2021 Service & Guest Preacher Schedule

PLEASE NOTE:  At this time, face coverings and 6ft. social distancing are required at all in person services.  A LIVE stream is also available. 

MVCMA services are held 9:30 a.m. on Sundays June 27th through Sept. 8th   
​Services are interdenominational and all are welcome. 

Because we will not be passing a collection basket, we are making online donations available for your convenience, and appreciate your contributions! We also have a monthly option available.

We hope you will join us!

June 27

Preacher: Reverend Sean McMahon
Sermon: T.B.A.
Home Org.:  Community Baptist Church of Gay Head

About:  Sean McMahon is a proud husband and father. He is a bi-vocational minister who uses his preaching, musical gifts and songwriting to minister within and without the walls of the church. Based on Martha’s Vineyard, Rev. McMahon is pastor at the Community Baptist Church of Gay Head (Aquinnah), the nation’s oldest Native American church. His music releases as Workman Song have a large devoted following online, and have been featured on film and television internationally, while his family band Brothers McMahon is famous on Martha's Vineyard for their rollicking "Holy Rock & Roll Revival" concerts. Learn more at http://cbcghaq.wordpress.com

July 4

Preacher: Reverend John Tamilio III, Ph.D
Sermon: T.B.A.
Home Org.: Congregational Church of Canton, MA

About:  Rev. Dr. John Tamilio has been the pastor of the Congregational Church of Canton, Massachusetts since September, 2012. Previously he served UCC churches in Wakefield, NH, Prairie Village, KS, and Cleveland, OH. 

He earned his B.A. in English and Philosophy from Salem State University; his M.A. in British and American Literature from Northeastern University; and his M.Div. from Andover Newton Theological School. He received his Ph.D. from Boston University in Practical, Systematic and Sacramental Theology. He conducted post-doctoral work through the Minister in the Vicinity program at Harvard Divinity School.

Rev, Dr. Tamilio’s passion is preaching. He seeks to connect the biblical to people’s lives in practical ways. He also loves pastoral care and counseling- walking with people through the peaks and valleys of their lives, celebrating their joys as well as being a compassionate presence when they grieve. 

A musician, poet, and published scholar, Rev. Dr. Tomillio has three children, Sarah, John IV “Jay,” and Thomas, and two step-daughters, Emily and Natalie Mellinger. He married his soulmate, Cynthia, in 2014. His interests include cooking, fishing for large-mouth bass, playing bocce, and watching Boston Red Sox baseball. ​Learn more at www.cc-canton-ma.org

July 11

Preacher: Reverend Dr. Denise Smartt Sears
Sermon: “What about the Other side?”
Home Org.: Metropolitan District of the NY Annual Conference of the UMC

​About: Rev. Dr. Denise Smartt Sears, a native of Brooklyn, New York, serves as the Conference Missional Strategist of the Metropolitan District of the New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.  

Rev. Dr. Sears was recently appointed to serve as Director of Connectional Ministries (DCM) for the NY Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, effective July 2021. The first Black woman to be named DCM in the Conference's history- she is uniquely qualified for the road ahead as a leader who comes to the position with a wealth of understanding of the NYAC across all levels. In a previous appointment as the missional strategist for one of the most culturally, racially and economically diverse districts within the Conference, she fulfilled her calling by building bridges with clergy and laity as she lead them into thoughtful, open, inclusive and faith-filled relationships with Jesus.

Rev. Dr. Sears also serves as a Chaplain for the New Rochelle Police Department, was elected to sit on the Board of Trustees of the NY Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, and is the Chairperson of the NYAC Pathway to anti-racism team. 

She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Dillard University, New Orleans; earned her Master of Science from Bank Street College of Education, New York; and later her M. Div. and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Congregational Growth & Development from Drew University, New Jersey. She was ordained a deacon in 1999 and an elder in 2002. 

Rev. Dr. Sears and her husband, Wendell T. Sears, are thankful for their best blessings ever, their sons Daniel and William. In her "spare time", she enjoys family-focused activities, community outreach within Westchester County, local politics and travel.  Learn more at www.nyac.com

July 18

Preacher: The Reverend Dr. William H. Allport II 
Sermon: T.B.A.
Home Org.: St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Englewood, NJ.

About: Rev. Dr. Allport has been the Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Englewood, New Jersey since 2014. At St. Paul's, he leads an urban multicultural congregation in  mission redevelopment, liturgical worship, stewardship development, and community engagement. Rev. Dr. Allport is a congregational and organization leader with over twenty years’ experience building, leading, and motivating innovative mission among multicultural and diverse populations.

