Sen. Warnock to preach at the Tabernacle

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On Sunday, August 8, Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, United States senator from Georgia, will hold a joint worship service with the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association and the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury. The event will be held at the Tabernacle at 9:30 am. 

Rev. Cathlin Baker and Rev. Julie Johnson Staples from the First Congregational Church will serve as worship leaders during the event. Ken Lowe, a Camp Meeting Association board member, will be the liturgist. The joint worship will also host Mark Miller, a religious music academic who teaches at Drew University and Yale University, as a guest musician.

The son of two Pentacostal pastors, Warnock responded to a call to the ministry at an early age. In 2005, Warnock became the youngest person to serve Ebenezer Baptist Church, “spiritual home of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,” as its senior pastor. Warnock has also preached at the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury for a decade. 

On January 6, 2021, Warnock became the first African American from Georgia elected to the U.S. Senate. This marks the second time since the end of the Reconstruction Era in 1877 an African American has represented a southern state in the Senate. 

Due to the expected number of worshipers and rising COVID cases nationwide, masks will be required. Alternate row seating will be used to reduce capacity. Parking is limited near the Camp Meeting Association and the Tabernacle circle will be blocked off to cars by 9 am, so arriving early is encouraged. 

For those who can not attend, a livestream will be played through the Camp Meeting Association’s website. An in-person viewing of the livestream will also be played at the First Congregational Church at 9:30 am in West Tisbury.