radcliffe Yard is roughly a half-mile. And the nagging question for the leadership of the church this fall was centered on whether or not students and loyal regulars of Sunday services would find their way from one yard to the other during the renovation of Harvard’s historic sanctuary.

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