Rev. Dr.  Allport's wife, Carrie, holds a Master of Arts in Theology degree from Virginia Theological Seminary. She has served as Diocesan Missioner for Children and Youth (Diocese of Central Pennsylvania) and Chapel Coordinator (St. Andrew’s Priory School for Girls, Honolulu, Hawaii). The Allports are the proud parents of two teenage daughters, and the family enjoys their Catahoula Hound dog, Moses, who was rescued from the flood waters of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after Hurricane Harvey.

As the son of army officers, and having moved thirty-four times, Rev. Dr. Allport is a citizen of the world. He has a passion for the development of God's people, leaders, and communities for the mission-shaped life of Christ's dream for the Church and World. He strives to make the familiar words of the Lord’s Prayer tangible in our days right now, “On earth, as in heaven.” Learn more at www.stpaulsenglewood.org

July 25


Preacher: Reverend Douglas Strong, Ph.D. 
Sermon: “Breathless Anticipation!"
Home Org.: School of Theology and Professor of the History of Christianity at Seattle Pacific University

About:  Rev. Dr. Strong received his BA from Houghton College, and both his M. Div. and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary. His field of study is American religious history, particularly the history of 19th-century revivalism, social reform, and the Wesleyan/Holiness movement in America. He is a past president of the Wesleyan Theological Society, a co-convener of the History of Methodism Working Group of the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies, and a member of the Steering Committee of the Wesleyan Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion. He has conducted several Wesley Heritage Study Tours to England.

He has also led students on numerous trips to Russia. He has taught four times at the Theological Seminary of the Russian Methodist Church and served on that school’s board of trustees. He taught at two theological schools in Korea. He is committed to intercultural learning as essential for students preparing to live out their Christian vocation in a global society.

Rev. Dr. Strong is an ordained clergyman in the United Methodist Church and served for eight years as a pastor in East Brunswick, New Jersey. He is especially interested in reviving the Wesleyan practice of small-group accountable discipleship among today’s Christians.
​
Rev. Dr. Strong is the author of five books, including: Rediscovering an Evangelical Heritage: Tradition and Trajectory of Integrating Piety and Justice (with Donald Dayton, 2014), Reclaiming the Wesleyan Tradition: John Wesley's Sermons for Today (2007), and Perfectionist Politics: Abolitionism and the Religious Tensions of American Democracy (1999).
Learn more at: www.spu.edu

August 1

Preacher: Reverend Dr. Jonathan Lee
Sermon: “Transparent Discipleship”
Home Org.:  Pension Boards-United Church of Christ in New York City

About: Rev. Dr. Lee is the Philanthropy Officer at the Pension Boards-United Church of Christ in New York City. He raises funds to support the direct assistance and sustainable leadership programs of the Pension Boards’ charitable arm, the United Church Board for Ministerial Assistance.  Prior to his current position, he was Director of Institutional Advancement at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut. 

An authorized minister of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Dr. Lee served congregations in Connecticut for twenty-one years before going into development work. He is a “cradle Congregationalist,” as he was baptized, confirmed and ordained at the First Congregational Church of Stratford, Connecticut. He was educated at Bates College, Andover Newton Theological School, and Hartford Seminary. Jonathan and his wife Bridget, also an ordained minister of the UCC, live in Milford and are the parents of four adult children.
​
Rev. Dr. Lee's preaching at the Tabernacle will focus on the state of the church. He sees challenges as well as reason for hope.  

August 8

Preacher:  Rev. Cathlin Baker and "Special Guest"
Sermon:  T.B.A.
Special Music: Mark Miller Music – Changing the World With Music
Home Org.:  First Congregational Church of West Tisbury

About:  Cathlin Baker is the minister of the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard, a congregation of the Massachusetts Conference of the United Church of Christ. Baker has been in this position since August, 2008 and is the first female minister in the church’s nearly 350-year history.
 
Under Baker’s leadership, the church has been revitalized around three core values – extravagant welcome, heartfelt service and spiritual nourishment. Her ministry reflects her diverse background in community organizing, seminary administration, hospice chaplaincy, and yoga and meditation.
 
Through her ministry at the church, Baker works extensively in the community. She is on the board of Harbor Homes of MV which creates housing and shelter solutions for people experiencing homelessness on the Island or who are too poor to qualify for affordable housing. Baker is the mother of Hardy, 16 and Eirene, 13. Her husband, Bill Eville, is the Managing Editor of The Vineyard Gazette newspaper.

August 15

Preacher:  Rev. Karen Munn and Rev. Nick Munn
Sermon:  Wilderness Restored
Home Org.:  Orchard Covenant Church in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts

About:  Rev. Karen Munn and Rev. Nick Munn are pastors of the Orchard Covenant Church in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, a church of the Evangelical Covenant Denomination.

In addition to his work as a pastor, Pastor Nick is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a ministry/vocational coach for pastors.
Pastor Karen has been fully invested in church ministry since 2000 and was ordained in 2008.

Pastor Nick and Karen believe that relationships are fundamental to the life of faith– relationships with God and relationships with others. They are excited to be part of their faith community, Orchard Covenant Church, because they value life together and desire to have a positive impact in their city.

They met in seminary at Gordon-Conwell in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, where they both completed their Masters in Divinity. Pastor Nick also holds a Masters in Counseling, and Pastor Karen has an undergraduate degree in Christian Educational Ministry.
Learn more at: www.orchardcovenant.org

August 22

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Preston Williams
Sermon:  T.B.A.
Home Org.: Harvard Divinity School, Retired

About: Rev. Dr. Preston Williams, retired in 2002 from Harvard Divinity School where he had served as Houghton Professor of Theology since 1971. Before Harvard, he had served as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor at Boston University School of Theology. He had taught previously at four historically black colleges: Johnson C. Smith University, Knoxville College, North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University), and Lincoln University. He has served as associate chaplain at Pennsylvania State University and Protestant chaplain at Brandeis University.

In his years at Harvard, Rev. Dr. Williams served in various capacities beyond his professorial role: he was Acting Dean of the Divinity School from 1974–75, and the acting and first director of Harvard's W. E. B. Du Bois Institute from 1975 to 1977. He was president of the American Academy of Religion, from 1975–76, and president of the Society for Christian Ethics, from 1974–75. From 1998 to 2008 he was the director of the Summer Leadership Institute, a program that brought religious leaders from urban settings to Harvard for two weeks of intensive classes on community development. For his services, he was awarded the Harvard Foundation Medal for Intercultural and Race Relations in 2021.

​His fields of interest are Christian ethics, social and economic justice, human rights, and African American experience. He is an ordained Presbyterian USA minister.
​Learn more at: https://hds.harvard.edu
​

August 29

Preacher: Rev. Don Bliss
Sermon: "What is More Important?" (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
Home Org.: East Freetown Congregational-Christian Church, E. Freetown, MA.

About:   Rev. Bliss has been the pastor at East Freetown Congregational-Christian Church in East Freetown, Massachusetts, since 2001. He formerly served as Minister to Children and Youth at Old West Church in Boston and as Director of Children's, Youth and Family Ministries at the Federated Church of Hyannis. He is a lifetime member of the American Congregational Society and has designed and led Youth and Children's Ministry training events for the United Church of Christ, American Baptist Churches, the Episcopal Church USA, and non-denominational Christian publishers.

Reverend Bliss is a published dramatist (Tears of St. Lucy; Fin, Fur, and Feather; The Power of Darkness; and more) and storyteller (The Tattler's Almanac, Good News for Bad Dogs, and others). He was a High School Theater Educator for over twenty years. As an actor, Don performed in both professional and amateur settings on Cape Cod, in New York, and throughout the U.S.  His interests include history, writing, watching American and English football, and sitting outdoors listening to the Red Sox. Learn more at: www.efccc.net  

 
September 5
Preacher: Rev Joseph Perdue
Sermon: T.B.A.
Home Org.: First Congregational Church of Branford

About:  Rev. Joseph (Joe) Perdue has served as the Senior Minister at First Congregational Church of Branford, Connecticut, since February 2021. 
 
Joe's first full-time ministry position was a Pastoral Residency in New York City. He did pastoral care on the streets of Hell's Kitchen and engaged in direct services to the community as the Food Justice Coordinator of Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries, where he operated food pantries, clothes closets, medical outreach, and ran an urban farm. 
 
Joe attended seminary in Richmond, Virginia, where he earned a Master of Divinity concentrating in Biblical Interpretation, focusing on the Hebrew Bible. While in seminary, he served as Pastoral Intern and later as a Children's Ministry Associate at an ethnically diverse inner-city church.
 
Joe is passionate about ecumenical and interfaith cooperation. He was honored with the 2020 Ecumenical and Faith Formation Award by the New York State Council of Churches for his efforts to bring faith communities together before and during the pandemic.
 
Joe's wife, Julia has a background in theater and social services. She has worked as a food pantry director, costuming faculty in a college theater program, and on well-known musicals, including Hamilton and A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder. 
website is http://www.firstcongregationalbranford.org